If you wish to use your chainsaw efficiently and for a long time, it’s necessary for you to take care of your tool, including knowing how to store chainsaw since it’s a very important part of maintaining your chainsaw. If you do it correctly, your chainsaw will be safe in any weather conditions and the oil will be prevented from leaking.
Below we have covered several essential features how to store saw bar and chain oil in addition to some helpful tips concerning chainsaw bar maintenance. We hope that this article will become your first hand guide how to store saws so that they stay effective and work for years. Just keep in mind that saws as well as any other power instruments need to receive enough care.
In fact, storing your saw, whether it’s a gas one or an electric model, whether it’s Stihl or Husqvarna or any other brand is not difficult when you know and take into account what is best for your chainsaw. Thus, here are some chainsaw storage ideas for you to store your chainsaw correctly!
- How To Store Chainsaw
- First Step – To Empty The Fuel Tank and Oil Tank
- The Second Step – To Dismantle The Chainsaw
- The Third Step – To Clean The Air Breather
- The Fourth Step – To Remove The Spark Plug
- The Fifth Step – To Clean The Air Filter
- The Sixth Step – Tightening
- Useful Information in this video: How To Store a Chainsaw For The Winter
- The Seventh Step – To Put Your Chainsaw Into The Place Of Storage
- Choose A Dry And Dark Place
- Find The Right Spot For Your Chainsaw
- Choose The Correct Position
- Use A Case
- Think Of A Storage
- Make Sure The Chainsaw Is Free Of Dust
- Final Step
- In Closing
How To Store Chainsaw
If you are a logging specialist who works with wood all the year round, you won’t be storing chainsaws for long periods. If you are just an amateur chain saws user, sometimes chainsaw storage will be several weeks and even months long. If you organise high quality chainsaw storage for your chainsaw, the life of your instrument will become longer and you will save your time and money and won’t need to repair or replace the elements of your sawing macine too often.
If you still don’t understand what you should do to keep your chainsaw safe and don’t have any chainsaw storage ideas, we have decided to cover all the needed simple steps so that you could remember them and maintain your instrument correctly. You should keep in mind that the scheme mentioned below is suitable for storing the sawing macine for several months as well as for longer periods such as a few years.
First Step – To Empty The Fuel Tank and Oil Tank
It doesn’t matter where you will keep your chainsaw, but the first thing you will need to do in any case is to make the fuel tank empty.
If you forget to put the fuel away from your chainsaw fuel tank and the oil from the oil tank, it can lead to a couple of very important consequences. First of all, the sawing macine can leak fluids into the place where you store your sawing machine, which can do harm to your shelves, garage floor and furniture, pose a threat to your domestic animals as well as create a horrible smell. Oil leaks can also happen if the oil reservoir isn’t closed tightly.
Another thing you should keep in mind while storing chainsaws, aside from fuel and oil leaking, which might happen is that the fuel which is left in the tank can be the reason for the damage to the engine. Therefore, you should empty the tank fully and be sure that you also empty the carburetor of your chainsaw, so that the diaphragms don’t stick together.
When you empty your fuel tank, you can just pour the fuel onto the ground or anywhere else. The best way is to find a secure fuel canister and put the left fuel and oil into it to be able to use it next time you are going to apply your chainsaw.
Every chainsaw user should also take into account that the fuel in the gas tank should be mixed with oil in oil tanks, so if you put the gasoline from the tank to the canister, it should be empty, otherwise the mixture ratio will be spoilt.
If you don’t have a canister or any other thing into which you can place the fuel, you just need to empty the gas tank in a responsible way, which won’t hurt people, animals and someone’s property.
If you have any questions concerning how you can store your instrument without the oil leaking, we have the answer – you should empty the oiler as well as the oil valve before putting the chainsaw into long term storage. Make sure that all the oil is out and the tank does not leak oil.
The Second Step – To Dismantle The Chainsaw
If you wish to avoid corrosion and other damages as well as to save yourself a little bit of space, the best way is to take the chainsaw apart. This step is one of the most important for every chainsaw owner so that they could organise the chainsaw storage correctly.
First of all, you take the cover of your chainsaw off, then you remove the chain and the bar of the chainsaw from the chain drive gear. It’s advised to clean these two parts of a chainsaw (as well as the brake stop) with the use of a special or a household cleaner or a mixture of ammonia and water, rinse the chain and the bar and let them dry fully before putting them to the place of chainsaw storage.
A good idea is to use a protective oil to spray the chain bar and chain of chainsaws.
