Parkside chainsaw oiler

[Tim+]

My cheap and cheerful £79 chainsaw doesn?t appear to be feeding enough oil to the chain.

If I take the chain bar off and run the engine a slow dribble of oil does appear at the appropriate orifice but it?s never been enough to produce any obvious splatter when doing a splatter test. (Holding the chainsaw vertically over a piece of newspaper and revving the engine should produce some noticeable splatter on the paper). Chain gets hot very quickly.

Anyone taken one of these apart or know what the common faults are with cheap chainsaws? Before anyone says ?should have bought a proper chainsaw!?, the Parkside has paid for itself many times over already in firewood and starts first time, every time.

My next chainsaw will probably be a ?proper? one but I?m loath to replace the Parkside whilst it still runs so well.

Tim

[Mark]

Have you tried a lighter oil, I use ATF not environmentally friendly but works ok and I have a 25lt drum of it cleaning out the oil passage in the Bar may also help

[Tim+]

I haven?t, but it did cross my mind that it might just be a viscosity issue.

I?d rather use ?friendly? chainsaw oil and don?t have any ATF. Never looked before to see if it comes in different viscosities. I guess it probably does.

Tim

[Chris Green]

My (now very old) B&D electric chainsaw has a cam driven oil pump, it still works OK but it does occasionally ingest some sawdust and that prevents the pump from working because the associated valve leaks. A simple disassmbly and clean out fixes the problem. (you do have to reassemble it as well!)

[fred]

ATF ? Alcohol Tobaco and Firearms?

[newshound]

Mine has stopped feeding anything. I stripped and repaired my big petrol job, but it was a bit of a PITA and the spares (stripped plastic gear) were quite expensive. I've simply taken to carrying an aerosol can of (bike) chain oil. Yes I know it's not very green, I should use biodegradable vegetable oil. But I only use it for smaller firewood and occasionally lopping off branches and fallen saplings on footpaths and bridleways.

I don't seem to get a problem with chain overheating because I am not doing the long, continuous cuts that you would with a tree of 30cm plus.

[newshound]

Automatic transmission fluid. A thin mineral oil. "Ordinary" oil suitably diluted with diesel, white spirit, etc. gives an approximation for this application.

[Paul]

My hardware store stocks "Summer" and "Winter" chainsaw bar oil.

Both deposit a red biodegradable fluid into the sawdust and all over the place.

The temperature specification point seems to be zero C. Summer is any time the air temp is >0 C . Winter time is when the air temp is <0 C .

It does not state the temperature range on the label, as that would be too easy.

The Winter oil would be less viscous, and maybe if you drain and try that stuff, you'll get it pumping (or leaking) again.

They should be fully miscible in one another. I don't think the intention is to require people to "clean out the old oil".

Paul

[Brian]

Are you using proper chain saw oil?

Have you checked the feed pipe / hole isn?t blocked by sawdust etc? We had some trees taken down by a tree surgeon and, part way through, he needed to change saws while one has cleaned- the oil feed was blocked- by his colleague.

[Tim+]

Yep.

Difficult as the oil supply never gets near empty. I guess I could drain it out and have a look but I?m pretty careful when filling.

I suspect I?ve just got to bit the bullet and strip it down I but I rather suspect that all I really need is some thinner oil.

Tim

[newshound]

Please post if this works. I might even drain mine and leave it standing with white spirit in it if I have an enthusiastic moment over the break. (Not sure quite how soluble "green" vegetable oil is in white spirit).

[The Natural Philosopher]

running a quarter tank of diesel say through it instead of oil might wash out any gunk - if that doesn't spray everywhere, then you have a serious problem.

Its a shot to nothing. either it clears it or it proves you need to strip down. From memory oil pumps are only a couple of quid if you can find the right part.

And I suspect that in this case you wont.

[Brian]

The fact it isn?t being used makes me suspect a blockage.

I have a two chain saws, both use half a tank in a few hours use.

Check the feed from the tank to the chain, I?d expect the chain end to get blocked - especially if cutting conifers etc.

[AJH]

I'm not familiar with your saw, but mainly Stihl and Husqvarna; If the pump isn't damaged and the strainer in the oil tank not blocked then sometime the tube between the tank filter and pump gets blocked. They are normally difficult to get at and will require the clutch to be removed, there may be a plastic wormwheel that has failed.

[Brian]

With clean oil, unless you let muck / debris into the tank, the obvious place for a blockage is near the chain, where there is saw dust, resin, dust, ?.etc

The chain looks lubricated but the isn?t oil splashing around.

[Tim+]

I?ve checked the chain bar end and cleaned all the holes and slots in the bar. The issue is that it just barely dribbles from the oil outlet (which isn?t blocked).

Tim

[Brian]

I?ve never checked the flow - as in watch it dribble vs gush- I just know roughly how much it uses in a session.

Why do you think it should spray about? Even when my chain saws were new ( one isn?t that old), there was never a lot of oil about- just a light coating on the chain. Two much and I would expect it to get clogged up with saw dust etc.

Are you sure it isn?t using oil from the tank?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Modern saws certainly spray less.

The only spare part I found for that saws oil pump was the worm drive for the oil pump, and that was shipped from China via ALI express.

At some level you have to ask whether if its broken beyond use, its worth repairing at all.

[Tim Lamb]

AJH is the expert on this. My experience is that fuel and oil reservoirs are sized such that both empty together.

[The Natural Philosopher]

My experience is that the fuel runs out twice as fast as the oil

On both my Stihls, from new until end of life