An electric chainsaw is a portable mechanical tool that runs on a two-stroke engine. The portability and efficiency of an electric chainsaw are what make it one of the most useful tools available in the market. An electric chainsaw consists of different parts such as the blade which is made up of a chain, numerous teeth, a guide bar, a handle, an engine, and other parts. As it is an electric machine, it must be properly taken care of. Else, the machine will eventually get different kinds of damage and soon it will be of no use. If the machine is not properly taken care of and properly maintained, it will lose its efficiency.
To store your chainsaw well you can use the following steps:
- Look for a Clean and Well-Ventilated Place
- Properly Maintain the Wiring
- Clean the Oil Level Window
- Clean The guide Bar and guide bar nose
- Clean The Chain
- Check Chain Lubrication hole
- Clean the carburetor
- Clean the Air Filter
- Clean the spark Arrestor
- Dismantle the chain of your electric chainsaw
- Store in a dry place
- Protect it from the sun
- Protect your electric chainsaw from rust
To maintain your chainsaw well also look at the following points:
- Adjust the chain tension of your electric chainsaw
- Use the proper lubricant
- Repair the damage caused by randomly Hitting a Nail
- Repair the damage caused by hitting Dirt and Rocks
Contents
- 1 Why is Maintenance Important?
- 2 How to Store an Electric Chainsaw?
- 2.1 ● Look for a Clean and Well-Ventilated Place:
- 2.2 ● Properly Maintain the Wiring:
- 2.3 ● Clean the Oil Level Window:
- 2.4 ● Clean the Guide Bar and Guide Bar Nose:
- 2.5 ● Clean the Chain:
- 2.6 ● Check Chain Lubrication Hole:
- 2.7 ● Clean the Carburetor:
- 2.8 ● Clean the Air Filter:
- 2.9 ● Clean the Spark Arrestor:
- 2.10 ● Dismantle the Chain of your Electric Chainsaw:
- 2.11 ● Store in a Dry Place:
- 2.12 ● Protect it from the Sun:
- 2.13 ● Protect your Electric Chainsaw from Rust:
- 3 How to Maintain an Electric Chainsaw?
- 4 Different Types of Damage Received by an Electric Chainsaw:
- 5 Final Remarks
Why is Maintenance Important?
Most people who recently buy tools like an electric chainsaw, do not know how much effort the maintenance takes. Working with the machine is easy because of its convenient design, but maintaining it deserves your attention, care, effort, and time because after all, it is the investment of your hard-earned money.
I can assure you that if you stay with me long enough and if you have some patience, at the end of this discussion you will have enough knowledge on how to properly use an electric chainsaw, how to properly store an electric chainsaw, and how to properly maintain an electric chainsaw.
Maintaining an electric chainsaw is easy once you know what you have to do. To properly store and maintain an electric chainsaw, you must first know the machine well. You must know the parts of an electric chainsaw and what they do.
Once you have clear knowledge about the machine, you will understand the kind of attention a particular part needs. That is how you start your way into the field. After knowing about the parts of the machine, you have to learn how to clean it and how to use it.
The machine has to be cleaned, well-lubricated, and well-maintained to be efficient.
How to Store an Electric Chainsaw?
How you store your electric chainsaw matters a lot both to you and your electric chainsaw. The machine must always be properly stored to have a long and efficient life. The machine will die out soon and have many kinds of damages if you don’t store it properly.
So let us talk about how you can store your electric chainsaw and give it the good clean life that it deserves. Follow the steps that I talk about and you can learn how to store your electric chainsaw properly within a couple of minutes.
Storing your electric chainsaw properly plays a huge role in its life. The future of your electric chainsaw completely depends on how you are keeping the machine and how you are storing it. In my opinion, one should always do a deep clean before storing your electric chainsaw, especially after a long session of work.
Even if your electric chainsaw is unused season after season, you must clean the whole machine properly before you put it out to use after months or years. If you do not store it properly, the machine will get many types of negative impacts which will ruin the machine day by day and that will make your work harder instead of making it easier. So let us find out how you can properly store the machine and keep it as new as it was when you first bought it! Let us first learn how you can clean it properly!
