Bosch GKE 18V-30 Professional Cordless Chainsaw, 30 cm, Bare Tool - 06008D3200

Bosch GKE 18V-30 Professional Cordless Chainsaw, Bare Tool

The Bosch GKE 18V-30 Professional is a cordless chainsaw on the Bosch Professional 18 V system with a 30 cm bar. It replaces the petrol saw for the work petrol is too much for: pruning, cutting firewood, storm clearance, sizing timber on site. It starts with one press — no pull cord, no fuel mix, no warm-up — and goes silent between cuts, which makes it acceptable in a garden, in a residential street, and on sites where combustion engines are not allowed.

Chain and bar

It ships with an OREGON bar and chain — the industry standard, available everywhere, which does not tie the owner to a rare spare. The pitch is .325" (8.25 mm), the drive link gauge is 1.1 mm and the chain speed reaches 12.4 m/s. These are professional dimensions: .325" is the pitch that cuts aggressively while staying controllable — coarser loses smoothness, finer loses pace in hardwood.

Why the 5.5 Ah recommendation matters

Bosch specifically recommends a battery of 5.5 Ah or more. A chainsaw is among the hungriest tools on an 18 V system — it draws current continuously through the whole cut, unlike a driver, which works in bursts. A smaller pack will run it, but will drain fast and heat up, and heat is what makes the protection cut in. If you are buying a battery alongside it, do not economise on capacity: here that is the difference between half an hour of work and an afternoon.

What "bare tool" means and who it is for

This article (0 600 8D3 200) is the version without battery and without charger, in a cardboard box. Besides the machine it holds a chain guard and a combination screwdriver-spanner for tensioning the chain and changing the bar. It is intended for people already on Bosch Professional 18 V batteries, which fit the whole blue 18 V range.

Noise

Sound pressure is 91 dB(A) and sound power 99 dB(A). That is well under a petrol saw of the same class, but still above the level at which hearing is damaged: ear defenders are mandatory, as are protective trousers, gloves and eye protection.

Technical specifications

Questions and Answers