Chainsaw Care

We all have them and they all get dirty and dull. Cleaning and chain attention is a must if you want her to keep cutting for you. So, how often does your saw get cleaned and/or sharpened and how in depth do you go? And what are some of the techniques and tools you use? Any saw brands you find particularly easy/hard to clean?

 

I take off the B&C , clean the clutch cover ,clutch area ,blow out the fins and starter area ,check the AF ,clean the bar ,and put on a fresh chain . Then fill with bar oil ,and E0 fuel . I then take the old chain and either file ,or grind it .
About the only time I skip this is if I've been limbing for a short time .
Why ? You may be asking ....... (1) Because I know the saw I grab will be good to go when I need it .
(2) because I gots CRS and will forget which saw is ready . (3) saw OCD .

 

I almost never clean a saw. When I go to work on it I might blow it off. Sometimes more often. I will use a cleaner and spray on and wash one down sometimes if I want it cleaner.

Mess with the bar about once a year. It comes off more often to flip. I grind and sharpen chains after each outing usually. And its normally swapped out and the one ground and a fresh chair. Put on.

My stuff runs but is not always pretty. Just not that canal about it.

Run syn oil in E0 gas and run bar oil bit thats it. Just not that ice about it. I guess I should be but am not

 

CAD and OCD seem to go hand in hand. A small flathead screwdriver and an old toothbrush seem to be the best for getting nooks and crannies. Which I find less of on the Stihls.

 

Why synthetic?

 

Cause it doesnt carbon up like dino oil. The guys that k how say the syn doesnt form the hard carbon deposits like normal oil.

I figure those guys are engine builders that build, tear down and run more engines in a week than I will see in a lifetime. I think I will take what they say to heart.

And I can't use more than a quart of two stroke a year!!

 

Good to know about the hard carbons. However synthetics are made with tighter tolerances in mind. Much smaller particles. If your engines are brand new and/or have been running synth their whole lives, prolly OK. I would never run a synth in my jeep with 230,000 miles on her because the particles are too small to lube properly. Could be very different in chainsaw engines and the design of the synthetics too. Just another thing to learn about.

 

They ran semi syn for the new one most of its life, but now running full syn. Other saws are used and pretty beat, and I have no idea of history.

My new quakes are running full syn their whole lives. Mixed 32:1 now...may swap back to my old faith full 40:1 , not sure at this point?

 

You're correct about the detergents in the dino oil.

 

My routine… I try to keep fresh gas/oil in it all the time. I never have mixed gas sit for more than 2 weeks. I dump small amounts of gas out of the saw, when I'm done cutting for a while (month), and run the saw til it quits. I swap dull chains for sharp when needed, and spark plug every couple years. When changing chains, once in a while I'll blow out the sprocket and oiler areas with compressor. I flip the bar to wear equally top and bottom. I always top off the oiler when I re-fuel. I try not to pinch the saw anymore by using felling wedges more often.

 

Satinny do you worry about the diaohramd drying out and whatever that may bring? Heard folks talk about this.. not sure if its really a problem or not. I never pour my fuel out as the oil has a stabilizer in it that I use and I dont run E 10 fuel. And sometimes I add sea foam as well.

Personally never had a problem, knock on wood.

The one diaphragm carb I had fail was in a echo weed eater but it went out as I was running it. And was at the end of the summer. Think a diaphragm got a hole. But I bought it off a friend who runs a landscape biz and not sure how old that weed eater is but it has plenty of hours on it and as far as I know that was the first rebuild I did to it .

 

Like you said, knock on wood, haven't had an issue yet. I use stab too. Forgot to mention that.

 

Yea my float carbs on 4 strokes I shut the fuel off and run dry. Those without cutoffs have them now. This dang gas is junk. Turns to crystals in just a few weeks.

 

I top off all the fluids before use making sure to spill bar lube everywhere outta that small dang filler port. Sit her right in the dirt after finding metal with my magnetic chain. Dunk her in a stagnant pool of water then store in high humidity so things don't dry out ya know.

 

If you occasionally add the extra measure of putting bar oil in the fuel tank ,and fuel in the bar oil tank , you will decrease the likelihood of your diaphragm drying in your carb and also clean your oil tank and pump. Pretty sure putting the chain on in reverse will make it last like what seems forever . ( especially in the cut . )
And , before you ask ...... YES ,I have tried all of the above . Some more than once . I have also sharpened a newly installed chain on the first available rock just to see if the amount of sparks truly correlates to the quality of the edge produced on the cutters .

 

Hehehe… Dad got the 2 tanks mixed up once on an old Homelite he had. He was so mad and I think a little embarrassed when he had to take it to his fix it guy to get it going again.

So… how far can you send sparks with a rock and a new chain?

 

Well we all do what works for us ( I know for some that's hard to comprehend but it is what it is) and have never had a problem leaving gas in the chain saws and they can set for several months.
As far as pouring out mixed gas after a couple of weeks, that's a waste, I have some that sets for 6 months with never a problem (2.5 gal.) like said in the post the oil has additives in it and with no crap gas (big E) the gas will be fine for several months.