Simple question - chainsaw bar grease gun

[R/C Pilot]

It's my understanding that STIHL quit puting a grease hole in their bar tips is that the hole itself let dirt or grit into the bearing and caused most bar tip failures. For many years I greased my bar tips with out problems but always cleaned the grease hole as not to drive dirt in with the grease. The bars I've been running for many years now do not have a grease hole and I have never had a problem being lubed only by bar oil. I do run my bar oilers turned up.

 

[Fish]

The grease hole is a non-issue and has been for a long time!!!!!

 

[alderman]

I grease the tips with the holes before they go on the shelf. I don't know if it is needed but out here in the PNW it is so damp everything draws moisture.

 

[Marvinlee]

Sometimes, old habits are difficult to change?

Stihl does't make those holes, and I guess there is a reason for that?

Personally, i haven't greased bar tips in almost 10 years, and never had a nose sprocket fail. :msp_smile:

Manufacturers seem of two minds on greasing the bar. Some of my chainsaws don't have a hole for sprocket greasing and others do. The Husqvarna 550XP came with a Windsor 16-inch bar and it has a grease hole on each side, but not opposite each others. I grease before every use on the unsubstantiated feeling that the anti-wear additives in the grease might help reduce wear on the bar edges. Strange that no objective research is available. The sprocket bearings themselves don't carry a high load, so the need to grease may not exist. But then, why would a company spend money on drill bits and drilling if it did not have a reason? Congratulations on continuing to use your chainsaw.

 

[workshop]

I've got one identical to it also. I watch when it starts getting low and use an automotive type gun to refill it. Gradually pulling the gun out as I fill it. Haven't had any problems with air pockets. The bars I have that are capable of being greased get grease. The one's that don't, I don't worry about. I figure if the manufacturer put the holes there then they want the tip greased.

 

[036Pro]

Grease if it has a hole, grease it with Synthetic grease, & grease when bar nose is hot! I haven't had any problems going by these rules! Thanks!

 

[ChainFinn]

I too, lube the tip before sticking it inside, everytime.

 

[ernurse]

bar greasing

I give the Husky/oregon bar a shot of grease everytime I fill up with gas just like the manual recommends. I think that if you grease it consitently it will force any dirt that may have entered through the hole out. I might be wasting money. just my .02

 

[Fish]

you would actually have to get out from behind the computer and go out and cut wood in order to wear one out niko.

They usually don't wear out as a result of sitting on the shelf.

ooowwww!!!!!!

 

[Philbert]

. . . now will someone that thinks bar oil gets to the bearings with the sprocket spinning and centrifugal forces slinging the oil away from the center where the bearing is???? How does bar oil get in there?????

Drizzles down between the inside faces of the bar and the sprocket. Thin space, but wide enough for oil.

Well, the Stihl bars I've had wore the rails out before the nose. . . I just wonder if I should give up lubricating or the certain brand blades or both?

It's my understanding that STIHL quit puting a grease hole in their bar tips is that the hole itself let dirt or grit into the bearing and caused most bar tip failures.

STIHL bars have additional spacers between the sprocket and inside faces of the bar - made of a very thin, stiff, shim-type metal. Even if you drilled a hole trough the bar in the right space, the grease would not reach the sprocket bearings.

The concerns that I have heard is that the grease mixes with saw dust and can form a 'dam' that blocks oil access to the bearings. If you never grease them, the oil reaches the bearings. If you regularly grease them, you will have clean lubrication. If you infrequently grease them, the bearings might get dry.

Philbert

 

[ramzilla]

Sometimes, old habits are difficult to change?

Stihl does't make those holes, and I guess there is a reason for that?

Personally, i haven't greased bar tips in almost 10 years, and never had a nose sprocket fail. :msp_smile:

I understand what you are saying but... new vehicles come with sealed hub bearings on them so does that mean you stop repacking and tightening the wheel bearings on an older car just because you can't on new ones. I would be curious to cut open an old style greasable sprocket and a new style sealed one just to see if there is a difference.

