A gas pole saw rents for roughly $45 to $75 a day, with a four hour rate at most counters, and gives about 12 to 15 ft of reach from flat ground. Battery versions cost less and run out of charge on a heavy day. What the rate cannot cover is the judgement about which limbs belong on a hire ticket at all.
Gas, battery or the telescoping manual head
Gas units cut all day and are heavy at full extension, which is felt in the shoulders long before the fuel runs out. Battery saws are lighter and quieter and suit a suburban afternoon if a spare pack comes with them. A manual pruning head on a pole handles small green wood for the price of a coffee.
Reach is measured from the ground, not from the cut
A twelve foot pole in the hands of a person of ordinary height reaches something near eighteen feet of branch, and that is the honest working figure. Anything higher is where renters start standing on things. A pole saw used from a ladder is how the accident happens; the machine for that height is a rented lift.
Where a rented pole saw stops being the right tool
Limbs over a roof, over a neighbour's fence, or anywhere near a service drop are a tree company's work, not a weekend hire. So is anything thick enough that the cut will bind the bar. Overhead electrical conductors have approach distances that apply to everyone working near them, and a wet pole is not an insulator.
Chain, bar oil and the fuel line on the ticket
Counters supply the saw sharp and expect it back that way, so blunting a chain on dirt or fence wire is chargeable. Bar oil is usually sold rather than lent, and a gas unit takes a two-stroke mix the yard will fill or sell. Ask which mix, because the wrong fuel is the most common damage claim on small saws.
Questions people ask about pole saw rental
How thick a branch will a pole saw cut?
Rental pole saws carry an eight to twelve inch bar and cut cleanly up to about six inches of green wood at full extension. Beyond that the cut takes long enough that the weight of the pole becomes the problem. Bigger limbs want a chainsaw and a way of standing safely beside them.
Do I need a pole saw or a pruner?
A powered pole saw is for limbs from roughly two inches up. A manual pole pruner with a rope-operated head handles thin growth faster and with no fuel, no noise and no risk of a running chain overhead. Many people hire one of each for a day and use the light one most.
Is a rented pole saw safe to use alone?
Work with someone on the ground who can see what you cannot, keep everyone out of the fall line, and wear eye protection and a hard hat, because everything cut falls towards you. Never cut above shoulder height with the saw fully extended if you cannot step clear quickly.