Chainsaw storage?

[Nathan Jordan]

How do you store your chainsaws? Right now mine are just sitting on the floor, occasionally buildup will wick oil all over the floor. Can you hang them on the wall, do they need to stay horizontal so they don't leak (as much), do you keep them in a plastic case, etc.? Pictures welcome.

[Dylan Wyatt]

My Stihl stays in its hard plastic case with a towel in the bottom. If not, it leaks oil on the concrete like you mention.

[Adam Herman]

i like the square husqvarna style case. i have a stihl in there, it will hold extra chain, wrench, files, and a bottle of bar oil .

[Peter Kelly]

I’ve seen them stored vertically on a shelf with a perpendicular slot cut through about half way. Not sure this would stop bar oil leaking out.

Always drain out any 2 stroke mix from the tank if you’re not going to be using the saw for a while.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Always drain out any 2 stroke mix from the tank if you’re not going to be using the saw for a while.

+1. Also, if possible, use non-ethanol gas. Ethanol absorbs water from the air and forms some kind of acid, that I forget its name, but that acid dissolves rubber. Eats away your diaphragm in the carb.
If you don't already use bar and chain oil, if you use that, it may help the oil leaking. While being relatively expensive, it supposedly is much better for chain/bar wear and is way "stickier" than regular oil. Non of my saws leak oil. Yes I do own a couple Stihls. A common puppy training pad sits under my saws, just in case they start to leak.

[Jim Dwight]

My old gas powered saw doesn't currently run. My son thinks he can rebuild it. It is stored in a home made wooden case. 6mm luan plywood with 3/4 square pieces in the corners. My battery powered saw just has a plastic cover over the 14 inch bar. I think both leak some bar oil but they are out in the shed so I don't care.

[Alex Zeller]

I just put them in a cheap plastic tub you can buy at Walmart.

[David M Peters]

I keep mine in an old cat litter pan which has a vertical slot cut for the bar... not very elegant but keeps oil off the floor.

[Warren Lake]

Sthil orange case, not perfect but fine plus I cram in enough to sharpen, chain oil and oil to mix in the gas plus more around the saw. Almost enough room to have another bar and chain but not quite. Only use Shell V power. high performance friend gave me a lecture a while back and when the transmission was rebuilt by an old school guy in the 92 wagon he said to only use V power otherwise stuff in other gas will affect the primitive fuel injection in those cars. Maybe gaskets I dont know. Reality was it had done 25 years on regular already and in ten years i used it zero problems with it and it didnt have an easy life.

If I have a fault iwth the stihl case its a bit clunky to use but more so id like space for an extra chain and bar. Likely I can modify it. I think the 16 bar fits and its the 18 that I got second that has the issue.

[Keith Outten]

I hang mine in my barn on a ceiling hook vertically with a five gallon bucket under it.

[Bill Dufour]

I hang mine in my barn on a ceiling hook vertically with a five gallon bucket under it.
Same idea but a big spike in the wall. Not so high a lift that way.
Bil lD

[Eric Arnsdorff]

I use a plastic chainsaw case.
My dad owned a sawmill and did a little logging too. The big saws leaked too.
It is possible to design one that doesn’t but I don’t know that anyone does.
Storing them in any position you’d like would be fine. They’re made to operate in any position.

[Doug Dawson]

How do you store your chainsaws? Right now mine are just sitting on the floor, occasionally buildup will wick oil all over the floor. Can you hang them on the wall, do they need to stay horizontal so they don't leak (as much), do you keep them in a plastic case, etc.? Pictures welcome.

I prefer the element of surprise.

[Jim Becker]

Mine lives on a shelf in the garage bay used for the mower and other things related to our landscaping and beekeeping. I do have a plastic guard over the bar when it's on the shelf. My electric chain saw is on the same shelf...also with a plastic guard on the bar. They sit flat and horizontal.

[Peter Kelly]

Definitely never ethanol gas in two stroke anything. Expensive but I’d recommend the pre-mixed stuff if you can’t find ethanol free. Can always check this place: https://www.pure-gas.org (https://www.pure-gas.org/)

[Ben Helmich]

+1 on the Stihl case. It gets nasty in the case, but no puddles on the ground. Enough room for some little oil bottles and some extra chains. Don’t leave it out in the rain though. It will fill up with water. I never drain my saw. It has sat for years before. It shouldn’t run at all. It runs great.

