I also have a waste oil furnace in the shop but I rarely use it today because maintenance is high on it. I's a stand alone 'Kleen Burn' and is plumbed to a 175 gallon waste oil tank. Worked well when new but now that it's over 10 years old, it keeps requiring expensive parts so it sits.
Saw chain cleaning?
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I suppose I am fortunate that I rarely have a need to cut a thriving tree. 99% of what I cut are snags, leaners, and deadfall. Predominantly aspen, but also lots of pine. I don't even know what a "dirty" chain looks like, thankfully.
You need to buy some drugstore readers... Pine, dead or alive especially, will load a loop with trash, it's the resinous nature of the wood and especially true if you run your chains past the point where the teeth are cutting effectively. Loads the bar groove as well btw.
WI_Hedgehog
You bought a WHAT???!!
Even on my oil conserving STIHLs the chains get dirty. That's the case for any chainsaw that's not a wall-hanger.
I think I have a clue....
almost all of our pine here has been beetle-killed years ago. In their slow death, these trees dry out and their is virtually no pitch or sap. None of any consequence anyway.
and my chains are rarely dull. and never dirty enough to spend a moment cleaning them. File, cut, repeat until I throw a tooth or two. Next chain, same.
More oil will keep the chain cleaner, obviously. All of my newer model saws are run wide open on oil, and sometimes I thin it a wee bit, depending on the oil. My older saws don't have that anemic oil output.
anyway, to assume that others' conditions are the same as yours is erroneous.
almost all of our pine here has been beetle-killed years ago. In their slow death, these trees dry out and their is virtually no pitch or sap. None of any consequence anyway.
and my chains are rarely dull. and never dirty enough to spend a moment cleaning them. File, cut, repeat until I throw a tooth or two. Next chain, same.
More oil will keep the chain cleaner, obviously. All of my newer model saws are run wide open on oil, and sometimes I thin it a wee bit, depending on the oil. My older saws don't have that anemic oil output.
anyway, to assume that others' conditions are the same as yours is erroneous.
Where is that point?
Ah, no it's not.
And you should not so obviously be a Stihl fanboi. It's unbecoming.
...and what is your point in that comment?
When I have a good pile of grungy stuff to hand wash i'll mix acetone or lacquer thinner with diesel to reduce the evaporation and fumes as well as reduce the aggressiveness of the spirits, once cleaned it gets dunked in a bucket of dawn/water and rinsed with clean water. After that for something like a chain it would get tossed into a gallon ziplock with some bulk oil I have, likely 30w then hung up.
Has anyone tried adding paraffin oil or adding melted paraffin was to acetone to use as a protective coating dip?
There are several highly refined versions of kerosene with very low odor available now as well but are kinda pricey at 15 bucks a gallon that i'd like to try cleaning with one day.
Has anyone tried adding paraffin oil or adding melted paraffin was to acetone to use as a protective coating dip?
There are several highly refined versions of kerosene with very low odor available now as well but are kinda pricey at 15 bucks a gallon that i'd like to try cleaning with one day.
Mostly I sharpen my customers loops and they are all grungy and dull as well and lots of them get relegated to the scrap can because they aren't worth grinding anyway. Why I use the heated ultrasonic cleaner with a lye water solution and rinse in warm water and grind and then they go in a tub of lightweight motor and back to my customers after draining off the excess oil. Do the same with my personal loops but I don't run them until stone dull. Once I observe any buildup on the heel of the teeth, off they come and on goes a sharp loop. Crap on cutters equals a clogged CBN wheel and I don't want that as they are expensive to purchase. I have bulk chain on hand if they want new loops, I always oblige.
Anyone, and I mean anyone, who has a clue does not bring their chains to anyone, and I mean anyone, to do the simple task of sharpening those chains. I'd have all my mounted chains sharpened before I could make it to any shop here. I don't even know if any shop within an hour and a half of here even sharpens chains. Maybe I'll ask someday. I certainly have never met anyone who takes chains to be sharpened, afaik. I worked closely with hundreds of sawhands for over 35 years. Let's just call them loggers. Yup. Hundreds. They, and me, just used a file in the field. Until there was nearly nothing left of the teeth, where, btw, a properly filed chain does its best work.
And you're the one who came off with the flippant comment about reading glasses, btw.
I just made an innocent comment about me having no need to clean chains because I experience no buildup whatsoever because of my normal cutting conditions. And I said I was thankful for that, because I know that cleaning up grimy chain of any kind is a pita. Then you got flippant. Sidecarflipper.
Regarding my Stihl fanboi comment; contributors lose all credibility when they exhibit a too strong preference for a brand. Which Brad Krause does. Salesman.
And you're the one who came off with the flippant comment about reading glasses, btw.
I just made an innocent comment about me having no need to clean chains because I experience no buildup whatsoever because of my normal cutting conditions. And I said I was thankful for that, because I know that cleaning up grimy chain of any kind is a pita. Then you got flippant. Sidecarflipper.
