How to maintain your chainsaw?

The

is ideal for cutting firewood logs or pruning.

If the tool requires visual inspection before, during and after each use, on spring eve, it should be returned to service with a closer inspection.

To discover

• March: what vegetables and fruits are in season?

Good to know

Some control points are common to thermal (with 2-stroke engine) or electric (corded or battery-powered) chainsaws, in particular chains and lubrication.

A few steps need to be added for a thermal model.

The rules to know

Before discussing the elements to check on a 2-stroke thermal chainsaw, it should be remembered that the unleaded petrol mixture (95 or 98) with specific oil (usually dosed between 2 and 3%) does not keep longer. of 3 months.

Indeed, the gasoline evaporates to leave only the oil in the machine which ends up clogging it.

Hence the importance of consuming all your mixed fuel before storing your tool for the winter.

If, when it is put back into service, you notice that the gasoline is painfully reaching the engine, disassemble it to clean it.

Test starting your thermal chainsaw without turning the chain immediately.

Shoot the launcher.

Install yourself outside or in a ventilated place, because of the exhaust fumes.

Read also15 essential gardening tools

What should I do if my chainsaw does not start?

If it does not start, check the condition of the spark plug for wear.

This should, in principle, be changed every year, but it may be less often if you use your machine little.

To perform the test, remove the spark plug from its housing while leaving it connected to the electrical wire.

Hold it by placing its base against the motor housing.

Pull the starter again, watching to see if a spark is created between the spark plug and its electrode.

Repeat the operation as many times as necessary.

If there is no spark, do the test in a relatively dark place, replace the spark plug.

Good to know

If you have an electric chainsaw, you only have to check the battery charge.

How to maintain your chainsaw?

Check the level of chain lubricating oil, which is present on thermal and electric models.

Complete as needed.

The performance of the chain depends on it.

Also check its voltage.

Start by giving it a few turns.

Once it has come to a complete stop, switch off the engine and raise the chain a few centimeters above the chain guide.

If only three links lift, the tension is good.

Beyond three, an adjustment is necessary.

Depending on the chainsaw model, tension the chain using the tension adjustment knob or with the tool supplied with the machine, or even with a simple screwdriver.

How

do you check a chainsaw chain

?

In addition to this annual check, checking the chain of a chainsaw is essential before each use at the risk of damaging your machine and causing serious bodily injury.

Then make sure that your chain is not blunt by making test cuts.

If the chain does not sink in and you have to force it by making a transverse cut, if you see sawdust rather than shavings, if the wood is smoking (although the lubrication of the chain and its tension are good), if the cut is not straight or if the machine chatters or jumps, this indicates that the chain needs sharpening.

Then take a specific round file and clamp the chainsaw by its chain guide in a vice.

Wear protective gloves.

Check the cutters (teeth) along the entire length of the chain one by one and find the most damaged one.

Sharpen it and use it as a template to sharpen other cutters to the same length.

If you find that the wear mark has been reached, it is best to replace the chain.

Spotted on the shelf