With this you winterise your tool since the oil will keep the metal elements of your tool safe from cold and moisture as well as from corrosion for the period of chainsaw storage.
If you are going to store a chainsaw, it’s recommended to take the rear handle and the brake handles off the instrument and remove the bar and chain as well. The rear handle and the brake stop should be cleaned separately. In fact, these saws need to be stored carefully like traditional chainsaws.
The Third Step – To Clean The Air Breather
Another thing which you should do is to clean the air vent of your chainsaw. To do it best of all you need to check the owner’s manual so that you can know exactly how your air vent is cleaned. Why do we need to check it? It’s so because the way to clean most breathers is different for various chainsaws.
In fact, for cleaning most of them you can apply soapy water and then blow the chainsaw dry using canned air.
The Fourth Step – To Remove The Spark Plug
What is sometimes challenging for beginners in chainsaws is the necessity to remove and check the spark plugs of their chainsaws. However, it’s a wonderful chance to examine your spark plug and make a decision whether you need to replace it.
If you see some dangerous signs that it has damages, the best option is to install a brand new fuse, but you can also change something to make everything work efficiently again. For instance, you might notice sooty electrodes, which might lead to an incomplete combustion. This can be the result of the incorrect gasoline mixture.
If you see that the fuse needs replacement, you can again check the owner’s manual to find out which spark plug gap setting is suitable for your instrument. The same goes for the starter rope.
If your old spark plug is in good condition, you should remember that at the moment you take it off you are recommended to add a little bit of two-cycle engine oil from the oil reservoir into the spark plug opening.
The Fifth Step – To Clean The Air Filter
Another element which you need to clean or even replace in case it’s damaged is your chainsaw filter.
It is also a rather challenging task for many saw owners, in addition to this, it may differ for different models of chainsaws. The main problem, actually, which you can face is finding where the filter is located. You can find this information in the owner’s manual.
We would advise everyone to have a spare filter when you have to clean the one which is used. With this feature you will save time and won’t need to wait until the first filter is clean.
To clean the filter you need only a bucket of warm soapy water – you can just use some ordinary dishwashing liquid. Another thing which can be necessary is a screw driver with the help of which you get access to the filter. Although if the filter is blown dry with compressed air, it can pose a threat to the quality and efficiency of the filter, so if you have an opportunity, just let it dry itself.
How can you clean the filter? When you find it and remove it accurately from the chainsaw, the best idea would be to use a light tape for its plastic part to get rid of dirt, dust, wood chips and gas lines. Then you put this element into the warm soapy water and leave it for about fifteen minutes so that it soaks.
After that you swish the filter in the water several times. After this step of the procedure you should let your filter dry and only then you can install it back into your instrument. Usually the filter becomes dry in not more than 24 hours.
The Sixth Step – Tightening
This step is rather simple but many people don’t pay attention to it. However, it’s essential to examine your instrument from all the sides and tighten the bolts and loose screws on it.
Useful Information in this video: How To Store a Chainsaw For The Winter
The Seventh Step – To Put Your Chainsaw Into The Place Of Storage
The last but not least thing you need to do is to put your instrument to the place where it will wait until you need to do some cutting operations. But you should always remember that you can’t just choose any possible area to store a chainsaw. The chainsaw needs to be carefully stored, therefore, there are several features we should keep in mind concerning where we can store a chainsaw.
Choose A Dry And Dark Place
You should always take into account that chainsaws as well as their elements suffer from sun’s rays and excessive moisture.
If your tool is stored improperly and there is too much moisture in the storage area, the bar and the chain of chainsaws can be damaged due to the appearance of corrosion and rust, which you won’t be happy to see when you take out your beloved instrument to apply it again.
Direct sunlight isn’t also helpful since because of it the metal elements of your chainsaw can get brittle. It is rather hazardous since if the chain is brittle, it can easily break down while the chainsaw is used. Thus, to provide proper care for your tool and to prevent rust, you should consider storing a chainsaw in a dark and dry place.
Find The Right Spot For Your Chainsaw
The main thing which you have to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t store your instrument on the concrete floor. Don’t do it on any occasion since your sawing instrument can be easily damaged.
The best way to store your chainsaw vertically on a wall hook with a trigger attached in a well ventilated place. The best way to do this is to store the chainsaw upside down. If you don’t have an opportunity to chainsaws vertically, you should place the sawing macine on something made of wood, for instance, a shelf or a wooden platform located on the ground.
