Chainsaw storage question

[DelanoJoe]

Again I ask you guys because I've learned a lot here and would rather be safe than sorry - I was told that when I'm done using the saw for the season (stored for more than 4 months), I should empty all gas out and start up the saw and run it dry. I've used other small engine component/tools and have been told not to run them dry because of drying out diaphrams in carbs etc. In those cases they said to use gas conditioners. I've also heard gas conditioners don't work.

Opionions, thoughts, do's and don'ts?

Thanks

 

[Lawn Masters]

put some oil in the cylinder to keep the piston and cyl coated in something so it wont seize from sitting. I've seen that once or twice. its never a good idea to let a saw sit for a month or more with fuel in the tank. it tends to gum up, an become a nice smelly mess in there.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Do a search on here for "storage." This has been talked about at length many times.

Jeff

 

[Lakeside53]

put some oil in the cylinder to keep the piston and cyl coated in something so it wont seize from sitting. I've seen that once or twice. its never a good idea to let a saw sit for a month or more with fuel in the tank. it tends to gum up, an become a nice smelly mess in there.

It's not required and probably detrimental to put oil in the cylinder. Unless you have an old saw, there are no steel or cast iron bores, so nothing rusts. The oil from the mix is all that required to keep the system lighly coated. A minute of two idling at the end of the cutting, then dump the gas, start again and idle to quit. Store for years this way.

 

[Mr_Brushcutter]

I put 4 stroke oil in the cylinders of all our 4 stroke kit before putting them into storage. I can't rember where i read it but it said it was a good idea to put some 2 stroke oil down the cylinder before putting your 2 stroke machine into storage.

Drain the tank of fuel. Make sure you drain the chain oil especially if its a bio oil since they decay in about 6 months.

 

[jokers]

put some oil in the cylinder to keep the piston and cyl coated in something so it wont seize from sitting. I've seen that once or twice.

I can't rember where i read it but it said it was a good idea to put some 2 stroke oil down the cylinder before putting your 2 stroke machine into storage.

Absoulutely don`t do this!

Where is the oil going to end up? In the intake and in the base where large quantities of oil are not supposed to exist.

If getting oil into the cylinder was a good idea, fogging through the intake as the engine was running would be the answer.

Russ

 

[Al Smith]

They have some stuff at marinas they spray in the outboards for storage.It's called misting or fogging oil.My dear old pappy used to spray his old Evinrudes with it at the end of boating season.I've never used it on a saw but it should work.

 

[2Coilinveins]

http://www.pennzoil.com/products/marine/fogging_oil.html

That's the stuff I use in my generator and other 4 stroke stuff. I'm finding that Stabil isn't nearly as effective as the bottle claims, so I run everything(2 or 4 stroke) except the generator dry now. The generator gets stored with 100LL in it so it's always ready to go RFN.

 

[Lawn Masters]

MY mistake, sorry bout that. wouldnt be the first, nor the last time I say something wrong, I'm sure.

 

[jokers]

Everyone makes mistakes Lawn Master. Thanks for being man enough to own up to it.

Russ

 

[asb151]

Every year I winterize my 3 saws, Corvette, Harley Davidson, weed trimmer, and 2 lawn mowers. I fill each tank with gas and appropriate amount of stabilizer. I run the stabilizer through each motor. I then try and start each one at least twice during the 4 months storage period. The Vette and Harley maybe 3 or 4 times. I'll let them warm up to the normal operating temperature. This may not be the best process but I have been doing it for about 15 years with no problems whatsoever.
Fogging an engine seems to be popular in marine applications. From what I have read fogging is only really required for long storage periods. 12 months or longer. Since I start everything regularly I have never bothered to fog any engine.

 

[cbfarmall]

Not exactly relevent to this topic, but the other I got to see firsthand how old gas can damage an engine. Cub Cadet was in for some hydrostat work. Previous owner had quit using it some time ago due to a broken rear-end. Anyway, the gas sat in the tank for a long time. Instead of being dumped out, fresh gas was added to the old stuff. Mower was started and ran fine for a day. Let it sit overnight, and wouldn't start the next day. Started to troubleshoot, found it wasn't sucking air through the intake and had no compression. Pulled the valve covers, found 1 bent pushrod, 2 bent rocker arms and 2 stuck intake valves. Pulled the heads and one valve was cracked through (but not separated). Fortunately, the pistons were not damaged and I still have to check the condition of the heads. In the end, it'll need 2 valves, 2 pushrods, 2 rocker arms and gaskets.

Conclusion: old gas had varnished, got loosened by the fresh gas, and glued the intake valves to their guides.

Lesson learned: Never use old gas.