[Alan Lightstone]

I store mine vertically on a slat wall with a metal piece holding it up. Paper towel underneath it on top of a plastic case.

Yup, it leaks.

[Jim Becker]

I've never had a leak from my Stihl .029 Farm Boss yet...and I've owned it since about 2001.

[Brian Tymchak]

I've never had a leak from my Stihl .029 Farm Boss yet...and I've owned it since about 2001.

Although I got rid of my Stihl a few years ago ( a mistake I regret now) on a major clean out, I also never had it leak in the 28 years I owned it.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

My Dolmar leaks oil. Never bothered to check from where. I have it on the bottom of a work bench in my garage sitting on a piece of sacrificial plywood that absorbs the oil.

If it will not start, someone mentioned it, a first step is to disassemble sufficiently that you can spray out the carburetor with carburetor cleaner and perhaps replace the spark plug. Pay close attention because it is often tricky to put it back together. if things look off with the diaphragm (or similar) while it is apart, then buy a kit to replace some of the parts. Diaphragms and gaskets are inexpensive. I have not had to replace the parts, nearly clean it up because it was clogged.

[Peter Kelly]

I should clarify—by “leaking” I mean residual bar oil running out after usage. If you’re seeing large pools develop, it’s usually that the oil supply line is disconnected or has a hole in it somewhere. Easy enough to replace the line but there’s some small fiddly washers to be mindful of so it takes a bit of time. Common problem with older Dolmars.

[Nathan Jordan]

I've got 2 stihls I can't remember off hand what models, but there's a farm boss with a 20" bar and a small one with a 16" bar. I wouldn't say they leak so much as that if you put them up dirty (saw dust gunked in between the bar and the oil weep hole) then there will be a small puddle of oil under the saw when I pick it up occasionally. 95% of the time its maybe 1 or 2 drops, and the few times it was more it was still less than an ounce of fluid, so I wouldn't call it a leak. Looking back I think the small saw has left a puddle 2 or 3 times and the big one maybe once, if ever (in the past year I've owned them). I cleaned them up a bit after the last oil drip case and haven't had a problem since. I'll probably buy a plastic case for them and find a good spot out of the way.

[Lisa Starr]

Both of mine live in hard plastic husqvarna cases. I keep a piece of "Pig Mat" cut the shape of the case to absorb any drips. The extra chains, wrench etc live in the case too.

[Tom M King]

Mine sit on plywood in the mechanic shop, to keep oil off the floor. The worst offender is the pole chainsaw. If one of the guys hangs it up with the chain up, there will be oil all down the shaft the next time it's needed.

The little Makita cordless one stays in the toolbox on the truck. It came with a nice little bag that, so far, has caught any drips.

[Jared Sankovich]

My Dolmar leaks oil. Never bothered to check from where. I have it on the bottom of a work bench in my garage sitting on a piece of sacrificial plywood that absorbs the oil.

If it will not start, someone mentioned it, a first step is to disassemble sufficiently that you can spray out the carburetor with carburetor cleaner and perhaps replace the spark plug. Pay close attention because it is often tricky to put it back together. if things look off with the diaphragm (or similar) while it is apart, then buy a kit to replace some of the parts. Diaphragms and gaskets are inexpensive. I have not had to replace the parts, nearly clean it up because it was clogged.

The 6400/7900 series leak at the soft line junction due to the design. Easy enough fix if you have a milling machine.

As for storage I keep all my saws all on a shelf, with the bars hanging below, or beside.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have a Stihl and only use it periodically. It lives in the orange plastic case, so I don't have an issue with oil puddling and I can't say I've noticed it leaking/weeping in the case.

I know the issues with Ethanol, I have a couple of older motorcycles with 4 carbs on each, that get the pilot jets clogged if left with fuel in the float bowls for a few weeks of non use.

So back to the chain saw, when I think I might not be using the saw for a while. I'll get it running, warm it up, stop it and drain the fuel tank. I'll then restart it and run it until it starves of fuel.

I've disassembled a few two stroke dirt bike engines and am always amazed at how much the crank and internals are coated in residual oil that came in via a premix.

