Check out my home addition playlist for some interesting project ideas: kzfaq.info/sun/PLSVALJE0akun_kAFTrSYL1z6276lnBkBA

*Coming up on having had this saw for a year....am a casual user and bought it to cut up sections for bowl blanks. Easy to start, **Bestfor.Garden** also recommend even after storage for a couple of months. Simple chain tension adjustment. Just cut up some 20" Osage Orange, including ripping bolts in half (at an angle). Like butter!*

FYI, the 61592 is now the 64498 (after the power switch recall, I guess). Just got one yesterday, and they match up perfectly (and all the model numbers on the box simply had 61592 pasted over with the new number; I guess it's cheaper to pay somebody to apply all those stickers vs. waste boxes!) The 64497 is the new copy of the (lousy) 65255. The 64498 is *not* listed on the website, but it was the one on the shelf in my store (Raleigh, NC.)

I bought the Portland and have used it for many hours the past few weeks. I definitely got my $50 worth so if it breaks tomorrow I'll still recommend it. I have the one you showed with the better safety.

I! just bought a 61592 for $20 on Craigslist that was used just once... My first electric and it's awesome. Great Video! Thanks!

I got the 61592 model and love it, no problems yet, had it at least 5 yrs. I can't seem to find what angle the blade need be sharpened at, do you know or do you just replace them.

Thanks for this information. I have a Bauer 16" chainsaw where the 4 1/4" plastic gear has lost all it;s teeth too. But where to find a replacement? I've looked everywhere and called HF. Would you know where to get Bauer parts or who the manufacture is so I can contact them directly. The motor and everything else if fine. I'd hate to throw away the saw for a $10 gear that someone makes. Thanks.

A good informative video , thanks.

Have you tried the Bauer 16" corded one yet? I had the maroon and yellow Chicago electric one like you and you're right lasted a long long time. It just gave up the ghost today. Thinking about getting the Bauer. If you have experience with this one please let me know what you think about it

I bought one last week and used it to cut down a dead tree. I had no issues with it. I rarely need a chain saw but I think it will suit my purposes.

For the 61592 I found one on eBay & going to get it for general around the house use. Also what chain replacement do you recommend as a back up while I get the original Sharpened

I bought the Portland 3 days ago, added the oil, checked the chain and then took down 3 trees in my yard (9-10" avg stump diameter), cut them up into manageable pieces. Worked fine for me. For $39.99, worked line a champ. Going to cut down a few more too.

just bought a new one yesterday did not check the number but will later today it is pouring down rain now i have 10 year old HF 14 inch i have used it a lot still works well but wanted a back up

I’ve been using mine for years at my house, my neighbors house and my brothers house with no issues other than the super thin oil that was supplied making a mess while transporting the saw. Drained it and used REAL BAR AND CHAIN OIL and never happened again. Other than that I just make sure the chain in adjusted correctly and when it comes time to sharpen it I’ll do that.

The Remington chainsaws have had the same problem for years now. In fact, it is easy to find replacement gears because they strip out so often. If you lubricate the gear with lithium grease it will last longer. I don't know of any new corded chainsaw with metal gears anymore, even Makita uses plastic gears now. I bought a Black + Decker 15 amp with an 18" bar and it has a plastic gear, but I cut up an entire 50' seasoned Ash (super hard!) without a problem and it was 31 inches at the base. Half way though, I took it apart and lubed the gear, but it still looked like new. I found that as long as I don't push the Remingtons, the gears last for a long time, but too many people treat the cheap corded saws like a gas saw and they are not designed for that abuse. If you cut is not straight, the chain is not sharpened correctly or your bar is worn - has nothing to do with the weight being on one side.

Looks like the extra plastic around the top of the drum gear in the better model most likely prevents flexing of the drum. This extra strength keeps the gears in contact with each other preventing stripping. Also if there is too much play in the gear spacing it will quickly fail. This “play” should be check in a new saw before its used as just one skipped tooth will quickly cause the rest to fail in short order. Thanks for the video. Due to the difference in the plastic gear I will definitely be shopping for the 61592 model. Thanks !

