If you do not use your chainsaw during the winter — sometimes you like to cut all the wood you need before the season starts — or you don’t need to cut wood in the summer, you may be interested in preparing it for a long storage period. Although you have probably found that your chainsaw does not need too much maintenance during the time of year that you will need to take care now:
- Thoroughly clean every inch of the chainsaw, including: air filter, cylinder fins, spark plugs, chain and guide rod. On some models, an intrinsically safe screen will also be installed; check whether you have and, if so, remove it for cleaning.
- Inspect each of the above parts for any signs of wear or damage (such as holes and tears). If you find any of these inconsistencies, it is now a good idea to replace these parts so that they do not deteriorate during the upcoming period of disuse.
- Lubricate all metal parts of the chainsaw with oil. However, these parts should not be saturated with oil, even if indicated in the operator’s manual. This is because these instructions are for lubricating chainsaws for immediate use, and not for lubricants that are stored for several months. Just give the metal components a light coating of oil that may remain on the surface until you remove the saw from the storage.
- Drain the remaining fuel from the gas tank chainsaw. The best way to do this is to start the engine in standby mode until all the remaining fuel is used and it turns off. Never start the saw in throttle mode for this purpose, as this can be very dangerous.
- Thoroughly clean the area in which you want to save your chainsaw in the coming winter or summer months. Make sure that all dust and dirt has been swept away and that there is no danger that the area will become wet or damp. Hanging chainsaws is a good way to prevent this.
By following each of the above instructions for wintering or landscaping a chainsaw, you can make sure that when you pull it out of the store to start cutting wood, it is in a typical condition. This also ensures that you will have to pull out the chainsaw earlier than you expected (perhaps a tree fell in your way or you ran out of firewood earlier than expected), it will be good to go.
