To clean chainsaw chain

[lumberjackmoe]

I thought would ask the experts. Should one clean his chainsaw chains when one sharpens them?
I have been. First I soak the chain over night in a mixture of 1 cup of ammonia to 1 gallon of water. Remove chain and rinse in WD 40. Hang to dry. Then sharpen. Soak in oil over night, then hang to drip off excess oil.
The chains look and feel like new !
I am hopeing you folks have another way that I would love to hear about. The big question is, is it necessary ?

lumberjackmoe

 

[Gologit]

No. But I'll bet your chains look good.

If you're cutting wood that has a lot of sticky sap, or if your chain gets hot and the wood fries on the top of the tooth and the side links, you might want to go over it lightly with a wire brush attachment on a Dremel.

Other than that, as long as the chain retains it's freedom of movement, just run it.

 

[sunfish]

I've never cleaned one... :msp_smile:

 

[bigredd]

I spray them with purple power cleaner and let soak for 15 minutes, then hit them with a wire brush and rinse with water hose and dry. After that just coat with PB Blaster or WD40. That purple power is great stuff.

 

[H 2 H]

I've never cleaned one... :msp_smile:

I clean mine alot when its cutting firewood; seems the wood does a good enough job for me

 

[TonyRumore]

When they get dirty, I just throw them out and put a new one on.:msp_rolleyes:

Tony

 

[SkippyKtm]

The ultra sonic cleaner (USC) does a great job. I just add some castrol super clean and let 'er rip for 6 minutes...:wink2:

 

[jus2fat]

I just brush them off with an old toothbrush...

I carry a small soda jug with "mix" to constantly clean the file.

J2F

 

[Chris-PA]

Blow 'em off with the air hose after running the saw, clean up the edges and put 'em back in the wood. It's saw chain.

 

[fearofpavement]

I clean air filters, bar grooves, and occasionally wipe down the plastic but I have never bothered cleaning a saw chain. Seems like washing the tread of my truck tires.

 

[Arbonaut]

I soak it in Rubbermaid degreaser strong solution mixed with water in a Rawlings Baseball bucket. The cleaner is Sodium Hydroxide, (LYE). It gets it all out. No gunked up, caked up sticky pitched covered chain with all those hundreds of moving parts performs as well as a bright blue clean sharp chain with lube flowing in all those clean parts. Not physically possible.

I got the idea for the lye-based degreaser from this dude here. After practicing what this guy said, I won't go back to dirty chain.

 

[DSS]

Why clean something, only to go out in the yard and shove it in a log at high RPM? I don't get it.:confused2:

 

[Gologit]

I got the idea for the lye-based degreaser from this dude here. After practicing what this guy said, I won't go back to dirty chain.

If you watched the whole video you're probably aware that it contains advertising from a non-sponsor.

 

[parrisw]

Why clean something, only to go out in the yard and shove it in a log at high RPM? I don't get it.:confused2:

Ya, its kinda like wiping your ass before you take a big dump.

 

[Anthony_Va.]

I like to clean mine up with degreaser. Afterwards I will dry them with compressed air and polish them up with some metal polish. Then I will put one drop of oil on every rivit and then wipe them down again with a clean cloth. Then I give it a kiss and hang it on my bedpost.

Shiet man, I've never cleaned a chain in my life. Thats what the bar oil and wood is for. :msp_biggrin:

 

[discounthunter]

only time i cleaned a chain(s ) is if i get alot of grit build up,ie stumping or just a plain dirt filled log.i also clean out the bar track as well.nothing fancy just a shallow pan with some old gas(this is what you can do with your old gas, btw)clean off with a brush ,another quick rinse in the gas and hang it.

 

[Whitespider]

...I soak the chain over night... rinse in WD 40. Hang to dry. Then sharpen. Soak in oil over night, then hang...

Man, that's just over the top... STOP DOING THAT!

 

[MCW]

Although I have been guilty of cleaning chains in the past by soaking them in Caustic Soda (Lye) it really isn't necessary. In my experience gunked up chains tend to be a problem with guys who practice "Terry Tightarse" tactics with their oiler and always run it wound right down to save 2 cents. A really well oiled chain doesn't tend to gum up much at all. Any caked on sap tends to fly off with the next cut although I am aware different timbers to what I normally cut may cause different issues.
With the odd exception cleaning chains is probably showing you have too much time on your hands to have got them dirty to start with...

 

[Ronaldo]

I guess I dont really know or understand what the purpose of cleaning a saw chain is? Why would you want to wash away the lubricating oil that is already soaked into the areas of the chain?

I have never cleaned a chain like some are describing here. If the saw oiler is working and the chain is good and oily then cut wood!!!!!!

Ron

 

[MCW]

Also a bit of sap stuck on the cutters smells nice when you hit it with the grinder