You are so right about the switch, hard to keep on

I just bought the one you said works great thanks

I just had my green Portland fail because the large plastic gear stripped out. Replacement gears are not available that know of.

the worxs 8amp 14inch chainsaw is a very good chainsaw it last lone and yes i use bar and chain oil but i cut for 2 years and its still runs about a day running clear cuting yea i have to sharpen the chain but i think it good

Excellent video. I bought one of these long enough ago for the 90 day warranty to be long forgotten. It worked well enough to begin with then after some relatively intermittent uses the chain began to slip & ultimately stopped. Looking inside, I found that ~4 inch PLASTIC idler gear between the metal motor gear and the metal chain gear. Metal teeth against plastic teeth. No way the plastic is going to last. The metal gear teeth ate up the plastic gear teeth. It's not worth the money. If you read the one star reviews on the Harbor Freight page, this is mentioned frequently.

I have both the black one and the green one. I have used the black one for about twenty years. No problem. The green one isn't as good, but they had a recall and I got a free new one, even though the old one was still working fine. I did replace the bar and chain on my black one about two years ago. When the green one runs too long it will get hot and you have to wait for it to cool off to use it again. Had the green one for about four years and have cut lots of trees and limbs around my grounds. For the price you can't really beat them. First time you use it doing the work instead of hiring it done, and they all pay for themselves. Of course if you use one every day for your business buy a better more expensive saw, but for around the house both are well worth the money. Harbor Freight has a free 30 warranty on stuff they sell. If it doesn't work return it for a refund, or replacement.

I bought the 14 amp 16 inch model and I works great

I have the red one - 14" Chicago Electric. I also have a 14" Remington and a Remington pole saw. The chain which came on the HF cut poorly. At one point, I swapped the Remington chain over and it cut fine on the HF, and better chains are just $5 (ebay). Yesterday, it started free-wheeling, so took apart and found the large nylon sprocket had stripped teeth. Must pull one bearing off the shaft to remove the sprocket. Like others, I can't find the sprocket anywhere. The plastic sprocket teeth wore away on my Remington, but replacements are easy (ebay). On plus side, the HF has a rugged ABEC5 bearing on each side of the shaft, while Remington uses a special needle shaft bearing and the outer shaft end isn't supported as well (can wear gears). Downside is no replacement nylon sprocket and the saw is heavier and larger.

I always lubricate my plastic gear items with lithium and they work for decades. Without gear oil made for plastic you may as well put sand in the gearbox. They cannot ship any grease any more overseas. Put your own.

I just bought the one you liked, #64498. $39.99 with the coupon, on 3/21/2020. Haven't been able to try it yet since it rained today. Thanks for calling out the WORKX, I was just about to buy a reconditioned one (mail order) for $53, but we were going to Harbor Freight and I decided that I didn't want to wait. Ebay chains run about $11 now, no $5 ones found.

I think my son got me one of the Portland saws for Christmas. Hope he was able to get the 61592. Thanks for the heads up.

how hard do you lean on your chain saw when cutting logs???

The 64997 is a good saw I have no complaints at all - at $40 dollars it's well worth the money the 67255 was called back because of switch problems - they will replace it for you - with a 64997 it really comfortable to use as he says - I've cut about 10 cords of wood with mine - the chains on electric saws out last gas saws 10:1 easily - the travel slower

There is a recall on my chicago saw like the one in the video and the green portland, i took my in yesterday and got a portland for free and no questions ask recall. The safety switch was not shutting the saw off like it was supose to. Look up the notice on harbor Frieght change saw's

As a professional non professional I only use Portland electric chain saw.

Same as me. Bought both, and green died first use ! Red lasted 5 years so far.

I don't know the item # of the HF saw I had but it was green...got it on a sale with a 20% off coupon for around $30. From the beginning it would leak the blade oil all over every thing, so I got to where I would just soak the chain and blade on the saw with oil before I used it. After 2 years of cutting, over 4 cords of firewood, the gear stripped out, motor ran good but chain would not run. So I tossed it, but it was handy, and for that cost, I was happy I had it and that it lasted as long as it did. I now have the Worx corded electric, and it is the best corded chainsaw I ever had! I suggest you purchase a new chain and bar for yours...looks like you were cutting roots in the ground with your which will ruin a chain and bar almost instantly! Apparently you do not worry with any maintenance on ant saws you have!

