Chainsaw Bar Overheating (4 Reasons Behind)

If you’re using your chainsaw for quite a few years now, it is no wonder that you’ve got a good product. But over the course of time, due to the regular use, parts like chain, blade, bar, and other active parts start wearing out.

In short, they won’t be able to function like before. And from numerous signs, you get to be certain about that. 

The chainsaw bar overheating is another such problem that we have up to right now. We’ve seen many carpenters complain about this single issue over and over. So, we’ve decided to put an end to the struggle. 

Take a couple of minutes of break from whatever you’re up to, and let’s get going through tips for the overheating of the chainsaw. 

What to Do When Chainsaw Bar Is Overheating?

chainsaw bar overheating

There are three generic reasons from different chainsaw bar components for which the chainsaw chain bar overheating issue takes place.

Reason 1: A Mismatch Between the Bar Groove and Chain Drive

It’s quite important for a chainsaw to have a perfectly matched chain and the bar. As these two subjects are going to be aligned on each other, a size mismatch would be so difficult to deal with for the chainsaw. 

Fix

Ensure that the thickness of the chainsaw drive links is a perfect match with the width of the bar groove. The dimensions should be found in the product manuals or the catalog, in case you purchased the products individually. 

But if the manual isn’t as accurate as it should be then you would probably be better off by getting in an extra pair of experienced hands. They may be able to give you some more insight into your chainsaw chain bar combo problem. 

Here are some of our recommended best chainsaw bar list-

Reason 2: Improper Raker Height

Raker Height is an important term when it comes to cutting with a chainsaw. It’s a small part of your chainsaw, which plays a big role when it comes to cutting. 

Over regular use, your rakers do decay a lot, and that eventually leads to heat buildup or similar issues on the chainsaw. Eventually, the chainsaw bar can be a passive source of heat buildup from improper raker height. 

So, the chainsaw raker depth must be accurate in order to reduce any type of overheating.

Fix:

The only fix to come up with this issue is to file down the raker. Many chainsaw users recommend filing off the raker height at every 4th or 5th sharpening action, and that keeps things quite balanced. 

Some of you might think that failing down the raker height might lead to further heat buildup. But in practice, that doesn’t take place. 

Here are some best chainsaw sharpening files that we recommend for the action- 

Reason 3: Oil Adjustment Turned Full Open

An oil adjustment screw is a part that lets you decide how much bar oil should be released to keep the chain and the bar lubricated. Now, if the oil adjust screw doesn’t work fine, there can be mishaps in measuring the right adjustment of oil level.

Therefore, the machine gets overheated in the bar area due to a lack of proper lubricating oil. And that can lead to an overheated chainsaw bar. Also, oil leakage might show up unexpectedly, which may cause unwanted issues. 

Fix:

It’s best to check out whether the chainsaw oil adjustment screw had got work out or jammed. If worn out, you have no way left apart from replacing it with a newly bought one. In case you find some jammed chainsaw bar oil adjustment screw, you have to lubricate the screw itself and get it back into action. 

In case you are looking for a replacement of oil adjustment screw here are some of our recommendations – 

Reason 4: Worn Out Chainsaw Chain

The fourth reason for the problem can be a worn-out chainsaw chain. Eventually, if you continue to do heavy cutting works with our chainsaw for years without replacing, it gets its ability to cut like before. Therefore, excess heat energy gets produced near the chain area, and that eventually touches the bar area as well. 

So, a suspect of chainsaw bar heating up can be chainsaw chain wear as well. 

Fix:

If you don’t have a practice of chainsaw chain sharpening, you might give it a try to get the cutting edge back to its sharp condition. In case you have sharpened your chain a few times, and still, it’s getting worn out, it’s better to replace the chain with a new one. 

In case you need to find a perfect match for a chainsaw chain, here are some of our recommended best chainsaw chain list-

Frequently Asked Question

Q: What to sharpen in a chainsaw? The chain teeth only or the rakers as well?

Ans: Usually, chainsaw teeth are the subject to sharpen. In every 4th or 5th sharpening, sharpen the raker height as well for optimal performance gain.

Q: What sort of bar oil should I use in my chainsaw when the chainsaw bar is very hot?

Ans: Usually, there are recommended bar oils provided for each model. Check out your catalog for more information.  

Can I replace my entire chainsaw bar for overheating issues?

For overheating issues, it’s hardly recommended for replacing the overall bar. 

How can I understand whether the chainsaw bar is heated more than enough?

Usually smokes will pop up from the bar area. Also, you can check the temperature by touching it.  Touching the surface will give you the heat readings that you want. 

Bottom Line

People who deal with chainsaws have to go through a number of maintenance chores in many aspects. No matter how good a brand you purchase a chainsaw from, it will come up with problems and issues like that.

Even, issues like chainsaw clogged air filters, chainsaw bar oiling problems, chainsaw bar lubrication, etc can be a source of this similar problem. 

In today’s article, we’re concerned with one such problem, which is called chainsaw bar overheating. It’s supposed to happen when you’re using a certain chainsaw for a long period of time. 

However, we took it upon ourselves to find out the best possible solutions. Alongside the solutions we are offering, there is one small tip you should always keep in mind.

And that is the product brand. If you stick with a proper brand, then chances are you won’t have to deal with overheating too often. 

And that’s pretty much all there is to it. Goodbye for now.

Kevin Smith

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