Choose The Correct Position
Don’t forget that if you place your chainsaw for longer term storage onto some surface for keeping instead of keeping chainsaws vertically, it should be located at its bottom. On any occasion do not put it on its side since some elements of your sawing macine can get damaged and you will need to replace the destroyed elements and spend some extra money and time.
Use A Case
If you buy your instrument with a chainsaw case, which happens really often when it comes to power tools, the best thing you can do is storing a chainsaw in chainsaw cases. If there are no protective cases sold with your sawing macine, you can always find one in a local chainsaw store or at least use something which reminds of a protective case for storing the saw inside.
Think Of A Storage
A good place for storing your chainsaw as well as some other tools and even furniture is a special storage unit. Just search for nearby storage units, using which you don’t have to create a special place in your house if there isn’t enough space.
Make Sure The Chainsaw Is Free Of Dust
Dust also happens to be a factor which can cause damages to your sawing machine if it stays on it for too much time. If there is a dust layer on your saw, it can make the chain dull as well as leave some spots on any part of the chainsaw. Besides, if too much dust gets inside the engine, it will have a negative effect on its efficiency.
As we have already mentioned, it’s good if you are storing your sawing machine in a chainsaw bag so that no dust can get onto the sawing macine. Even a simple plastic storage bin or a garbage bag will be helpful. But you should keep in mind that a bag won’t protect your chainsaw from scratches and dents during storage.
Another opportunity to prevent dust from affecting the power saw is to apply even a light layer of a protective bar and chain oil. It will keep the dust away from the guide bar and the chain of the saw. However, we think that motor oil is not suitable as it’s thinner than a protective one, which means that it won’t create the needed protection layer.
Final Step
Although we have mentioned all the rules necessary for chainsaws storage, one more thing which you have to remember is that when you decide to apply your power saw again you have to prepare it for use. This means that you will need to clean it as fully as possible, oil it in a decent volume (without the oil leaking) and fill the gasoline tank with fresh gas, so that your chainsaw becomes ready for cutting operations.
You may also find it helpful to read about how to untangle a chainsaw chain and how tight should a chainsaw chain be.
In Closing
It’s highly essential for every power saw user to understand how to store your sawing machine in suitable conditions, even if you use your instrument almost every day – we don’t know what can happen in a month or two. If you want to prolong the lifespan as well as the efficiency of your saw, you should know what you can do with it.
As you have already read in the article above, there are several steps which are advised to follow to organise the best storage for your tool. You shouldn’t forget to get rid of all the gasoline inside your chainsaw, besides, you should know how to clean a chainsaw.
You can apply special oil so that your power saw won’t collect any dust on its surface. Putting the chainsaw to a storage is also a good time for checking different elements of the sawing machine and repairing or even replacing them if needed. And try to store a chainsaw without the engine oil leaking inside. These features are vital for keeping your instrument safe, as, for example, oil leaking from the oil reservoir isn’t great for long term storage for chainsaw owners.
One of the main things which we have to take into account when we decide how to store a chainsaw is the place where the tool will be stored. It’s very important to choose a dry and dark place where you can hang the power saw or put it onto some wooden surface. Using a case and a protective oil will also be helpful.
Actually, yet another tip concerning the chainsaw storage is you can make the place dry if it’s well ventilated and all the moisture goes away through the air.
If you remember all the mentioned above tips and features, you will be able to do everything possible to store a chainsaw and, therefore, will be able to save your time and money while not needing to repair and replace the saw elements too often or even to buy a brand new instrument.
We hope that this article will be extremely helpful for you and give you plenty of chainsaw storage ideas with which you will be able to provide perfect conditions for storing your chainsaw and will be able to enjoy the prolonged life and high quality performance of your instrument.
Read also our article: What Size Chainsaw Do I Need – Useful Easy Tips.
The purchase of the first saw is usually followed by the purchase of the second one. When I realized that I am getting too interested in this topic, I started working as a salesman in this store. I learned a lot of new information every day.
That is how my first and only Blog about saws - Sawcentre.org got created.
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I prefer to store the saw assembled. Before that, according to the rules, I disassemble, clean. And, as stated here, I apply protective oil. And I constantly clean the filter using this technology.
I give it a very good clean-up, inspect the spocket, clutch, brake stop, fuse, rear handle, carb… I turn the bar, give the chain a very good sharpening, ”wet” it with an oily rag, put it in its case and away it goes for the entire summer unless I need it for some unexpected thing.