I've had a Portland for five years, still works

I got the portland 14 inch, and it worked great trimming palm tree branches a few times. The thing failed when cutting a 12 inch diameter palm tree stump though. Plenty of oil, but the thing almost caught on fire. Cant handle heavy workload. I would constantly take the blade off, clean it up, let it cool down after small amount of cutting. Piece of crap!!!!! Oh well, it was only $49.00 The plastic gears were chewed up, and all the interior parts were super hot, and smoking. I am such a sucker for cheap tools. They got me again!!

What model # is your red Chicago?

Do a teardown video about the harbor freight electric chainsaw because i want to see the moltor.

You said it failed the first use then you said you bought another one. The one i bought has a 90 day warranty so my question is this, why didnt you take the first one back when you went to buy the new one? Doesn't make sense.

Why by oil for the chain oiler? JUST USE USED MOTOR OIL

Dunno your probs with PP4218. On mine, new (colder than stock) NGK plug, quality chain, and carb adjustment with Husqy tool, and it works fine. Still has no "blade", rather a bar. First thing with HF chainsaw: sharpen chain & release tension a bit to reasonable. Adjuster screw head is VERY hard to reach. Anyhow it looks to be way better than my POS Wen electric.

He mentions how they travel at a low speed - they do cut really well and sence the chain travels slow you will ware out the teeth or cutters long before u ever run out of take up on your chain - after several cords I've filed sharpened my cutters to were there almost gone - but I've only taken up 60% of the chain

I borrowed my father in laws Chicago electric For me A beginner. It works great That type of safety feature is just what I needed to not cut my foot off or do something stupid and like you say it gets a little tiresome. And like you say it is hard to make a straight cut cuz how it’s weighted. Mostly what I’m cutting is dead anyway but would like to know what.these kinds can really handle. Hope I’m not ruining it

I have the Portland (item #54497), which appears to be identical to the one you don't like. Your item # has been recalled, due to a faulty switch not turning off the saw when the switch is released. Mine is the replacement after the recall. Mine has worked great for the three days (of heavy use) since I got it. Only thing I don't like is that there's no chain brake. Btw, the safety switch can be released once the main switch is depressed.

I have the newer HF one this guy says is junk and I have taken down 5 citrus trees so far. I let the blade do the cutting and when I feel the exhaust air getting warm, I take a short rest. I use the cheap bar oil from Lowes, the saw seems to empty the oil tank frequently. One time I didn't notice some rope was tied to a tree I was sectioning and it got up in the sprocket, jammed the motor, but I was able to remove it without disassembly. Maybe this guy ended up with a defective unit, but for me it has completed everything I have needed it to do so far and I am glad I bought it.

Only saw now is 64497. Any comments on this model?

ty :)

I just took a Portland electric chainsaw back for return - transmission failed after just two uses - got a refund with no problem and will NOT buy another one :(

I sell engineering plastics for a living. There could very possibly be a change in the compound being injection molded for the gear. Tough/ductile plastic compounds would be glass filled impact modified nylons. Often, mfg's use Acetal for gears as that material has natural lubricity. That's the compound you see in your faucet valves. But, ductility and toughness is very poor.

As far as I know, all corded electric chainsaws use a plastic drive gear. If you push them too hard, the gear strips out. Makita used to make a chainsaw with metal gears, but they replaced it with a plastic drive.

Well here's the way I look at it I bought this chainsaw tax included come to about 48 bucks I priced having this tree taken down 350 box box I guess I am money ahead if they're all use it till it falls apart and consider it all good

Just swapped mines today after 3 use.. almost caught fire from circuit

Just purchased the 64497 model............ hope it works ok, anyhow got 90 days to test... for full refund

FYI, Harbor Freight no longer sells a corded chainsaw as of this message (5/9/2018). I'm guessing they are coming out with a more expensive model.

Something's going wrong with the one I'm using. It'll be cutting through something then it'll just stop. Then as the motor is winding down, the sprocket will engage again.

