how badly does ice and snow dull a chain?

[Bad E]

It does not to me seem to dull my chain to much. I am interested in hearing from those who cut more than I do.I'm talking ice and snow on top or under logs or fallen trees.

 

[retoocs555]

Dirty, muddy snow and ice will dull a chain quick.

Pure, ice or clean snow has little to no effect.

Thats been my experience.

 

[Newfie]

What Scott said.

 

[Bad E]

What Scott said.

That has been my observation as well.

 

[max2cam]

Clean snow helps cool the bar too.

 

[ShoerFast]

Bad E

We have cut lake ice for years for spearing fish, my Dad even has an old Husky Rancher that he had given up on the oiler that hasent seen anything but ice.
I gave that chain a good 30 - 30 deg. touch-up maybe about .025 deepth gauges, years ago and cant rember having to resharpen it!

It cuts only ice, maybe 15 years now and is happy (the ice lubes the chain)

Kevin

 

[Tree Sling'r]

Clean snow helps cool the bar too.

It will also eat the grease in your bearings and your tip will soon blow. It always seems to happen right after I grease it again - imagine that.

 

[Bad E]

It will also eat the grease in your bearings and your tip will soon blow. It always seems to happen right after I grease it again - imagine that.

On dealer reccomendation I no longer grease my bar sprocket tip. Oiler is turned up to highest setting. It seems to work well that way.My last bar is still going on my Pioneer P39 after many, many cutting seasons.And it has seen alot of snow and ice.

 

[Tree Sling'r]

On dealer reccomendation I no longer grease my bar sprocket tip. Oiler is turned up to highest setting. It seems to work well that way.My last bar is still going on my Pioneer P39 after many, many cutting seasons.And it has seen alot of snow and ice.

I don't either -anymore. It took awhile to figure it out though.

 

[Bad E]

I don't either -anymore. It took awhile to figure it out though.

Me too.

 

[Oregon Engineer]

It will also eat the grease in your bearings and your tip will soon blow. It always seems to happen right after I grease it again - imagine that.

Grease is a particle magnet! Small particles of sand and dirt will stick to grease. The outside layer of grease covering the grease hole often packs up with the small particles. When you add grease to the bar the outer layer of sand/dirt packed grease is forced into the bearings. You all know what sand will do to bearings.

Solution: If you grease your bars tips, pick out the outer layer of grease before adding additional grease.

 

[4x4American]

I usually spray out the sprocket nose with brake clean to get all the crud out then I spray a good bit of WD-40 whilst spinning the sprocket round and round to let it get in there nice and deep like. havent had any problems with this flawless technique

 

[OntheLevel]

Good old post

Glad you dug up this old post 4x4. I've been greasing. But great point by Tree Sling'r.

Think I'll go w/ WD-40. I usually turn oiler up a bit anyway.

Adam

 

[4x4American]

Glad you dug up this old post 4x4. I've been greasing. But great point by Tree Sling'r.

Think I'll go w/ WD-40. I usually turn oiler up a bit anyway.

Adam

I enjoy digging up old posts, since the search bar on AS is less than helpful I usually type in what I want to search + arboristsite on the google search engine and it works way better. Beats having to start a thread on something that's already been discussed since I cant find anything on the AS search deal. A guy from work told me not to cut through the snow because it dulls the chain and I thought to myself, no way it does! Unless there's crud mixed with the snow. The helpful AS library confirmed my thoughts.

 

[bcorradi]

Bad E

We have cut lake ice for years for spearing fish, my Dad even has an old Husky Rancher that he had given up on the oiler that hasent seen anything but ice.
I gave that chain a good 30 - 30 deg. touch-up maybe about .025 deepth gauges, years ago and cant rember having to resharpen it!

It cuts only ice, maybe 15 years now and is happy (the ice lubes the chain)

Kevin

I agree with Kevin...I may be cutting clean ice or clean snow, but I don't see it do any cutter damage myself. Like Kevin, I have cut a spearhole in the ice many years and it didn't dull the chain ...and most of the firewood I cut is in deep snow and the snow doesn't do anything detrimental to the cutters either.

 

[Nitroman]

Dirty, muddy snow and ice will dull a chain quick.

Pure, ice or clean snow has little to no effect.

Thats been my experience.

This has been my experience as well.

 

[sachsmo]

Just like ice drill auger cutters.

Clean ice/snow good care, they will last a lifetime.

 

[mikefunaro]

I was once involved in cutting a snow and ice sculpture. We cut with some 346, 359s and a 395 for quite a while...pure clean snow no need to sharpen basically.