Regarding my Stihl fanboi comment; contributors lose all credibility when they exhibit a too strong preference for a brand. Which Brad Krause does. Salesman.
BS.
I rarely get dirty chains even with pine unless sap is flowing in sugar pines. Infact the only other thing that ever gums up my chain is spring cut hard maple when the sap is running. Those usually get soaked in pump gas. Nothing else works coming off the mill or the bucking saws. Going the try orange oil next year.
None of the refined spirits work. Tried regular and low voc last year or so ago. Did touch that milled maple sap. Gas and outside in the bucket with a lid. Likely mineral oil might work better with citrus oil mixed in.
If I ever get a sappy chain I think I will try butter. It works on the skin.
WI_Hedgehog
You bought a WHAT???!!
In most posts I've read on the subject people think STIHL doesn't oil enough, many replaced STIHL oilers to get higher output; I can't see my comments coming off as a sales pitch to those who want more oil, which seems to be "most people who comment on it."
My experience has been less oil = less mess inside the clutch housing cover and bar groove, but that does seem to depend on many factors. I turn down oilers when using STIHL oil as it's really thick and tacky which conserves oil and minimizes mess. I turn up oilers with thinner, less tacky oil and on high RPM saws that usually seems to work well, lots of oil on slow RPM saws it makes a woodchip-stew under the clutch housing cover.
I did run Mystik oil for the first time this weekend, it's comparatively affordable oil and works well.
Maybe it's that I don't run much oil and maple & oak resin eventually sticks to the cutters and bar. When I run a lot of oil fines and oil make a gooey mess and there's no resin adhesion, so perhaps switching from tacky STIHL oil to something thinner might sling off better and resolve that. What are you running for oil and how much?
WFO thin oil. Cheap as you can get but not drain oil. If your pulling chips there are few fines to worry about. I've cut enough dead ash in the past five years or more to see how my customers, working with their saw next to me, or others I'm watching goo-up the clutch housing and clog air filters in one tank of gas. Funny I don't have that problem cutting the same wood. That is when the file comes out and fines go away. You don't have all day to be clean things when your cutting wood on the clock in the forest or milling down slabs for lumber.
Here is some quality advice for you. We all "thought" we could sharpen a chain in the feild until you worked with a real pro who does nothing but burn fuel and sharpen cutters every tank or two possibly less. Most will stop half way through the second tank if needed and get after those cutters. Once you get this simple fact all the other stuff fades away. I watch these guys goffing around run off three tanks and literally show you how messed up the air filter is and the cutters tells. Go look at Massons chain or any other pro cutter and you will see race chain sharpness or off the grinder sharpness plus2. Ain't lieing man. Until you realize your chain sharpening skills suck compared to these guy you will not improve on round or square. They sharpen cutters by muscle memory, fact. I will never get there based on the fact they do this hundreds of times daily and we don't. It takes me three times as long for the same result. Twice more as long if you get your cutters dull. Four minutes verses sixteen minutes to touchup accurately. You/me/your neighbors sharp chain is dull to them.
Enjoy the pie they will always be serving more
Your theory on thick oil and using less is a fantasy. The wear you imparted to the bar, bar nose, rim and drum bearing wasn't worth the oil savings by dragging the chain around. No need to include the chain that will be stretched to the limits or beyond. It is disposable so once you destroy it it doesn't matter unless it had some cutters still there. The six or ten sharpening you might get is dozens to pros with an endless sharp filed loop. This is wear all your mess is coming from. Chip carries the oil away fines do not.
Stihls are stingy on oil. Anything from this century is the worst. WFO with a good pump and R HO pumps on long bars is the only way to go imho if your not running short bars and large rims. More drivers always requires more oil. 066/660 oil pumps are about done with a 28" bar imho. My 050 36" gets smoked on the mill with a stock 660 oil pump. 404 063 28" is fine. 375 050 28" bucking or milling is also fine. 32" 063 gets dry after ten seconds bucking or felling. You have to lift and wet the bar. 60cc and under are done with a 24" and already starving for oil.
Consider the fact I never run summer bar oil and prefer cannola now on the mill in any weather. Tackafier is all the oil needs for regular tree work. Thin oil moves faster unless you get your saw so hot it boils in the tank like me milling in the summer then it might get messy with a dull loop. Canola boils around 360°F in your tank off the bars studs. 660 R pump can wet a 42" milling on thin oil in warm weather or kept warm. Husky can wet a 50" with a stock pump in comparable 85cc plus saws in any weather. Echo and Mac just dump oil in the rail when adjusted according.
If your using 1-1 gas and oil your likely in the sweet spot to run a long bar. My small saws use half a tank of oil almost wide open. In the winter they run wide open on thin oil and 20" bars 8 pin rim. 7 pin puts out more oil with more rpms in extreme cold and pulls like a truck on those days. Air density adds power but the cold slows down the oil even more if you're not keeping the saw and the oil bottle warm. We don't live in Arizona or Texas so forget about thick oil or starving the bar by turning them down.
WI_Hedgehog
You bought a WHAT???!!