This is the most interesting thing about me if the thing messes up on the first one why don't you get the extended warranty or why don't you just take any of them back I'm just wondering myself because anything electric or mechanical with stuff from Harbor Freight always get the extended warranties just a cover crap like this

holy shit xD wouldn't even look at such a chainsaw in the market

I only have a little experience with chainsaws. I have a 18" from Black & Decker which worked great for cutting down 1 big tree and 3 or 4 small tress all the way to 4 ft long logs. The chain got worn out after several uses and I replaced with "Oregon' chains and they are awesome!! Also that one is heavy and want to get a smaller one. going to get the Portland one 14" from HF but glad I watched your video. because there came a coupon book and this junk was on the list.

You were questioning why the smaller diameter gear failed. I'm an engineer who worked in manufacturing. I have an educated guess. If you remember your science classes on leverage, a smaller force is required to turn a shaft, if you have a longer arm of leverage. So in lay terms, if the radius of the gear is larger, the force applied to the teeth, needed to turn the gear, is smaller. If the radius of the gear is smaller, a larger force on the teeth is required to turn the gear. So the teeth on the smaller gear had a larger force applied to them in order to turn the gear. Now let's use engineering terms. Torque equals force applied times the length of the arm between the spot you apply the force and the center about which you are rotating. Lets assume the motor is designed to generate a certain constant torque. The force applied to all the teeth is torque divided by the radius. If the radius is smaller, the force applied to the teeth is larger. That is one reason why the teeth on the smaller gear failed earlier. Now let's talk about the shear area over which the force is applied. All the force is not applied to one tooth. The force is distributed over all the teeth. In fact, the force is distributed through all the material that forms a ring through the teeth. The area of this ring is called the shear area. At best, the shear area is equal to the diameter at the base of teeth times Pi times the thickness of the gear. At best, the shear stress is equal to the force needed to turn the gear divided by the shear area. Every material has a maximum shear stress that it can endure before it fails. This number is a constant. If you have a bigger area to spread the shear force over, then you may not reach the maximum shear stress for that plastic. If you have a small area to distribute the shear stress over, then the chance of reaching the maximum shear stress and failure is more likely. So the smaller the diameter of the gear gets, the closer you get to reaching and exceeding the maximum shear stress and the closer you get to failure of the plastic. I just bought one of these bad models. It is still in the box. I'm strongly thinking about returning it after hearing about the redesign of the gear, making the gear smaller. (1) The smaller size means there is a larger force required to achieve the same torque. (2) There is a smaller shear surface over which to distribute that force. So, if the same plastic was used in both gears, at the same thickness, then the smaller gear in the redesign will likely fail. As an engineer, I know that commercial manufacturers always design as cheaply as possible to save money on materials. So the original design, with the larger gear, probably had just the right amount of material to do the job without failing. I'll bet that an American designer did the calculations to figure out what the exact diameter needed to be to create a reliable gear at that thickness and torque. My chainsaw box says that this badly built version, was made in China. I have worked with Chinese companies before. Let me explain what happens when you shift your product from being built locally, to being built in China. When your product is built locally, in house, your manufacturing managers respect the designs of the engineers. They realize that the engineers put a lot of thought and brain power into those calculations. Sometimes the manufacturing manager comes up with an idea to save money on a product. But FIRST, he/she calls the engineer who made the design to see if the change is OK. If it's OK, the engineer will change the drawing of the gear and send the new design to the in-house manufacturer to save money. If the change is not OK, because the shear strength will be exceeded, then the engineer will explain that to the manufacturing engineer, and nothing gets changed. This is how it works when you shift your manufacturing to China: In the beginning, the Chinese manufacturer builds the product true to the original design, because they want to impress the US company that gave them the job, and they want to secure the trust of the US company. Once that trust is gained, the US company does fewer inspections of the incoming products from China. The Chinese manufacturers have meetings on how they can save money on their manufacturing process, so that they can make a bigger profit for themselves. They either are arrogant, thinking they know the design better than the US engineers, or they just don't care about the quality, or they have too much difficulty trying to translate their ideas into English to have a meaningful engineering conversation with the US designers. So, sometimes, they don't bother asking the US engineers if it's OK to change the design to save money. Sometimes, they just make the decision to change the product without telling anyone in the US that they are changing it. In China, labor is so cheap, that the cost of plastic parts is calculated based upon the amount of plastic that is used in the part. So in China, they save money if they use less plastic by making the part smaller. If the US company is in a state of trust, and doing fewer inspections, they might not notice that a small change has been made. It takes time to distribute the changed product to stores. It takes time for customers to buy the product. It takes time before hundreds of failed products are returned to the stores. It takes time before stores start cancelling their orders because a product is bad. It takes time before the US company realizes that they have been taken advantage of, and had their design changed on them. Meanwhile the Chinese company saved lots of money by putting out inferior products and they can laugh at us, all the way to the bank. In my opinion, when a US company turns it's manufacturing over to China, then that US company is no longer a designer of reliable name-brand products. In my opinion, they are just another distributor of Chinese products. They have a good chance of losing control of various aspects of the design. That's just my 2 cents. Take it or leave it as you see fit.