● Look for a Clean and Well-Ventilated Place:
Find a properly ventilated place to set up as your workspace for cleaning your electric chainsaw. Make use of a hard table or any kind of hard surface on which you will put your electric chainsaw and other tools. Keep in mind that you have to clean up the workspace before you start opening up your electric chainsaw. With an untidy workspace, you have greater chances of losing small parts like screws and ultimately, you will end up wasting hours looking for them.
● Properly Maintain the Wiring:
The heart of an electric chainsaw is the wiring inside it. These wirings are pretty complex for an average person to understand, and due to their complex nature, they are more prone to damage than any other part inside the chainsaw. If you care about your electric chainsaw, you must check to make sure that the wiring is okay at least once every month. There have been many reported fatal injuries in the past due to wiring defects and sudden changes. The wiring needs to be checked before turning the machine on. More importantly, if you’re planning on keeping the machine working for a long time, you should consult a mechanic once every two months to check the internal wiring system.
● Clean the Oil Level Window:
You have to properly clean the oil level window. The oil inside the chain has to be completely drained out and then cleaned if it has been filled for weeks or months. The oil might dry up and stick to the surface if it has been lying there for a long time.
You must check and replace bar and chain oil regularly to reduce friction, keep your electric chainsaw from wearing out faster, and make cutting easier. Be sure to use bar chain oil, not regular motor oil. Your electric chainsaw has standards.
You must ensure the oil level is at least halfway up the chain oil level window. Otherwise, it needs a refill.
● Clean the Guide Bar and Guide Bar Nose:
The guide bar is the part that holds the chain and the blades. If you look around the machine you will find a knob. Turn the knob in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction to adjust the tightness of the chain.
Now loosen the chain up slowly and take it out completely. Once you have removed the chain from the electric chainsaw, put it aside for the time being as you will move on to it later.
Now that you have removed the chain and put it aside, concentrate on the guide bar. You must take a brush and start cleaning out the dirt and debris from the guide bar. You must clean the whole bar properly.
Once you think you have done enough, you must stop and prepare to attach the chain again. Do not attach the chain if you have not yet cleaned the chain separately. You must leave the guide bar the way it is when you are done cleaning it and move on to cleaning the chain.
● Clean the Chain:
One of the most important parts of your electric chainsaw is its chain. The chain is the part that holds all the blades or teeth that do all the cutting. The chain must be properly cleaned to improve the efficiency of your electric chainsaw.
Take a gallon of water and also take a cup of ammonia and create a mixture. You must now take off your chain and drop it into the mixture and let it soak. You must let the chain soak properly. Give it thirty to forty minutes to properly soak in the solution.
When you are done soaking the chain in the mixture, take it out and start cleaning it manually. To clean it manually, you must take a strong brush and scrub the chain with it. Make sure you are not distracted when you are doing this to clean the chain properly.
The whole chain should be good as new when you are done scrubbing it. Once you are done, hang it, or put it away to dry.
Once it dries up, put it back where you took it from. Attaching the chain upside down makes the machine hold on to it tighter, which increases the efficiency of the machine.
● Check Chain Lubrication Hole:
You have to make sure that the holes in the chain are not blocked by dirt or any kind of debris because the holes of the chains let oil and other lubricants pass through and make the lubrication process efficient. So clean the holes and the chain also to get a proper and efficient result from your electric chainsaw.
● Clean the Carburetor:
The carburetor has to be properly cleaned for your electric chainsaw to work properly. The carburetor will have to be soaked in the ammonia solution and properly cleaned. Take the carburetor and detach the parts that hold it.
Now soak them all in the solution that you have made earlier. Once you are done soaking it, take the parts out and start scrubbing and rinsing them with a strong brush. The dirt and debris will all come off once you have properly scrubbed it.
