9 Things You Should Never Do to Your Chain Saw

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Don’t Fill the Chain Lube Reservoir With Used Motor Oil

It’s free, right? Well, not really. Filling the reservoir with used oil instead of the proper lube will cost you more in the long run due to accelerated bar and chain wear. Used motor oil contains fuel, acid, water and soot and none of those ingredients are good for moving parts. Isn’t that why you drained the oil out of your engine? So skip the “free” oil and use real bar and chain oil or fresh motor oil in a pinch.

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Don’t Refuel Your Chain Saw When It’s Hot

Don’t care about starting yourself on fire by refueling your chain saw when it’s hot? Fine. But why burn up a perfectly good chain saw just because you’re too impatient to wait for it to cool off? The heat from a hot engine vaporizes the fuel as you pour it into the tank. If the vapor ignites, you’ll be pouring gasoline right onto the, ah, fire. If you want your chain saw to live to see another day, let it cool for at least 10 minutes before refilling it. If the engine is still too hot to touch, take a walk, eat a Twinkie or call a friend.

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Don’t Put the Pedal to the Metal With the Brake On

Chain saws have a safety kickback braking mechanism that stops the blade by locking the clutch drum/drive sprocket. But you can accidentally activate the brake by knocking the kickback handle as you set the chain saw against a downed tree limb or stump. If you hit the throttle hard while the brake is on, you can burn up the centrifugal clutch in just seconds. If the chain doesn’t spin when you squeeze the trigger, STOP and make sure the kickback brake isn’t on. If it’s on, release it and then hit the trigger.

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