The plastic drive sprocket will shear if you hit a nail in wood.

I agree, these are total junk !! I threw mine against a tree after the chain come off the 20th time.....

I brought a Portland a week ago I poured the bar oil in sat it down the oil I poured in leaked all over my floor never used it so I returned it a piece of junk if you asked me..

You can take your old junk Harbor Freight chainsaws and exchange them for new ones due to the recall.

I had the older maroon one which worked great for a long time until the NYLON main gear stripped out. Almost all the other reviews of the Portland brand seem to be positive. Perhaps you got a fluke...or two.

I agree on the Worx chainsaw, terrible design and yes the chain does loosen and will come off if you don't watch it! 😫😫😫

You have to be careful with GreenWork tool as well ! Some are good some are JUNK> The 18" GreenWorks cord chain saw is JUNK Reason is? the chain bar and chain is not deep enough to keep the chain on it. IT KEEP POPING OFF

I use electric chain saws from Harbor Freight exclusively and have had the same problem with that nylon gear on the inside always going bad but excessive use on one and the other very little used before it went bad! I will gladly buy the replacement part if I knew where to get it as they're easy to repair😱

Try the atlas 80 volt chainsaw, you'll never go back to plug in

Great video thanks, but its time to clean you shop brotha.

Most likely a plastic drive gear.

He talks a lot but I’m all honesty, if he’s using his daw that much why isn’t he using a gas powered one? And why I’m gods name is he not using bar oil instead of veggie oil?? And btw you’re not supposed to cut 28” on a 14” bar, yooure supposed to cut 24, because you are supposed to have 2” play for the chain to throw the chips One last thing, if you’re bar is running hot it won’t fill the blade, temps don’t dull blade, buy better il and it won’t heat up like that. And buy a better chain.

Transmission you said, there is no transmission! It is not junk or garbage, you get a $40 electric chainsaw that will last for a while. Read the directions! Then use you big brain and apply some common sense. The "Knob" is not really a knob to tighten the blade, it is a decoration to cover the actually tighten bolt. THAT IS WHY THEY INCLUDE THE WRETCH! You use the wretch to tighten the blade not the decorative "knob". I still subscribed and gave you a thumbs up but I didn't get past the first 2 minutes because it sounds like you don't know what you are talking about. Don't call something garbage, that it your opinion. If you want one that is better than this buy a Stihl, or some other brand name. I respect your opinion but do not agree with it. I have four of these Portland's so when one gets too hot, or runs out of oil, or the blade gets dull, I just grab another one, and each one has more than given me my $40 worth of cutting over the last five or six years. When the chain gets dull, I buy a 3-pack of replacement chains for $15, that is $5 each. When one of them finally goes, I don't care, it is only $40! I got my money's worth out of each one of them and they are still going. I watched another video on this chainsaw and he said the chain came off the first time he used it, of course it did! The brand new chain wasn't tight enough when he started. He showed how to tighten it and it was still to loose! He did not know what he was doing, of good grief!

Junk , I agree totally

The chainsaw was recalled for safety.

the HF electric chainsaw is garbage