Karcher CS 400/36 BP review: 'A very useful tool'

HAVING recently made the decision to add battery saws to the range of chainsaws we use for training, we were interested to try Karcher’s offering in this market when we were asked to review the CS 400/36 BP.

Having only previously researched the two leading brands of chainsaw when looking at which to purchase, we have to admit to not knowing much about Karcher saws prior to using this one.

Marketed as part of Karcher’s professional range, with the manufacturer listing it as ideal for ‘gardening work, clearing storm damage, small forestry works or improvement works in parks and inner city areas’, the saw has a 23-metre-per-second chain speed, which compares well with the most well-known professional saw brands. It has a 40 cm bar length, 3/8” pitch, 1.3 mm gauge and 160 ml oil tank capacity. The chain is really a domestic user’s chain with many guard links and the cutter complement is less than you would get from more well-known professional saws from the leading brands. The Karcher CS 400/36 BP retails for around £315 with the battery retailing at around £185 and the charger around £80.

The first impression out of the box was that it was big, heavy and long. It looks a bit out of proportion or clunky, and just not as polished looking as some of the other battery saws. Its size and weight actually turned out to be a benefit though. It is well balanced and more controllable due to its size and it doesn’t feel like a ‘toy’ saw. It was very easy to assemble and the instructions were simple to follow. You need to buy the battery separately, as with most battery items, but again, it was easy to fit and use.

The battery charge time from flat was 1.5 hours and the power output was reasonable.

The charge lasted for a morning of on/off small-diameter cross-cutting and processing.

We were able to process trees up to its bar length with the saw only occasionally bogging down when used overeagerly.

In Karcher’s marketing it lists clearing storm damage as one of its uses and the first job we tested the saw on was clearing up a fallen tree, which it coped well with, with no problems at all.

Using the saw, one problem we did find was a slow pick up between cuts. There is a few seconds lag when ‘blipping’ the throttle, which makes it a frustrating saw to use for those used to the quick response of other saws. It did bog down in large timber, but as long as we let it cut at its own pace the cutting speed was adequate.

We wanted to use the saw for as many different jobs as possible, so used it as part of a cross-cutting course, a felling course and a domestic chainsaw user’s course, as well as on small domestic jobs and woodland maintenance in our training woodlands.

It really did come into its own on a couple of training courses and Karcher would do well to try and target the training provider and colleges market. Used by our trainees on small felling and cross-cutting training, its more forgiving cutting speed and less aggressive chain made it a very valuable training aid for new chainsaw users to complement the petrol saws they were also using.

Whilst much slower, bore cuts are still achievable, despite the extra guard links on the chain.

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A few of the things we liked about the Karcher CS 400/36 BP: the combi spanner tool that is fitted in the handle (why do all saws not have this?), the oil tank being translucent, the fact that we received it really quickly (having been waiting nearly a year for our order of battery saws from one of the main professional saw brands), the battery giving an estimated running time when in use (we’ll need to test this some more to see how accurate it is) and the price.

A few bits we were less keen on: the lack of on/off switch (when the battery is in, the saw is live), the only on/off switch is the chain-break handle, and the throttle lock out on the rear handle (a thumb slide rather than hand-grip style took some getting used to and results in less positive grip on the rear handle).

Whilst in our opinion we wouldn’t consider this a professional saw, due to its slow throttle pick up and size and weight to bar length ratio, it is still a very useful tool for a domestic chainsaw user who has small diameter trees to process and smaller diameter logs to cut.

It would be a good option for those carrying out small trees works and could also be a good investment for chainsaw training providers, those owning a small area of woodland or others carrying out occasional small woodland management works such as forest schools or small private estates.

Although our instructors and trainees have been putting it to the test over the past month, and have enjoyed using it, its robustness remains to be seen.