Lidl (Florabest) electric chainsaw. Lubrication path?

I'm pretty sure no oil reached the chain while I was using this saw for the first time today but as I (a)had soaked the chain in oil before using it and (b)didn't need to run it for very long, no harm appears to have been done.

To save me having to take the thing to pieces if I don't need to, could someone tell me how the oil is supposed to move from the tank to the chain? My first cut produced an awful lot of wood debris which packed itself around the drive gear and the base of the bar: might this have cut off the oil supply?

My last electric chainsaw (A Black and Decker, bought some thirty-odd years ago) had a manual oil pump so I feel I'm rather at the mercy of technology here, trusting that the "self-oiling" feature really does self-oil.

Thanks in advance,

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell
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Not sure about that particular saw but most now have an oil pump to lubricate the chain. Take the chain and bar off, clear the dust away and run the saw in the normal working position with a cover off and you should see some oil appear gradually, not huge amounts but it should be visible.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Minchin

Perhaps, but they normally site the oiling hole to the side of the bar in a place where its less likely to get covered with chips...

Are you sure it was not oiling (you normally need to place the nose near a flat surface and run it for a moment - you should see some oil splatter on the surface)

Not all saws have a pump - some seem to reply on gradual seepage under the effects of gravity.

If you take the chain and bar off, and spin it up you should see some oil ooze from the oiling port as it runs.

Reply to
John Rumm

Thanks, John and Bob. I followed your suggestions and found that oil does indeed ooze from within when the motor runs. Compared with the sort of oiling I used to manually give my old B&D it is very little oil indeed. So I suppose that next time I use it, I ought to run it up until I can see some oil spatter, before putting it under strain. I still think the chain was horribly dry at the end of my first session and now I've found the oil pathway, I can't see how the sawdust could have sucked all the oil away.

One other thing: the "approved" chainsaw oil is much thicker and more viscous than the bog-standard engine oil that I used to use on the B&D. Would I be better off using something different? What oils do others use for their electric chainsaw chains?

Thanks again,

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell

Chainsaw oil is supposed to be biodegradable and eco friendly and other green bullshit.

So its hard to give it decent characteristics as well...sort a like tanking up an F1 engine with rapeseed soil.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

The proper chain oil contains "anti fling" agents to make it a bit more sticky, so it stays on the bar better. Some are also biodegradable (remember to flush them out of the tank with some regular engine oil at the end of the season though).

I use the Q8 own branded stuff that Ernest Doe & sons flog. I doubt it makes any difference to whether its used in an electric or petrol saw.

My "proper" chainsaw has an oil pump an seem to use it faster than my pruner attachment (10" low profile 3/8" chain chainsaw on the end of a pole for running from the strimmer power head) which seems to let gravity do the oiling.

Reply to
John Rumm

I use the toolstation chainsaw oil - it is relatively cheap and does the job. Bob

Reply to
Bob Minchin

I bought some from Screwfix which seems ok.

Reply to
Roger Mills

Bob Minchin wrote in news:liernf$qaa$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

I've used waste cooking oil from my kitchen for years since a pro tree surgeon suggested this. Seems to work fine as the saw is still running and cutting well.

Reply to
Groove

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