Thank you, that's sage advice and will be put to good use.WFO thin oil. Cheap as you can get but not drain oil. If your pulling chips there are few fines to worry about. I've cut enough dead ash in the past five years or more to see how my customers, working with their saw next to me, or others I'm watching goo-up the clutch housing and clog air filters in one tank of gas. Funny I don't have that problem cutting the same wood. That is when the file comes out and fines go away. You don't have all day to be clean things when your cutting wood on the clock in the forest or milling down slabs for lumber.
Here is some quality advice for you. We all "thought" we could sharpen a chain in the feild until you worked with a real pro who does nothing but burn fuel and sharpen cutters every tank or two possibly less. Most will stop half way through the second tank if needed and get after those cutters. Once you get this simple fact all the other stuff fades away. I watch these guys goffing around run off three tanks and literally show you how messed up the air filter is and the cutters tells. Go look at Massons chain or any other pro cutter and you will see race chain sharpness or off the grinder sharpness plus2. Ain't lieing man. Until you realize your chain sharpening skills suck compared to these guy you will not improve on round or square. They sharpen cutters by muscle memory, fact. I will never get there based on the fact they do this hundreds of times daily and we don't. It takes me three times as long for the same result. Twice more as long if you get your cutters dull. Four minutes verses sixteen minutes to touchup accurately. You/me/your neighbors sharp chain is dull to them.
Enjoy the pie they will always be serving more
Your theory on thick oil and using less is a fantasy. The wear you imparted to the bar, bar nose, rim and drum bearing wasn't worth the oil savings by dragging the chain around. No need to include the chain that will be stretched to the limits or beyond. It is disposable so once you destroy it it doesn't matter unless it had some cutters still there. The six or ten sharpening you might get is dozens to pros with an endless sharp filed loop. This is wear all your mess is coming from. Chip carries the oil away fines do not.
Stihls are stingy on oil. Anything from this century is the worst. WFO with a good pump and R HO pumps on long bars is the only way to go imho if your not running short bars and large rims. More drivers always requires more oil. 066/660 oil pumps are about done with a 28" bar imho. My 050 36" gets smoked on the mill with a stock 660 oil pump. 404 063 28" is fine. 375 050 28" bucking or milling is also fine. 32" 063 gets dry after ten seconds bucking or felling. You have to lift and wet the bar. 60cc and under are done with a 24" and already starving for oil.
Consider the fact I never run summer bar oil and prefer cannola now on the mill in any weather. Tackafier is all the oil needs for regular tree work. Thin oil moves faster unless you get your saw so hot it boils in the tank like me milling in the summer then it might get messy with a dull loop. Canola boils around 360°F in your tank off the bars studs. 660 R pump can wet a 42" milling on thin oil in warm weather or kept warm. Husky can wet a 50" with a stock pump in comparable 85cc plus saws in any weather. Echo and Mac just dump oil in the rail when adjusted according.
If your using 1-1 gas and oil your likely in the sweet spot to run a long bar. My small saws use half a tank of oil almost wide open. In the winter they run wide open on thin oil and 20" bars 8 pin rim. 7 pin puts out more oil with more rpms in extreme cold and pulls like a truck on those days. Air density adds power but the cold slows down the oil even more if you're not keeping the saw and the oil bottle warm. We don't live in Arizona or Texas so forget about thick oil or starving the bar by turning them down.
WI_Hedgehog
You bought a WHAT???!!
I clean chains to inspect them or put a new file on them, otherwise hand file in the field (unless they strike something, then it's faster to change chains).
I recently stopped putting chains in the ultrasonic cleaner, and also stopped using above room temperature cleaner, and now put them in a jar with the same cleaner as before, swirl, heat dry, and WD40 chains after cleaning. It's far faster and does a pretty good job.
The reason I changed is new Husky and Oregon chains rust up pretty quickly (to some degree at least). They might be using less nickel, or maybe the steel mix isn't as good, not sure, but they seem to rust up pretty fast/easy, and much less if at all with the new method. (Obviously if I'm buying the chains I'm not knocking them.)
My chains will get dirty and have fines because I cut windfalls and other dirty wood, some really bad. That's the nature of landscaping compared to logging, and why I don't square file.
I recently stopped putting chains in the ultrasonic cleaner, and also stopped using above room temperature cleaner, and now put them in a jar with the same cleaner as before, swirl, heat dry, and WD40 chains after cleaning. It's far faster and does a pretty good job.
The reason I changed is new Husky and Oregon chains rust up pretty quickly (to some degree at least). They might be using less nickel, or maybe the steel mix isn't as good, not sure, but they seem to rust up pretty fast/easy, and much less if at all with the new method. (Obviously if I'm buying the chains I'm not knocking them.)
My chains will get dirty and have fines because I cut windfalls and other dirty wood, some really bad. That's the nature of landscaping compared to logging, and why I don't square file.
brick_haus
ArboristSite Lurker
I use paint thinner in a coffee can. Soak it for a few, then rinse and spray with lubricant.
