# You guys clean your chains? How?



## coen9 (Apr 1, 2010)

So I recently bought a new Stihl saw and read the manual cover to cover like a good new owner (yes, I'm noob, see my other post "I seek your wisdom" if you're interested), and in the manual in numerous places they say to "clean the chain." Uh, how exactly?....and with what? Do you all clean your chains? How often?

My first thought was, how the hell am I gonna get all the crap that accumulates on it... off of it...and do I really have to? My first guess was some solvent, a rag, and a wire-bristled toothbrush? However, that sounds like a royal pain in the ass.

Turns out that if you google it, some sites say to soak it in an ammonia solution?

What do you pro's do?

Thanks for reading.


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## wigglesworth (Apr 1, 2010)

coen9 said:


> So I recently bought a new Stihl saw and read the manual cover to cover like a good new owner (yes, I'm noob, see my other post "I seek your wisdom" if you're interested), and in the manual in numerous places they say to "clean the chain." Uh, how exactly?....and with what? Do you all clean your chains? How often?
> 
> My first thought was, how the hell am I gonna get all the crap that accumulates on it... off of it...and do I really have to? My first guess was some solvent, a rag, and a wire-bristled toothbrush? However, that sounds like a royal pain in the ass.
> 
> ...




I cut wood with mine  Seriously though, The only time I clean them is when I take them to the shop to do a serious sharpening along with setting the rakers, I drop them in the parts washer full of mineral spirits and then blast them with compressed air. Works for me.


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## BuddhaKat (Apr 1, 2010)

They're self cleaning when you apply just the right amount of cutting pressure at just the right RPM on the saw.


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## coen9 (Apr 1, 2010)

So, NO and ONLY OCCASIONALLY so far.

Stupid manual.


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## keith811 (Apr 1, 2010)

this is what I do. if my chain looks dirty at the end of the day I clean it. lets say I am cutting something with alot of sap and it's warm maybe a pine of some sort. that crap sticks to the bar. a good solvent and a brass bristle brush and the cain is clean in no time at all. I just pour the solvent (mineral spirits) in an old baking pan that I use for cleaning parts and let soak while I have a beer. Then I lay it on the work bench and quickly brush with the bristle brush on each side then rinse in the solvent. Takes 5 to ten minutes depending on how many beers I drink while I'm letting it soak. It's not a bad idea to oil the chain after you do this. Some people even soak the chains in oil after cleaning. I don't but it sounds like a good idea.


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## coen9 (Apr 1, 2010)

keith811 said:


> this is what I do. if my chain looks dirty at the end of the day I clean it. lets say I am cutting something with alot of sap and it's warm maybe a pine of some sort. that crap sticks to the bar. a good solvent and a brass bristle brush and the cain is clean in no time at all. I just pour the solvent (mineral spirits) in an old baking pan that I use for cleaning parts and let soak while I have a beer. Then I lay it on the work bench and quickly brush with the bristle brush on each side then rinse in the solvent. Takes 5 to ten minutes depending on how many beers I drink while I'm letting it soak. It's not a bad idea to oil the chain after you do this. Some people even soak the chains in oil after cleaning. I don't but it sounds like a good idea.



aha! A cleaner.

Yea, almost ALL I'm doing is bucking downed pine...over...and over...and over.

So, mineral spirits huh? Not ammonia.

Stupid manual AND stupid internet


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## keith811 (Apr 1, 2010)

coen9 said:


> aha! A cleaner.
> 
> Yea, almost ALL I'm doing is bucking downed pine...over...and over...and over.
> 
> ...



ammonia would work spirits just work faster and give you a little buzz while your cleaning LOL


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## treeoperations (Apr 1, 2010)

clean the bar, ##### the chain just keep it sharp and go cut wood


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## arbor pro (Apr 1, 2010)

I only sharpen chains once or twice a year. I just keep a huge stockpile of them on hand during the working season and then clean and sharpen them during the winter. While sitting in the shop for months on hand, sometimes a chain will stiffen up with moisture or sap on it and require cleaning. I usually just clean all my chains (60 or so at a time) in a 5-gallon bucket.

I use a 'simply green' cleaner that I buy from a farm and fleet store in gallon jugs. costs about $10 for a jug. I soak the chains overnight in hot water and the right dillution of the cleaner and then dunk them in bar oil before hanging them up to drip off the excess oil. By the time the chains drip dry, they look shiny and clean and are ready for sharpening. 

For storage of the sharpened chains, I put them in baggies and write the bar size on the baggie in permanent marker. I can then quickly grab baggies and throw them in a tote bag along with saw maintenance tools and parts for quick retrieval on the jobsite.


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## KD57 (Apr 1, 2010)

The only time I tried to clean one was when I had to drop a mimosa tree. That sap gunked it up real bad, I could not find anything to clean it, finally just tossed it and put a new one on. I will never cut another mimosa tree.

