www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

My mini chainsaw has done sterling service over the last three years but today the battery gave out very quickly. Anticipating that is dying I had a look on eBay for a replacement. I could not believe the price of the one I found. A chainsaw, two 24v batteries, two chains, a spare blade, goggles, gloves, and a plastic tool case. All for £19. It is a British-based supplier with good ratings so £19 is worth the risk. We will see, I have either been done or it will be a great buy. Let us face it I got done with my £15 Lidl cordless hand clippers that were shite.

DWD

mad how some stuff is so cheap isnt it

dewaltdisney, Do let us know how you get on and whether it's worth the massive outlay...

Will do. I am not holding my breath. Incidentally, my old one was in use today and worked fine, I don't know if there was a blip in the charging cycle.

DWD

first thing to do check the contact email
google earth the postcode

apparent british buisness means nothing
ce marks can mean china exports
look for the company details and adress in the paperwork and on the packaging[a legal requirement]

Well so far so good, I got a dispatch notification and a tracking number. It is due to arrive on Wednesday.

DWD

Cordless tools are crazy cheap these days as long as you happy having unknown batteries that likely cannot be replaced and are probably very low runtime. I personally prefer to spend a little more and go for a supported range which at the moment has been Lidl's parkside mostly.

Picked up a 20v strimmer not that long ago from Lidl, reduced to £20 for the bare tool, battery and charger another £20ish. So far doing a good job and having the 3 year guarantee as well as knowledge I will be able to easily get replacement batteries and other compatible tools is nice and worth the extra spend IMO.

In the main, I have always been a 'cheap and chuck' tool buyer. In truth, some of the cheap stuff I bought years ago is still going. My theory is that If a premier brand is three times the cost, I can have three of the cheap tools if needed. The Dewalt Nicad battery drills I had did not last and I ended up disposing of perfectly good drills as it was not economical to buy new batteries. My Lithium battery powered stuff seems to last well and I do not know if my old mini chainsaw is on the way out or if I messed up the charge somehow. It was perfect yesterday. I have a few Titan tools, a reciprocating saw, an electric chainsaw, and other stuff I cannot recall. I think this eBay seller is a bankrupt stock merchant, he has good reviews and his online shop is full of cheap bargains.

DWD

i still have several old dewalt tools and 2 genuine dewalt adapters that dont discharge the batteries in use but cost £50 seven years ago

my main thoughts about cheap batteries from china is the fires you see on the news and i am sure utube

Yes, I always charge in view and turn off immediately it goes green.

DWD

less likely to be a problem with 7 or 8 cells but worth considering

One of the reasons I like the Parkside batteries, they are quite cheap, actually have the capacity they say they do, use safe cells and have balancing and safety circuits built in. Been using their 12v range for probably a decade and all batteries still work fine. None of the tools have broken yet either, broken a few mains powered tools but some of that is probably my fault.

Well, it has just turned up, I have to say it is a lot of kit for the £19 price. It all looks pretty standard compared to my existing saw (which has decided to work again) the only thing that I noticed was that the batteries supplied are a bit lighter than my original 24v. Whether this means that there are fewer cells and the batteries will not have a long working time I do not know. But, on the face of it was a really good buy. I will report again when I have used it.

DWD

Well, I have to report that it was as if I suspected the batteries were shams. I did wonder if their lightweight had any significance and now I know. One battery failed to charge the other lasted 10 minutes in use. I only went to use them as I had run my old saw out and opened the new saw to carry on. It is a shame really as the saw is perfect it is just the batteries that are shite. I am not sure what to do with it, I might have a look on eBay for a compatible battery but I suspect it is goodnight.

Never mind, nothing ventured nothing gained.

DWD

thank you for your frank and honest answer it helps others