Chainsaw Sprocket – Maintenance & Performance
A chainsaw sprocket plays a key part in the performance of a chainsaw. If you are an arborist or offer any type of tree services, a chainsaw is an inseparable part of your job. This piece of equipment is used to cut down trees and branches and is made to be tough and rugged. But it also has a number of moving parts that see a significant amount of wear and tear depending on how often and how long you use the chainsaw.
One of the most important components of the chainsaw is the sprocket. If you feel that the saw is skipping, jerking, or has a drag or stretch, these are signs that your sprocket needs changing. Inspect your chain very closely, and check if there is any stretch. For signs of unusual wear, inspect the individual drive links also as the bottom of the links ride along the rail. Here are some further indicators that it’s time to change your chainsaw chain.
It’s important to do this for the chainsaw bar as well because the rails can also wear uneven which can have an impact on the chain and sprocket – this is more of a snowball effect which makes it necessary to ensure that all the components including your sprockets are in the best condition.
Chainsaw drive sprocket maintenance
Worn out sprockets not only affect the efficiency and working of your chainsaw but can result in wear on all the other components connected to it. Take a look at how that occurs- If you continue using worn sprockets, it eventually gets to the stage where they begin to damage the drive links; in turn, these widen the bar groove, and affect the cutting, further speeding up wear on all the parts of your chainsaw.
This can start to get very expensive especially for the longer bars. Even though sprocket maintenance is such as an important aspect of overall chainsaw maintenance, many tree professions tend to overlook it. The sprockets should ideally be changed every two to three chains. It’s also crucial you buy a chainsaw sprocket that’s compatible with the chain on your saw.
Chainsaw sprocket types
- Rim & sprocket- This type of set-up makes it cheaper and simpler to replace the rim which is the component that drives your chain. These tend to wear out much faster compared to spur sprockets but they are far cheaper to replace.
- Spur sprockets– These drive the chain straight from the star-shaped teeth onto the sprocket itself. If these are worn-out you would have to replace the entire sprocket. While they tend to wear much slower than rims, they are more expensive to replace.
- Sprocket bearings– At times the sprocket bearing needs replacing and you would only need to remove the sprocket, slide out the older bearing and replace it with the new one.
Rotatech Chainsaw Sprockets
View all Rotatech Chainsaw Sprockets
As you can see, it’s crucial to change your sprocket regularly, depending on the amount of use it has. We supply Rotatech sprockets for Stihl, Husqvarna and Jonsered chainsaws. Additional sprockets for other chainsaws are also available. For more information about the different types of Rotatech sprocket and bearing kits we have, click here.