Storage in unheated shed

[mikefunaro]

Normally I store my saws in a reasonably dry basement/garage. Some things have changed and I have split some of my saws and now have some of them up here where I go to college. For the time being at least, I'm storing them in an unheated shed. It's mostly dry and has a roof, but its unheated and not insulated, so there will be large humidity swings.

Is there any long term impact of storage in ambient humidity? I imagine most pro saws don't get the pampered treatment mine have in the past. Do I have to worry about any sort of interior corrosion on the P&C? Should I start storing with a few drops of two stroke on the P&C.

I'm probably worrying to much, but let me know what you think and what you have experienced if you've stored L/T in an unheated/uninsulated area.

 

[billmartin]

The only thing I have heard about long term storage is keep em off the concrete. Learned that here and it only pertains to long times on it. Seems to corrode the magnesium in the cases... not good.

 

[StihlyinEly]

In winter I bring my saws from the unheated garage to the heated basement. Mostly because winter is when I tinker with the saws the most. Teardown, thorough cleaning, paint if needed, etc. So I'm all ears about leaving motors in unheated conditions when it gets to -40F or colder.

 

[mo239]

Am I the only one who cuddles at night with my saws? (Chain guards on, of course!)

 

[Mad Professor]

Keep them off the floor and put a locked chain through the handles and around a supporting beam.

 

[StihlyinEly]

Keep them off the floor and put a locked chain through the handles and around a supporting beam.

Well, -40F keeps the riffraff out.

 

[Urbicide]

Conventional "dino" 2 cycle oil is a better rust preventative than synthetic mix oil. Make sure that mud daubers can't get into the mufflers & plug them full of mud & larvae. I've seen vintage saws that were cleaned up years ago and left alone & vintage saws that were put up caked full of saw dust & bar oil. Guess which saws were better preserved?

 

[Flapjack23]

I'd have someone spray some engine fogging oil through the carb while you pull it over 5-6 times. Should get a good coat of oil throughout the whole internals. Make sure its empty of gas (sure that's done already).

Andy

 

[Taxmantoo]

If you're really worried about condensation/mice/mud daubers, you can take off the bars and seal the powerheads in garbage bags or Rubbermaid totes with the silica gel packets they market for gun safes.

 

[heimannm]

I keep most of my "work" saws in an unheated garage all winter, here in Iowa we can get some cold weather, lots of temperature swings, and of course some snow always blows in through some gaps.

I make a point to try and start each saw every month or so and make sure the snow hasn't accumulated on the stored saws. I do normally clean them up with compressed air and a brush before I put them away but they normally have a reasonable film of oil on them from the process.

When I run them before putting them in storage I try to get a good coat of oil on the chain, then choke them to kill them to add a little extra protection in the crank case. Finally, I try to remember and pull them over to insure they are coming up on compression to insure the ports are closed, helps keep unwanted stuff out of there. I try to keep them covered with an oily terry cloth cover. I would resist plastic bags, etc. as they always tend to cause condensation inside the bags in our climate.

The saws I have primarily for display in the collection get a similar treatment, except that I run them out of fuel and try to catch them just as they go empty and "flood" the engine out with a healthy dose of 3 in 1 starting fluid with lube. I normally will fog the inside of the fuel tank with the 3 in 1 as well just to add a little extra protection.

Mark