 

[Philbert]

I would be curious to cut open an old style greasable sprocket and a new style sealed one just to see if there is a difference.

It would be an interesting experiment - of course, you would have to control for age, wear, manufacturer quality, etc. Although, I am not sure that 'sealed' is the correct term to use, as that implies that it is packed with grease at the factory. As I understand, STIHL has not manufactured greasable bars for quite some time - maybe someone can correct me.

I think that a lot of nose sprockets wear out on the sprocket tips and rails before the bearings fail.

Philbert

 

[MCW]

It also depends a lot on what you're cutting. I was into some nasty, dirty stuff on the weekend with some Stihl Carbide on the 7900 and the 20" Tsumura had smoke pouring out the nose everywhere in some wood, even with ample bar oil flinging off the end. You won't see that in a lush, green, rainforest
I'm not saying a Stihl ES with sealed nose would have fared worse, but if you get a nose too hot and potentially carbonise some of the grease in the bearing there is no way to get fresh grease in without holes.

 

[splitpost]

I just drill and tap the sprocket end and fit a grease nipple,works a treat:msp_biggrin:

 

[ramzilla]

It would be an interesting experiment - of course, you would have to control for age, wear, manufacturer quality, etc. Although, I am not sure that 'sealed' is the correct term to use, as that implies that it is packed with grease at the factory.
Philbert

Man you are a word nit-picker aren't you. They actually do come greased from the factory with a clear lithium based grease to keep them from rusting or seizing while on they shelf(according to my stihl rep) And I said sealed because that is just what they are sealed up so you cannot grease them.

 

[Philbert]

Man you are a word nit-picker aren't you. They actually do come greased from the factory with a clear lithium based grease to keep them from rusting or seizing while on they shelf(according to my stihl rep) And I said sealed because that is just what they are sealed up so you cannot grease them.

Yeah, no problem with that. But sealed bearings imply that they are supplied with a lifetime of grease - these do get lubrication during use from the bar & chain oil, which I think is a source of some of the confusion with bar tip sprockets.

Philbert

 

[Fish]

I bought a brand new gmc s-15 back in 1988, and decided to test a theory. I never touched a grease fitting on that truck, kept the oil/air filter maintenance up on
the truck.

After it clicked over 200,000, I gave each fitting 2 squirts each.

Never had to replace a part on that truck that had a fitting, gave the truck away @ 360,000 miles or so.

In 2007, I worked at a Husky/Scag/ Dixie Chopper dealership, a customer brought his 10 month old Chopper with deck trouble, got it on the lift, the underside of the deck was greasy , the balls were falling out of the deck spindles.

The spindles had grease fittings, but the bearings were factory sealed. The blades were not bent bad at all.

I called the customer and asked about his problem, and I asked, do you do the greasing on the mower, He said, "Hell Yeah!!!! Every Day!!!!!".......

 

[splitpost]

I bought a brand new gmc s-15 back in 1988, and decided to test a theory. I never touched a grease fitting on that truck, kept the oil/air filter maintenance up on
the truck.

After it clicked over 200,000, I gave each fitting 2 squirts each.

Never had to replace a part on that truck that had a fitting, gave the truck away @ 360,000 miles or so.

In 2007, I worked at a Husky/Scag/ Dixie Chopper dealership, a customer brought his 10 month old Chopper with deck trouble, got it on the lift, the underside of the deck was greasy , the balls were falling out of the deck spindles.

The spindles had grease fittings, but the bearings were factory sealed. The blades were not bent bad at all.

I called the customer and asked about his problem, and I asked, do you do the greasing on the mower, He said, "Hell Yeah!!!! Every Day!!!!!".......

yeap and my john deere is the same,why put a grease nipple on a sealed item?all it does is hydraulic the bearings out

 

[greendohn]

My Total brand bar has a hole at the bar tip and reads,"Lube Often", so I do.

 

[Fish]

Yeah, chainsaw bars vs. sealed bearings.... Totally different animals. I was just throwing up some worthless minutia from my past that really doesn't mean
much.

Stihl had grease holes in their bars in the 1980s or so, and decided that they were a waste of time and energy.