Once you scrub and take out all the dirt from the parts, let the water drip and let the parts dry out. Once they are dry, attach them back just the way they were before and the carburetor is now ready for use.
● Clean the Air Filter:
The air filter catches the dirt and other particles while you use the machine. The filter has to be cleaned properly or else it will be clogged with dirt and other particles. Take out the filters and tap them gently.
Take all the dirt out in that way. If that is not enough then take a brush and scrub the filters to take the dirt out.
If that is still not enough, soak the filters in cleaning solutions and then rinse and scrub them to give them a good deep clean that will clean the filters out properly.
● Clean the Spark Arrestor:
Your electric chainsaw has a kind of screen that protects you from the sparks that are generated inside your machine. The spark arrestor blocks the sparks from coming out. In this way, it protects you from damage and also lets you work without a problem.
The spark arrestor can get clogged from dirt too. So take the part out and clean it properly. To clean it you must unscrew it and take the cover out and then bring out the arrestor which is right behind the cover.
Now gently tap on the arrestor and clean out the deposits that are jammed on it. You can try and clean it deeply but in my opinion, tapping and scrubbing do the work. Now when you are done cleaning it, put it back the way it was.
While putting it back make sure it is in the right order. Then put the cover where it was and seal the part off by screwing it back.
● Dismantle the Chain of your Electric Chainsaw:
Now you should start removing the chain of your electric chainsaw. The chain holds the blades in it. So if you remove the chain, you remove the blades.
When you are done removing the chain, keep it in a dry place. Before putting them in a dry place, remember to clean and spray them with protective oil.
● Store in a Dry Place:
The electric chainsaw should always be stored in a dry place for long-safe storage. The machine must not be kept in a wet place because that will cause the machine to catch rust and mold. Keep it indoors and never outdoors.
Storing in a dry place protects it from the environment and also the weather changes.
● Protect it from the Sun:
The sun rays are damaging to your machine if it is kept in the sun for a long time. You must always keep your machine in a dry and covered place so that it is safe from the sun and its UV rays. The rays damage the machine in ways that your naked eyes would not notice.
This is how to properly store your electric chainsaw. The cleaning process can be even more thorough but I have tried to keep it as short and as easy for you as I can.
There are other integrated parts of the machine which I have not mentioned here because it requires skills and more experience to clean them out. But if you have read all of the things that I have mentioned then I can assure you that you can clean the whole thing without a problem.
● Protect your Electric Chainsaw from Rust:
Your machine can catch rust from many things. The main reasons for an electric chainsaw catching rust are, the machine not being cleaned from time to time, the machine is oiled up with the wrong lubricant, the machine is stored in a bad environment. Rust is a slow killer for your electric chainsaw because your electric chainsaw slowly loses its efficiency and also the parts slowly get damaged from rust.
The rust can rot your electric chainsaw slowly and the machine soon starts to die. That is why you must always keep your machine clean even if you are not using it for any kind of work. You must always use proper oil for the lubrication of the chain.
By doing so, you have a chance of saving your machine from being ruined and damaged by any kind of rust.
How to Maintain an Electric Chainsaw?
● Adjust the chain tension of your electric chainsaw:
You must always check the chain tension before cutting the wood. If you see that the flats on the chain of your electric chainsaw are hanging out of the bar groove, it needs an urgent adjustment and a new chain needs to break in.
- You must only loosen and not completely take off the bar-retaining screws.
- You must remember that the correct tension will always depend upon the temperature of the chain.
- Now you must turn the tensioning screws clockwise, by holding the guide bar tip upwards.
- To check, lift the tip of the guide bar.
● Always use proper lubricant:
Sometimes you might think about saving some of your money by using cheap chain lubricant to run your electric chainsaw. I will have to stop you right there because using cheap and improper lubricant is always a bad idea. If you ever thought of using cheap oil to run your electric chainsaw, you were about to make a grave mistake.
Using improper or cheap oil to lubricate your machine ruins your machine and its parts because an improper lubricant decreases the overall efficiency of the machine.
