chainsaw... auto oiling or no?

I was at Sears looking at 16" chainsaws today... thought I'd start with a cheap electric one. They had some as low as $40-50 without automatic oiling.. the others with the auto oil were $90+...

What exactly is th difference between the two?

about 40 or 50 bucks... :wink:

auto oiling saves you from having to lubricate the chain manually, and helps extend the life of the chain. i'm not a chainsaw expert, and i've only used auto-oiling chainsaws, but i can imagine that having to do it manually will get old pretty fast.

Not only does it get old, but you forget and the chain gets so hot it siezes up on you and won't spin until you cool it down and oil it. That is very bad for the chain. It drastically shortens the life of the chain and the bar.
It is important to keep the bar clean, so once a week or so, remove the chain and bar and clean the groove around the bar where the chain runs. That groove will get filled with compacted sawdust which prevents the bar-tip from receiving oil and causes it to heat up and wear premmaturely. You will find the holes on the side of the bar where the oil is channeled and those holes need to be cleaned too.

Hmmm... sounds like I'd better get the auto-oiling variety. I'm not good with remembering midway to oil something...

Thanks Benz and Palama!

For the money, step up and get a gas saw. It's more fun when you make a lot of noise! The extra power is nice too. If you can, get a top handle saw (both handles above the saw body), they're easier to work with. They look like this...

-Gman

Gman... thanks for the advice. I'll look for the top handle.... although I think, living in a cul-de-sac with neighbors right next to me... that I'll probably stick with the quieter electric. Who knows, maybe I'll get an electric and a gas eventually!

I use both gas and electric, you never can have too many tools. My electric is a cheapo manual oiler Remmington, really a pain to keep pumping that oil button. If the neighbors don't like the noise of a gas chainsaw, they can move.

Gas is a gas! I find logs at the beach that are very interesting but too big to take home....until I slice 'em.
I'm eyeing my neighbor's 100 foot coconut tree right now. He probably won't know it's missing until tomorrow.
Always carry a gas chain saw!
Don't leave home without it.
Ecko (I think that's the spelling) makes a mini size saw that cuts like a knife through butter. Great for more detailed work.
And great noise, too!
It's only Rock 'n roll!!!!