Chainsaw Storage: How to Store Your Saw the Right Way

Between jobs, a saw may sit for days or a few weeks. Off-season, it sits for a season or more, so the fuel and oil have to come out.

Between jobs

The fuel can stay if you dose it with a stabilizer and run it through the carburetor for a few minutes. Wipe the saw down, fit the bar sheath, and set a drip tray underneath so any oil runoff lands on the tray and not the shelf.

Off-season

Drain the fuel, then run the engine at idle until it stops. Idle, not revving, keeps lubrication in the system. Drain the bar oil, remove and clean the bar and chain, give the whole saw a full clean, and take the battery out of a battery saw.

A 2-cycle mix stays good for about one to two months, and pump gasoline with ethanol absorbs moisture and degrades in around 30 days. That is why long storage means an empty tank, not a full one left sitting.

Let the saw cool before you touch anything. Then work through the saw from the outside in.

1. Clean the exterior: the cylinder fins, the air filter, the sprocket cover and the area around the chain brake. Brush out the chips.
2. Deal with the fuel: drain it into an approved container in a well-ventilated area, away from ignition sources, then idle the engine until it dies. For shorter storage, dose the tank with stabilizer and run it a few minutes, or fill with ethanol-free premixed fuel, which keeps far longer. The carburetor bowl is what gums, so an empty tank with a wet carb is still a spring no-start.
3. Drain the bar oil. The tank breathes through a one-way valve, and day and night temperature swings push oil out through the oiler ports. That is normal behavior, not a fault.
4. Remove the bar and chain with the wrench. Clean the bar groove and the oil holes, check the oiler passage and the adjustment pin, coat the bar with protective oil and store it flat. Sharpen the chain before you put it away, and flip the bar when you refit it and at every sharpening.
5. Loosen the chain tension before storage. Cooling steel contracts and can load the sprocket.
6. Check the spark plug and the spark-arresting screen, and tighten the fasteners. Pull the spark plug lead before any maintenance on saws with a momentary stop switch.
7. Refit the bar sheath the saw shipped with, and store it.

The oil tank breathes through a one-way valve. As the saw cools overnight, air is drawn in. As it warms by day, the expanding air can only equalize by pushing a little oil out through the pump ports. Repeated daily, the tank can empty itself onto the shelf.

Runoff or a real leak

Oil in the bar groove, under the clutch cover, or a fine mist off a clean saw is normal runoff. To tell it from a real leak, wipe the saw, put cardboard underneath, wait an hour and roll it sideways. A few blotches are normal. Pools mean you should check the tank vent, the oil pickup and the pump.

How to stop it

• Drain the oil for long storage.
• Top up before use, not after.
• If oil stays in, store the saw horizontal with the oil cap up and the cap cracked slightly, then retighten before use.
• Never hang it bar-down with oil in the tank.

Drip containment

A boot tray, a cookie sheet, a plastic tote with a slot cut for the bar, or a length of gutter under the bars all catch what comes out. Resting the saw directly on cardboard or newspaper wicks oil out faster, so support it so air passes underneath.

Take the battery out of the tool and out of the charger, clean the contacts, cover the battery compartment and fit the bar sheath.

Store the battery cool, dry and frost-free, at a partial charge. Never leave it in a hot car or a sun-baked shed. Brands differ on the exact charge level and temperature window, so follow the manual: typical guidance is a partial charge of roughly 30 to 60 percent, a storage spot that avoids freezing and extreme heat, and a top-up check every few months if the brand asks for one.

Never store the saw with the battery fitted where it could be switched on by accident. One-hand top-handle mini saws follow the same battery rules; they are small enough for a drawer or a single hook, and the bar sheath plus a lanyard point is the arborist convention.

The cord is the storage problem. Coil it loosely and never wrap it tightly around the housing. Inspect it for nicks and cuts before the season, and keep the plug dry.

Fit the bar sheath, clean the vents, and store the saw dry and off the floor.

Collapse or remove the extension sections as the manual directs. Support the shaft so it does not take a set or bend: hang it horizontally or lay it in a long rack rather than standing it nose-down.

Gas pole saws follow the same fuel rules as a chainsaw, and battery pole saws follow the same battery rules. Keep the chain covered, and clean and lightly lubricate the shaft joints. A pole saw takes far less storage space than a separate mini chainsaw and pole saw, so one long horizontal rack or two wall hooks serve it.

Pick a spot that is dry, ventilated, frost-free and out of direct sun, since UV degrades plastics. Keep the saw off the concrete floor, where condensation, snowmelt or a leaking water heater can reach it, and out of reach of children, ideally in a locked cabinet or a locked shed.

With the tanks empty, orientation does not matter. With fuel or oil left in, horizontal with the oil cap up leaks least, and hanging bar-down leaks most.

Free and cheap options

• A coated hook driven into a stud, never into drywall alone.
• A drip tray under the saw.
• A plastic tote with a slot cut for the bar.
• A gutter section under the bars.

Mid tier

A steel wall mount rated for the saw's weight, with rubber-coated hooks and a slot for the wrench, or a soft bag for a small battery saw.

Higher tier

A multi-saw steel rack with chain hangers and a lockable bar, or a hard case that also holds files, the wrench, a spare chain and bar oil.

DIY rack

Two boards gapped so the bars slide between them, bolted to studs, with the saw's weight on the bumper spikes and body rather than the bar. Add a tilt-stop, and space the slots about 10 inches apart for mixed saw sizes.

Never hang a saw by its cord, by the handle alone or by the bar tip, and over-rate the hook rather than the saw. Do not store it in a vehicle's passenger compartment; if it lives in a truck or trailer, tie it down and use a case.

Cases and racks are optional. A hook and a drip tray cover most owners.

Use approved, child-resistant, tightly capped fuel containers only. Never store fuel in the house, the basement or near pilot lights, water heaters or heaters, and keep quantities small and locked up.

Dispose of fuel-soaked rags in a metal can with a self-closing lid, because they can self-ignite. Never run a gas engine in a closed garage. Take drained fuel and oil to a household hazardous waste site.

Before the first cut of the season, mix fresh fuel and inspect the saw for damage. Check the bar condition and that the chain is sharp and correctly tensioned, the chain catcher is in place and the chain brake operates.

Start the saw and look for a fine mist off the bar tip, which shows the oiler is working, and check for fuel leaks. Charge and check the battery, and inspect every control. Refit the bar and chain and re-check the tension after the first few minutes of running.