How do I keep my saw safe?
The chainsaw, like any working machine with an explosive engine, requires mandatory periodic maintenance to ensure proper operation.
Among the maintenance works, the most important is the maintenance of the proper chain alignment, which we discussed previously. The maintenance of the chain guide is integrally linked to this. The following steps can greatly increase the life of our chain guide and ensure consistent cutting performance - only with a sharp chain, of course:
1. Turn the chain guide every time you sharpen the chain. This way we can avoid that one side of the driver wears more than the other. If you never turn the guide over, sooner or later the lower side, which mostly receives the cutting load, will wear out to such an extent that the guide becomes unusable, even though the upper side has barely worn out.
2. At each turn, clean the groove of the guide with a special tool for this, as well as the hole for the chain oil, ensuring that the chain oil gets around the guide.
3. On a chainsaw, the saw chain is driven by the star wheel at the end of the engine's main shaft. This star wheel is worn by the tension eyes of the saw chain during use, which results in a necessary replacement after a certain amount. The star wheel can be of two types. Traditional or deposit. In the case of a traditional star wheel, the tension eyes of the saw chain fit directly into the star shape formed on the clutch bell, so in case of wear, the entire clutch bell needs to be replaced. In the case of an insert star wheel, a socket is formed on the clutch bell, which can receive the insert ring. The towing eyelets fit into this insert ring, so if it wears out, it is sufficient to replace only the insert ring. An additional advantage of the insert ring star wheel is that even in the event of wear, the so-called chain jump. By chain jump we mean the phenomenon when the chain on the worn star wheel jumps out and into the grooves on the star wheel due to wear while running, resulting in a tight or loose chain condition. In the case of replacing the star wheel, it is also necessary to replace the needle roller bearing underneath, which is usually included with the star wheel.
4. Since the saw machine works in a dusty environment, it is necessary to periodically check the air filter insert and, if necessary, clean it. This is important for two reasons. On the one hand, a clogged air filter gives the engine unnecessary throttle, as a result of which the saw cannot rev up properly, the speed drops under load, the cutting performance deteriorates, and the machine strains. On the other hand, fine dust starts to pass through the clogged filter insert, which destroys the engine.
A légszűrő betétet ecsettel tudjuk megtisztítani, ügyelve, nehogy átszakítsuk a szűrőanyagot. A szűrőbetétek legtöbbje szétpattintható, így lehetőség van az már esetleg bejutott finom por eltávolítása a szűrő belső felületéről is.
5. There are two tanks in the saw machine. One is for chain lube oil and another is for fuel. The suction pipe hanging in both tanks delivers its contents to the right place. At the end of these pipes there is a filter, which has a double role. On the one hand, due to its weight, regardless of position, it always falls to the bottom of the tank, thus ensuring a continuous supply of oil and fuel, on the other hand, it filters any possible impurities floating in the oil or fuel, which may even fall into the tank during refueling. These filters can cause problems if they become clogged. It is necessary to replace the filters if their contamination causes a problem in the operation of the saw.
6. Like all internal combustion engines, the chainsaw uses a spark plug to ignite the compressed fuel-air mixture. This spark plug requires maintenance. Depending on the intensity of use, the spark plug must be removed from time to time, cleaned of burnt-on soot, and the spark plug gap adjusted. Depending on the type of spark plug gap, it should be 0.6-0.8 mm. A worn-out spark plug gives a small spark, which results in insufficient combustion, as a result of which the efficiency of the engine decreases, performance decreases, consumption and emissions increase, and in extreme cases, the engine does not even start.
7. The motor of the saw is air-cooled. It gives off the heat on the cooling fins on the surface of the partially exposed cylinder. The air flow generated by the flywheel also helps in this. However, if sawdust gets into these ribs and clogs them, greatly impairing the heat dissipation ability, it can cause the motor to overheat and, in extreme cases, stall. Always make sure that these cooling fins are clean and free of embedded sawdust. You can clean the ribs with a scraper that is also used to clean the chain guide nut.