This seems to work and minimizes the pilot jet clogging.

[Donald G. Burns]

My Stihl stays in its hard plastic case with a towel in the bottom. If not, it leaks oil on the concrete like you mention.


Ditto, factory case.

[John Grossbohlin]

I generally leave my Stihl MS261 and MS461 saws sit on the concrete shop floor with bar covers on if I'm using them regularly. The oil cap on the 461 was replaced (a few dollars). Sometimes there is residual oil on the bar that makes it's way to the floor but usually not. After 25 years of use there are enough spots of glue, lube, WD-40, solvent, paint and finish on the floor to make the bar oil unnoticeable... The film of saw dust and chips on the floor absorbs quite a bit and they also scour the floor when I push them around with the concrete broom. If the next owner wants to epoxy the floor that's up to them. :)

For longer term storage I clean the saws and take the bars off as it makes the package more compact. There is no leakage during long term storage. I've got multiple bars for each saw and a pile of chains so there is already space dedicated for storing those items as well as sharpening gear. I store the gas and bar oil jugs in my outdoor equipment shed.

If you have a lot of excess oil on the bar and chain when done sawing, and your saw allows for it, you might want to adjust the oil feed rate so a little less oil is pumped to the bar. That alone could stem the oil puddle problem... but don't over do it such that you starve the bar and chain for lubrication. Use real bar oil too... not waste oil!

Regarding fuel, I use Stihl synthetic mix oil with 91 octane non-ethanol gasoline. I've never had a fuel related problem with the Stihl chainsaws, hedge clipper, trimmers or backpack blower.

Some of this I figured out via the web (wrought with danger!) and some during Game of Logging training as both a student and a host...

[Nathan Jordan]

I generally leave my Stihl MS261 and MS461 saws sit on the concrete shop floor with bar covers on if I'm using them regularly. The oil cap on the 461 was replaced (a few dollars). Sometimes there is residual oil on the bar that makes it's way to the floor but usually not. After 25 years of use there are enough spots of glue, lube, WD-40, solvent, paint and finish on the floor to make the bar oil unnoticeable... The film of saw dust and chips on the floor absorbs quite a bit and they also scour the floor when I push them around with the concrete broom. If the next owner wants to epoxy the floor that's up to them. :)

Mine right now are sitting in the middle of my garage floor, mainly because I have yet to properly organized my garage. My interest in storage solutions is 2 fold, I want to find a more permanent place to store them, and I want to park my truck in my garage again! Eventually the plan is to build a shop, and I also plan on epoxy for my shop and garage floors.

[John Grossbohlin]

Mine right now are sitting in the middle of my garage floor, mainly because I have yet to properly organized my garage. My interest in storage solutions is 2 fold, I want to find a more permanent place to store them, and I want to park my truck in my garage again! Eventually the plan is to build a shop, and I also plan on epoxy for my shop and garage floors.

You might try pulling the bar(s) and chain(s) off and see just how much more compact the saws are compared to its/their assembled size. Doing so might present you with a viable short term storage solution... In my case I find that they fit nicely under the side table of my cabinet saw. That said, I have been cleaning out and straightening up my equipment shed. At some point the shed will be cleared out enough that I'll move the chainsaws to it for storage. Interestingly enough, when I moved a bunch of old wooden storm windows in the shed I found a Black Raven axe that is in very good condition. From checking around I could probably turn it into a power feeder as there is a strong demand for nice ones... There are benefits to straightening up... I've been here 25 years and just found that axe. :rolleyes:

[Ole Anderson]

Two Stihls, an 018 and a 290 along with a Poulan Pro, all in plastic cases with a pad of paper towels to absorb the oil.

[Mike Cutler]

I have a mid 80's vintage Echo 660EVN. It's stored horizontal and upright on a shelf in the garage. I've owned it since 1988 and it's never really leaked anything that I can recall.
I also use the pre-mixed gas. It's wicked, stupid, expensive, but that saw runs much better than if I mix my own, so does my weed whacker, and back pack leaf blower.
The Echo, 750, leaf blower has a different issue with poor operation. Echo has the carb's made to be non adjustable and I highly suspect to make them CARB complant, they've leaned them out to the point that they won't run at full throttle.