i love these clippers- they do a great job on a weather-hardy coat- but they seem like they run super hot. I’ve done 4 clips with them so far, and have to stop every 10 minutes to let them cool down. I oil them at the start and every 10 minutes, clean with blade dip at every break, check the tension before each clip, and start with a clean horse. In the summer it’s not a big deal to rotate between the big Stars and my Andis Super-2’s (where I can do the whole horse almost without a break) but my Andis clippers don’t handle guard hairs very well so an hour clip takes 3 hours in winter because I have to let the Stars cool down. Just me? Any advice to keep them happier?
I have lister stars and so do 3 of my friends. 1 Out of 4 of them run hot! I was using her pair to clip her horse and Not even 5 mins of clipping I would habe to run them in the blade cleaner and let them sit to cool. They were adjusted correctly. Not sure why. Took them apart out them back together, same thing.
Are the venting places open, not collecting hair? Parts under blades clean and oiled too? We used the big Lister’s on show lambs, one after another for full body clips, stayed cool. Not sure if it was a Star or not, but they are very nice clippers. Have you had them serviced by a professional? Maybe something inside the case needs attention. Running hot in 10 minutes is unacceptable to me. I am presuming you mean a hot case, not the blades. Hot blades only may be your choice of lubricant and tightness of blade setting. I see this bad cutting, being hot with folks using wrong products on clippers.
Heck, call the manufacturer, ask for help with the issues. They want you to LOVE their product, tell all your friends how good it is.
They haven’t been serviced yet because I’ve only had them for 6 months. The case and blades get hot in 10 minutes. Now, my horse has a serious winter coat, but he can’t beat a sheep for weather proofing, so I don’t think it’s an issue of capacity. 
Servicing was my next step and then calling Lister. I was hoping there was something I was missing.
They do a great job. I like them despite this. I would like them even more if I could keep them running cooler.
@goodhors , you mentioned products. What do you use on yours? I use the oil they came with and Andis blade cleaner dip.
I have the Lister Star clippers also and they run hot. They are also new and I was told that they do tend to run hot by other Lister Star owners. I use their oil every 10 minutes and check the vents, then I keep going.
I have a pair, the only time I’ve had problems with them getting hot is when I’ve clipped with temps in the 90s. Mine are not new–probably 7-8 years old…possibly they are made a little differently now?
My old ones did not. My new ones run hot quickly, then again so do my Andes, and every other pair I have right out of the box. I’ve never owned a pair no matter how expensive that didn’t run hot on my horses except the first Lister Stars 8 years ago, I think. I don’t compete anymore so I don’t body clip the horses. Mine are continuing to run hot on a standard poodle now which is murder on blades but I’d love to find a pair that don’t make stop every ten minutes.
I posted above about my friend’s listers running hot and mine not. Mine are also about 8yrs old
I just bought a pair of KM10s and used them this morning. Hot blades in 10 minutes. Same with the last Oster A5 pair and another pair of KM something or others.
I wonder if the blades themselves aren’t made as well used to be? Seems like I used to be able to clip much longer without hot blades.
I absolutely hate mine because I only get maybe 5 minutes of clipping before I have to take a break because the blades are 8 million degrees. Doesn’t matter how I adjust or readjust the tension. Everything is clean. They’ve done it since my first clipping job when they were brand new. I have an old pair of the belt mount clippers (blanking on the name) and those can run for 30-45 minutes before I have to let them rest. I will not be buying Lister Stars again!
Had to let mine cool within a half hour of my first clip with them. Same thing as another poster, had to let them sit to cool down - which is a total pain because it takes so long for them to cool down. I purchased them because the reviews said they ran “quiet and cool”. They do neither.
It’s a sin because they clip so well!
I forgot to mention that my friends blades are rustyalready ( they were well oiled) while mine have done several clips and are not at all rusty. Maybe the blades are the actual problem.
I have a one that is at least 10 years old and doesn’t get hot but I bought a back up pair this year, and it does get hot.
With so many having the same issue of hot blades, I would call the Lister folks for help. It could be an easy fix BEFORE you pay to get them serviced. You need to make them aware of your problems, dissatisfaction! Why are folks afraid to contact the makers, people who know the product best? Yet are willing to pay for problem fixing as the first step in improving the situation??