If I am going to do a major sharpening, I blow it off w/ the air compressor.


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## crashagn (Apr 1, 2010)

Just cleaned up the chains on all 3 saws. Had a whole bunch of glued on muck on the side of them. Put saw in vise and used a round wire wheel in the drill and shined them up. Brushed up the cutters and checked the rakers. Took chain off and compressed air everything off, then checked the bars and cleaned the saws up. I dont like using cleaners and stuff. The only thing ill use is wd-40 or a tub of oil if something needs to be soaked


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## ozzy42 (Apr 1, 2010)

I clean the bar only .
The chain will clean itself of sap.

Exception to the above.I will rinse a chain with water,and then oil it up real good, if it was stuck in the sand,right after I curse the idiot who got it in the dirt.Sand will destroy the cutters, bar and sprocket .


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## stevohut (Apr 1, 2010)

ozzy42 said:


> I clean the bar only .
> The chain will clean itself of sap.
> 
> Exception to the above.I will rinse a chain with water,and then oil it up real good, if it was stuck in the sand,right after I curse the idiot who got it in the dirt.Sand will destroy the cutters, bar and sprocket .



Don't use water, use only mineral or petrol based solvents. Blow the chain dry with air and submerge the chain in oil to re lubricate and prevent rust. Water will have no effect on petrol based bar lube as it is not water soluable. Diesel and or kerosene is a good choice because not only is it a good solvent but it has a high level of lubricity which in itself is an excellent rust preventitive


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## gwiley (Apr 1, 2010)

*April fools?*

Please tell me you guys are joking. Does anyone REALLY clean their chains? I have never cleaned mine, after decades of saw ownership! I cut lots of pine (among other types of wood) but I have never felt any need to clean the chain. I sharpen after every tank of fuel, clean the bar grooves very infrequently, but never, ever bother with the chain. That little sucker is moving so fast and engaging so much wood I just can't imagine anything that would not be removed through friction with the wood.

Seriously, what would the point be for cleaning a chain?


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## tree md (Apr 1, 2010)

No, I don't clean my chains. What I will do is disinfect them along with my hand saw with mineral spirits after I prune Oaks or Elms so I don't spread disease.

Other than that I just file and grind them as necessary.


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## ozzy42 (Apr 1, 2010)

gwiley said:


> Please tell me you guys are joking. Does anyone REALLY clean their chains? I have never cleaned mine, after decades of saw ownership! I cut lots of pine (among other types of wood) but I have never felt any need to clean the chain. I sharpen after every tank of fuel, clean the bar grooves very infrequently, but never, ever bother with the chain. That little sucker is moving so fast and engaging so much wood I just can't imagine anything that would not be removed through friction with the wood.
> 
> Seriously, what would the point be for cleaning a chain?




:agree2:Like I said the only exception would be to rinse sand off of one.


ozzy42 said:


> I clean the bar only .
> The chain will clean itself of sap.
> 
> Exception to the above.I will rinse a chain with water,and then oil it up real good, if it was stuck in the sand,right after I curse the idiot who got it in the dirt.Sand will destroy the cutters, bar and sprocket .










stevohut said:


> Don't use water, use only mineral or petrol based solvents. Blow the chain dry with air and submerge the chain in oil to re lubricate and prevent rust. Water will have no effect on petrol based bar lube as it is not water soluable. Diesel and or kerosene is a good choice because not only is it a good solvent but it has a high level of lubricity which in itself is an excellent rust preventitive



Water is one of the best cleaning fluids of all time .I am talking about rinsing sand .
Cleaned many a racing engine block with lots of water,then blow dry,then brake clean ,then finally WD-40


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## treemandan (Apr 1, 2010)

I take mine down to the Korean dry cleaner in town where they are cleaned using only organic cleaning detergents.
What? Did somebody allready make that joke?


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## Cedarkerf (Apr 1, 2010)

gwiley said:


> Please tell me you guys are joking. Does anyone REALLY clean their chains? I have never cleaned mine, after decades of saw ownership! I cut lots of pine (among other types of wood) but I have never felt any need to clean the chain. I sharpen after every tank of fuel, clean the bar grooves very infrequently, but never, ever bother with the chain. That little sucker is moving so fast and engaging so much wood I just can't imagine anything that would not be removed through friction with the wood.
> 
> Seriously, what would the point be for cleaning a chain?



Think about it there have actually been threads for best buffing compound and wax for plasic so your saw looks better than new,
Sometimes chains do need cleaned like with some gooey pines but usually clean wood will make a clean chain. I have raely ever cleaned chains


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## ozzy42 (Apr 1, 2010)

treemandan said:


> I take mine down to the Korean dry cleaner in town where they are cleaned using only organic cleaning detergents.
> What? Did somebody allready make that joke?



:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


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## tree md (Apr 1, 2010)

No ticky no laundry!


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## indiansprings (Apr 1, 2010)

Never have "cleaned" a chain, the wood does it for me. I have however left chains laying in the back of the trailer for a couple of months only to find them rusted up. Then they go in a bucket of diesel to soak for a week then I pull them out wipe them off and kroil them. Then wood finishes cleaning them up!


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## arbor pro (Apr 1, 2010)

gwiley said:


> Please tell me you guys are joking. Does anyone REALLY clean their chains? I have never cleaned mine, after decades of saw ownership! I cut lots of pine (among other types of wood) but I have never felt any need to clean the chain. I sharpen after every tank of fuel, clean the bar grooves very infrequently, but never, ever bother with the chain. That little sucker is moving so fast and engaging so much wood I just can't imagine anything that would not be removed through friction with the wood.
> 
> Seriously, what would the point be for cleaning a chain?



Like I said in my earlier post - I only sharpen chains once a year. If i use one in may, it sits in the shop until January or december waiting to get sharpened. Sometimes, the combination of water, sap and oil on the chain gets it all stiff and greasy and it works better for me to clean them before I use my stihl grinder to sharpen them. When you're doing 60-80 chains at a time, it's nice to have clean ones to work with before you put them back on the hook or into baggies for the next use.

It takes little to no effort to clean them and it beats trying to fight a stiff chain. If you were resharpening chains on a regular basis and reusing them on a regular basis, I would agree that cleaning is probably not necessary; however, if storing them for any period of time, the do tend to get gummed up and stiff and cleaning gets all that crap off of them.


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## Terry L (Apr 19, 2010)

*Cleaning chains?*

I have cleaned one chain in thousands of sharpenings for myself and others. On that chain I cut some gooey wood/pitch combination that should have been made into glue. I used solvent. The main thing is to not store chains in snow or rain where they will rust up over time. The cleaning is a waste of time. Scraping the pitch off of bars is useful and makes them slide through the wood easier.


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## beastmaster (Apr 19, 2010)

I like to use a mild scented anti-bacterial soap, I follow this with a thin coating of high gloss organic bee waxs. Then using a dremel with a sheep hair buffing wheel I lightly go over the whole chain tell I have a dull shine(if its to shiny it can blind you in the tree, check the manual)
But thats just me and I do live in Calif. I'm joking. Or am I? I did know a guy who would cut a piece of wood and at the same time run the hose over the chain and it would come out really clean. Tell the next cut anyway. If you cut palms it not a bad idea to run the hose on the inside of saw to remove any fiber, as the acid in it will eat the aluminum. But I doubt it,ll eat the chain. But
thats why you need to properly wax it each day. Beast.


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## treemandan (Apr 19, 2010)

You actually read the manual? Wow!


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## 2FatGuys (Apr 19, 2010)

treemandan said:


> You actually read the manual? Wow!



A manual? You mean that bar oil soaked folded over booklet thing? Wow! It's got something worth readin in it?


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## beastmaster (Apr 19, 2010)

beastmaster said:


> (if its to shiny it can blind you in the tree, check the manual)
> 
> Boy,I know you guys didn't read the manual.


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## briggstwiggs (Apr 22, 2010)

run your saw through a piece of a palm tree to clean it. I dont do that unless its the end of the day and i notice that it is gumming up on the top of the chain due to heat from cutting big wood. I usually only do it on the big saws if the chain is new and could use a sharpening before the next job otherwise a waste of time cause it will clean its self once it builds up enough. the palm really works though. for all you guys that do clean your chains I will send you a piece of palm tree for $30.00 plus shipping however big you want.


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## ozzy42 (Apr 22, 2010)

briggstwiggs said:


> for all you guys that do clean your chains I will send you a piece of palm tree for $30.00 plus shipping however big you want.



:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


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## Dave (Apr 23, 2010)

OK, three thoughts-
1- I appreciate the date the thread was started.
2- Wood cleans dirty chains. Wood cleans rusty chains. Excepting the aforementioned disinfecting, if you have time to clean your chains, you have too much leisure time. Get a real job.
3- The scene from The Wizard of Oz comes to mind where the Tin Man is getting scrubbed with a giant wire wheel.


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## millbilly (May 2, 2010)

After reading your cleaning method, I broke out laughing so hard my wife had to see what was the matter. I dont laugh much ,but your method was just cracked me up.

I used to use the Chinese laundry mat, but found that to be expensive, now i clean my chains by putting the entire chain saw in the back of my stake body truck and go to the automatic car wash, cheaper and I get the truck washed at the same time. Dont forget to get the HOT wax!


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## komatsuvarna (May 2, 2010)

I mix my bar oil 32:1 with dawn dishwashing liguid. You get that self cleaning action.


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