● Repair the damage caused by randomly hitting a Nail:
While you are cutting wood it is always very common to hit nails and other similar objects which are found inside the wood you are trying to chop apart. That is why you must always take a good look at the wood before beginning to cut it and search for places where there are nails. If you find them, try to take them out.
If you can’t take them out, try to avoid them while working. Hitting nails suddenly can damage your machine’s blades badly. The blades will get damaged and sometimes the teeth can break too.
● Repair the damage caused by hitting dirt and rocks:
When you are cutting wood while it is lying flat on the ground, there are great chances that you hit dirt and rocks. The ground is uneven and has dirt and numerous rocks. Hitting dirt and rocks damages the chain and especially the blade.
The blade after hitting against the rocks can lose its efficiency. That is why it is always wise to clean out the place before working there. That way you are safe from having a dirty environment and also are safe from hitting any unexpected rocks.
Different Types of Damage Received by an Electric Chainsaw:
Your electric chainsaw can receive many types of damages from different things. The most common among them are damaged blades, rust, a broken chain, and a damaged bar. There are many reasons why your electric chainsaw would face these harsh things in its lifetime.
I will be discussing with you some of the reasons behind the damage and also how they happen. I will also discuss how you can try and resolve all these problems on your own. Now if you are someone who has very little patience then I will try to give a quick chart on all of the major types of damages, how they happen and how you can resolve them yourself. Let us take a look at the chart below and we will in no time learn all about the damage.
Types of Damage | How it happens | How to resolve |
|---|---|---|
Damaged Blades | The blades of your electric chainsaw can receive heavy damage and get broken if they hit too many rocks and dirt while you are working with it. The blades get worn out and broken if they randomly hit rocks while you are cutting the wood. | When something like this happens, I will suggest that you go out and buy a new pair of blades instead of wasting your time trying to repair what is already lost. You can try to sharpen the broken blades yourself but I think replacing it with a new one is better than repairing it. |
Rust | Rust is one of the biggest problems you will ever face while using an electric chainsaw. The machine can catch rust easily even if you don’t use it. The improper storage of the machine, using improper lubricants, keeping it in a wet and humid place, not keeping it clean and many other things cause rust on your electric chainsaw. | When an electric chainsaw catches rust, you must take good care of it to remove the rust from the machine. To remove rust properly, you must clean out your machine thoroughly and take the necessary steps. Clean the machine and oil it up properly to remove and take off the rust from your machine and you will have a clean machine in no time. |
Broken chain | The chain of an electric chainsaw can break due to many reasons. One of the main reasons would be working in a harsh environment without taking good care of your electric chainsaw. The chain can loosen because of this. | When something like this happens, you don’t have a choice but to go out and buy a new one. I would say it is much better to just buy a new one than to waste your effort on trying to fix it. |
Damaged engine | The engine is a vital component of your electric chainsaw. It can be damaged in many ways. The most common reason for a damaged engine is using improper lubricants. The lubricant dries up and creates damaging particles in the engine. | The engine must always be clean. If you do not clean your machine and especially the engine then you will notice lost efficiency in your machine. That is why you should always keep your machine clean. |
Damaged bar | The bar can get damaged while working in a harsh environment. The damage can be severe. | Use the machine properly and also use proper safety equipment. |
Final Remarks
To sum up this entire blog post, I would say that your electric chainsaw is bound to face unexpected damage once in a while in its lifetime. That is a very common thing with these sensitive and fragile machines. You must always be very careful while using this machine. You must always take proper care of your tool and always keep it away from harm.
Great video demonstrations, it really helps understand the process better!
Thank you, Melanie! I’m glad the video demonstrations were helpful. Make sure to properly maintain your electric chainsaw to keep it efficient and long-lasting. Happy sawing!
I never thought about dismantling the chain, great advice!
Thank you, Nicole! I appreciate your feedback on dismantling the chain. It’s an important step in maintaining an electric chainsaw properly. Keep up the good work!