 

[bvaught]

A few months back light plane maintenance did an article on corrosion in airplane engines and different types of oils ability to prevent corrosion. The tests showed that 50 weight oils that did not have corrosion inhibitors added to them protected engine parts from corrosion for a total of 24 hours. Oils with corrosion inhibitors protected engine parts for nearly a month.

You may be asking how this has revelance to a saw engine. The fundamentals are the same. I speculate that most 2 stroke oils have a corrosion inhibitor added and that you might get a whole month of protection before corrosion sets in.

Some of you might be saying "but our cylinders are nickel plated and dont rust". And to that I reply, every metal except gold corrodes dont fool yourself into thinking your saw will last forever while being stored in that hot humid shed out back.

 

[West Texas]

They say you should run the car Air Conditioner periodically in the winter, to keep the 'seals' tight, etc. in the compressor. I try the same thing with my saws, weedeater and power wash. I run them throughout the year; good for them and me too. Once you retire, you have to avoid being 'placed on the shelf' and forgotten for months at a time.

 

[jokers]

Some of you might be saying "but our cylinders are nickel plated and dont rust". And to that I reply, every metal except gold corrodes dont fool yourself into thinking your saw will last forever while being stored in that hot humid shed out back.

Corrosion to any appreciable extent is a non-issue with chainsaw cylinders. I don`t argue that some corrosion is taking place, what I don`t agree with is that it`s a real world issue for 99 out of a hundred people. The rings can rust but the oil used to coat them can also gum them up. Which is worse, some nearly immeasurable cylinder wall erosion or a stuck ring?

If you would say that my scenario of a stuck ring due to gummed oil is uncommon, I would agree, about as unsual as appreciable cylinder wall damage from corrosion/erosion. Yeah, it could happen.

Russ

 

[jokers]

They say you should run the car Air Conditioner periodically in the winter, to keep the 'seals' tight, etc. in the compressor.

Hi West Texas,

It`s my understanding that the seals are kept tight by exposure to the oil and seal conditioner present in it, which pools in the low points of the system during long periods of inactivity. If allowed to dry out, the seal will actually shrink. The same is of course true for engines as you have noted.

Seals surrounding rotational parts can also be deformed by the "at rest" position of the rotational component if the component is static long enough. Another good reason to run whatever we may be speaking of, exercise those seals! It`s impossible to build anything to run that is equally adept at sitting unused.

Russ

 

[Lakeside53]

Corrosion to any appreciable extent is a non-issue with chainsaw cylinders. I don`t argue that some corrosion is taking place, what I don`t agree with is that it`s a real world issue for 99 out of a hundred people. The rings can rust but the oil used to coat them can also gum them up. Which is worse, some nearly immeasurable cylinder wall erosion or a stuck ring?

If you would say that my scenario of a stuck ring due to gummed oil is uncommon, I would agree, about as unsual as appreciable cylinder wall damage from corrosion/erosion. Yeah, it could happen.

Russ

I'm with you Jokers!

... and it's not nickel, it's a Nickel-silicon-carbide alloy. About a bullet-proof as you can get... Dump the cylinder in enough acid - all you'll have left is the nikersil lining, looking like new.

 

[bvaught]

Corrosion to any appreciable extent is a non-issue with chainsaw cylinders. I don`t argue that some corrosion is taking place, what I don`t agree with is that it`s a real world issue for 99 out of a hundred people. The rings can rust but the oil used to coat them can also gum them up. Which is worse, some nearly immeasurable cylinder wall erosion or a stuck ring?

If you would say that my scenario of a stuck ring due to gummed oil is uncommon, I would agree, about as unsual as appreciable cylinder wall damage from corrosion/erosion. Yeah, it could happen.

Russ

Well said Jokers.

I try to treat my toys (chainsaw, motorcycle, airplanes) like kings. I want them performing trouble free for as long as practical. Storing my toys in an air conditioned, low humidity environment is just a habit I have gotten into.

In addition to decreasing the "insignificant cylinder corrosion" I also benefit from lower corrosion on all of the other chainsaw parts. In the stable temperatures I dont get water in my fuel due to condensation. There are probable a dozen other "little benefits" from storing the saw inside that help me sleep at night.

 

[MotoBoyMatt]

They say you should run the car Air Conditioner periodically in the winter, to keep the 'seals' tight, etc. in the compressor.

A cars Air Conditioning compressor is engaged whenever the "Defrost" mode is selected. So the A/C is already being run periodically, if not daily, during the winter.

 

[DelanoJoe]

Again, never disappointed with the great advice I get here. Sorry I haven't responded, but my son (8 year old) is in the hospital and have had to focus my time on what is important. I live in cold weather and will store my saw inside, so I feel with the advice given here, I should be OK. I'll properly prep it and run the gas dry...

Thanks guys,

Joe