Last Updated on January 6, 2023 by Sarker C. Weber
Do you own a chainsaw? Or Are you surfing on the web to purchase a chainsaw?
Whatever your answer is, I am pretty sure if any question came in your mind about a chainsaw is, “How long does a chainsaw last?”
Before giving you the answer, I would like to ask you another question, “How much you spend for your chainsaw?”
If you spend or planning to spend a handsome amount, then you may expect it to last for an extended period.
Generally, there is not any specific answer to this question. Because few factors are playing around to get long-lasting service from a chainsaw. No matter how much you spent.
Things may go wrong, and your chainsaw may stop working. Now, you may be thinking then why should I buy a chainsaw, spending a lot of money.
Then my next question is when you purchase something spending a lot of money, won’t you take care of that thing? BOOM! Here is the point.
If you do proper care and maintenance of a chainsaw, you will get long period service, no doubt.
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6 Proven Ways To Increase Longevity
01. Periodical Maintenance
Do you do periodical maintenance of your chainsaw? Because of improper regular maintenance, a chainsaw can’t give you support when you need it. And then, you become crazy and thinking you wasted your money behind it.
Whereas the chainsaw didn’t receive any maintenance like air filter checking, looking at the spark plugs, etc.
You need to follow a few necessary maintenance procedures like draining the fuel of the chainsaw properly and not to keep any fuel in the tank for many days.
Treat your chainsaw as a selfless friend because it is expanding its hand whenever you need it. And do periodical maintenance.
02. Fuel Factor
Beginners always make this mistake that is using ethanol oil in chainsaws. It happens because of not paying attention to the manufacturer’s manual at all.
Generally, the majority of the manufacturer recommends not to use ethanol oil for a chainsaw.
Ethanol oil is recommended for small engine tools, and it is not good for your chainsaw.
Let me tell you why 2-stroke oil can’t create a strong bond with ethanol. Means, the water, and ethanol are a brittle friend and don’t create a great solution.
As a result, you will get inadequate lubrication, and your chainsaw engine will start damaging due to ethanol oil.
I wondered when I came to know that a chainsaw is performing substantially with solvent.
Due to this, it can dissolve fiberglass, plastic, and even rubber too.
Simply research what particles have been used to make your chainsaw, you will find that a lot of dissoluble parts are used in your chainsaw.
03. Storing is the key to longevity
This is one of the critical factors that we often forgot to follow.
You will not get long service from your chainsaw unless you confirm its proper storing.
Even you will be amazed by its performance if you do proper storing.
04. Low price, High price, What is the Value?
What do you think, does the price matters for a chainsaw? What is the difference between a $100 chainsaw and $500 chainsaw? Yes, you are thinking right.
Quality varies with the price. In a general view, a $100 priced chainsaw quality will be cheaper than a $100 priced chainsaw. But the actual scenario is, this may vary.
Does it mean, will it last longer too? I don’t think so. Here again, the deciding factor is, how did you treat your chainsaw.
You may be thinking of getting 1200 hours working hours in a year from a pro-level chainsaw, but to ensure the maximum output, you need to do the regular maintenance of it.
So, in my opinion, price does and doesn’t play an essential role in terms of longevity.
The main factor is, how are you treating it? If you treat it like a toy, it will perform like a puppet and handle like a piece of excellent equipment, it will give you its high efficiency.
05.Quality Oil Helps
I would recommend you to use quality oil for your chainsaw. Sometimes, you may think of using cheaper oil, thinking that no harm will happen, and you will get the same result.
But this choice is significantly worse in the long run. Quality oil will let your chainsaw work at its best and give you longevity undoubtedly.
A fundamental thing, but we forget this thing often.
06. Operating Effectively is Inevitable
Do you ever hear from your friends complaining about their chainsaw that it is not working or not starting?
It is happening because they did something wrong, or they are unaware of how to operate a chainsaw. And finally, they get frustrated and break it.
Maintaining a chainsaw correctly is essential as well as significant to learn about its operating procedure.
The manufacturer’s guide has explicit instructions about it. So, prefer to operate a chainsaw reading the manual that comes with the chainsaw, as the direction may vary based on the design of the chainsaw.
Also, there are some other factors that you should keep in your mind
If you don’t follow the above guidelines, undoubtedly, you are leading yourself to irritating life saying that, “your chainsaw is inefficient.”
However, due to improper maintenance, your chainsaw will give you below problems
Common Problem You May Face Due To Improper Maintenance
01. Struggle with positioning: When you will set you chainsaw on a piece of wood, it should remain stable.
But if you found a vigorous or rattling impression, your chainsaw chain needs replacement.
As soon as possible, you need to purchase a new chain.
02. The chain becomes unsteady: A chainsaw is a great performer under a steady and experienced hand instead of an energetic one.
A good chainsaw chain will remain stable in position. But if it shows unstable performance while cutting a tree, the chain has lost its ability to draw itself into the wood.
If it happens, then consider replacing the chain.
03. Smoking: While working, if you find that your chainsaw is smoking, even lubrication is perfect, then look at the health of your chainsaw.
Don’t do late to change the chain because smoking will pollute the air as well as to get better performance; change is inevitable.
A well-skilled and experienced chainsaw user will also show poor performance with your faulty chainsaw. Smoking is also an indication of your poor maintenance too.
04. Jagged cuts: A good chainsaw chain will give you a smooth and clean line cutting experience.
An irregular or crooked cutting experience will prove that your chain lifespan is about to finish, or the cutting teeth become dull.
Do regular sharpening and get rid of this problem.
Final thought: what should be the lifespan of a chainsaw?
In my opinion, a chainsaw should provide service for a minimum of 8 to 10 years.
But after doing a lot of research, I learned that you should not expect that much lifespan from a chainsaw.
So, as much as you do proper maintenance and confirming perfect storing, a chainsaw will give you long time service, and you won’t regret after buying a chainsaw.
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