Very informative article, thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much, Jane! I’m glad you found the article informative. Proper maintenance is key to keeping your electric chainsaw in top condition for a long time. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
I never considered cleaning the carburetor, thanks for the heads up!
Thank you for your comment, Gertrude! I’m glad you found the information on cleaning the carburetor helpful. Proper maintenance is key to keeping your electric chainsaw efficient. Happy sawing!
Is there a specific temperature range for storing an electric chainsaw?
Thank you for your question, Benjamin. To properly store an electric chainsaw, ensure it is in a clean, well-ventilated place, maintain the wiring, clean the oil level window, guide bar, chain, and other parts regularly. Proper maintenance is key to longevity.
Can I use any type of lubricant for my electric chainsaw?
Yes, use only the recommended chain lubricant for your electric chainsaw to ensure optimal performance and longevity. Avoid using any other lubricants as they may damage the machine.
Great tips on maintaining an electric chainsaw!
Thank you, Tracey! Glad you found the tips helpful for maintaining your electric chainsaw. Happy sawing!
Do you have to clean the spark arrestor often?
Yes, regular cleaning of the spark arrestor is essential for the efficient functioning of your electric chainsaw. Proper maintenance is key to extending the life of your machine.
I feel more confident in maintaining my electric chainsaw after reading this article.
Thank you for your feedback, Ana! I’m glad to hear that you feel more confident in maintaining your electric chainsaw. Remember, proper maintenance is key to ensuring your machine’s longevity and efficiency. Happy sawing!
Can you recommend a brand of bar chain oil for electric chainsaws?
Hi Camila! I recommend using a high-quality bar chain oil specifically designed for electric chainsaws to ensure optimal performance and longevity. Proper maintenance is key!
I didn’t know you had to clean the oil level window, thanks for the information!
Thank you Marvin! I’m glad you found the information on cleaning the oil level window helpful. Proper maintenance is key to keeping your electric chainsaw in good condition for a long time.
The tips on protecting the chainsaw from rust are very helpful.
Thank you, Tristan! I’m glad you found the tips helpful in protecting your chainsaw from rust. Proper maintenance is key to ensuring the longevity and efficiency of your machine. Keep up the good work!
What are the signs that my electric chainsaw needs maintenance?
Emily, the signs that your electric chainsaw needs maintenance include damage caused by hitting nails, rocks, or dirt, as well as rust and worn-out blades. Regular cleaning and proper storage will help maintain its efficiency.
How often should I check the internal wiring of my electric chainsaw?
Hello Ramon, it is recommended to check the internal wiring of your electric chainsaw at least once a month to prevent any potential issues. Regular maintenance is key to ensuring the efficiency and longevity of your machine.
This article has everything one needs to know about maintaining an electric chainsaw.
Thank you for your feedback, Martha! I’m glad you found the information on maintaining an electric chainsaw helpful. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out. Happy sawing!
How do you know if the chain tension of the chainsaw needs adjustment?
To adjust chain tension on your chainsaw, check if the chain hangs out of the bar groove. Turn tensioning screws clockwise until the guide bar tip can be lifted slightly. Proper maintenance is key.
Is it okay to store the chainsaw in a shed or does it have to be indoors?
“It’s best to store your chainsaw indoors to prevent damage from environmental factors. Follow the maintenance tips mentioned to ensure its longevity and efficiency. Thanks for your question, Paula!”
I appreciate the emphasis on proper storage of the chainsaw.
Thank you, Jared! Proper storage is key to maintaining the efficiency of your chainsaw. I hope these tips help you keep your tool in top condition for a long time.
Thank you for the detailed explanation on how to clean the chainsaw!
Thank you for the positive feedback, Catherine! I’m glad you found the detailed explanation helpful in maintaining your chainsaw. Happy cutting!
How often should I clean the air filter of my electric chainsaw?
Regularly cleaning the air filter of your electric chainsaw is essential for maintaining its efficiency. It’s recommended to clean it after every few uses to prevent any damage to the machine.