The Lister’s we used on the sheep have to be in the 8yrs and older catagory, DD has been out of 4-H about 5 years. They were Club clippers, we sheared 16-20 lambs clean right before showing them when we attended sheep shows. Market lamb class wants them naked to see body development for judging meat quality. The clippers ran for several hours, stopping only to change to sharper blades as needed. No burned sheep.
No one on here mentions using Cool Lube spray on hot blades to lower the heat. Perhaps you don’t know about it? It does actually cool the blades somewhat, to allow longer clipping time with that set of blades. BUT at some point of body clipping you do have to turn off the clippers, let blades cool down. Besides chance of burnng horse or dog, running blades hot wlll “make them lose their temper” in changing hardness (temper) of the blade metal. This means sharpness is lost fast, doing only small areas of of hair. Blades just quit cutting, need resharpening soon.
As for products I use, this would be sewing machine oil. “Back in the day” when I first started using clippers, it was hard to find clipper oil. Kerosene cleans the blades, but was a very poor lubricant, plus giving some horses hives. They got lumps even if washed immediately after clipping. Sewing machine oil is made for running with heat of machine in use long times. Sewing machine oil is made for being clean in the close tolerances of fast moving parts. Never had any horse react to getting it on their skin.
I never use other types of oils, like 3-in-one, which is pretty dirty out of the can. Feels gritty rubbing your finger together. Made for other uses, not heated clippers. No WD-40. That is not a lubricant, though many folks use it as such. WD-40 gets runny , thins with heat, providing no lubricating in only moments of use. WD stands for Water Displacement, 40 was the particular recipe of formula, when they were inventing this product. Not a lubricant.
We do use the Cool Lube on clipper blades during body clipping, it helps keep blades cooler in use. We oil clippers as needed with the sewing macnhine oil, clean clipper vents so air cools the motor as needed. A bottle of sewing machine oil will last you a long time. Singer brand is the most common, easy to find. I would not buy “no brand name” sewing oil. Not as good as the Singer oil, IMO. We have more than one set of clippers, to alternate them before blades are too hot. My big clippers are Osters, with one old set labeled Sunbeam from before the companies merged. Still work just fine. We use them hard, clipping several horses when body clipping is needed. So having an extra set lets the clipping go faster without having to wait to cool blades off.
I keep my clippers covered in a sock between uses. Blade end of clippers will make sock a bit oily from my oiling blades before storing. Seems to prevent rusty blades. Newly sharp blades come in a paper envelope that I store in a sealed plastic box, like Gladware. Used blades go right into the envelope of replacement blades, stored in a second Gladware box marked Used. No mixing them up. Nothing is left out in our humid air to rust. Clippers covered in sock, plain blades in envelopes, prevent teeth damage by clanking together.
Hope this is of some help to OP and others. It is maddening to pay for good name products that don’t do their job as expected. It is why I now “go to the source”, the maker contact number, for problems, questions about why it is not working. Saves time (frustration!) not talking to middlemen who are no help.
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Thanks, @goodhors.
The clipper pro I used to use was not a fan of Kool Lube- in his opinion it gummed up between blade teeth. He liked Andis’s Blade Care dip better and recommended that to be used instead of the spray. It has served me well for about 10 years now. The Stars came with a small canister of oil but if for no other reason than the packaging, I like Andis’s better for this as well. The little tiny nozzle on the bottle is easier to control placement.
I was hoping that my machine running hot was a personal problem caused by technique or care, as these are a different animal from my beloved Super-2 Speeds, but as many of us seem to be having this issue, perhaps it isn’t just me. I’ll give Lister a call.
Mine get hot whether I use kool lube or blade dip…other than that I love them
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I had this problem with my beloved Lister Stars and then discovered (either by re-reading the very minimal user manual or by watching a video – I can’t remember which) that I wasn’t oiling them correctly. Yes, you need to oil them every 10 - 15 minutes, but after putting the oil on all the points of the clippers that are indicated in the instruction manual, you then need to turn the clippers on and rotate them every which way in order to distribute the oil. Then, turn off the motor, wipe off any excess oil, and you’re ready to resume. Following this process made a huge difference for me.
Interesting, I didn’t see this in the manual but I did find a youtube video that showed the process you talked about. I’m going to try it (while watching) the video when I need to clip again. Thanks!
