Chainsaw vs Outboard 2 Cycle Oil

[art]

For what I learned after buying a used boat that only ran a generic oil in it that said it was everything to everybody on it(cute little pics). The engine went out to lunch although it did have a nice even 120lbs compression two months earlier, it was from some water from the fuel tank that broke the carbon build-up off the pistons to score the cylinder walls.

Oil engineers told me that air cooleds run 400 degrees hotter on top of the piston then water cooled! Good reason for the carbon build up!

For the guys in shop, please use that oil!

 

[drivadesl]

My 2Cents. OK its not a chainsaw, but... I had a lawnboy that called for its own 2 cycle oil. Aaaagh, I've got this marine 2 stroke laying around, I can use it. At the end of one season the engine was toast. Opened it up, piston and bore black and scored. End of story, never did that again. I run Stihls oil in my Stihl chainsaws and Echo in my Echo.....

 

[jpm1]

I used outboard 2 cycle oil in one of my chain saws years ago and the saw is no more. Same thing happened with 2 cycle snowmobile oil. . . dead! I have 3 stihl saws and run nothing but stihl oil in them and will continue to do so. I've found it cheaper cause proper oil is cheaper than a new saw, and my saws perform better with almost no smoke and motors look good inside too... "Penny wise and dollar foolish", It's your choice though!

 

[elalexander]

Outboards are often wateer cooled to some extent. Chainsaws are air cooled. I used outboard oil in a weedwhacker and had problems with buildup. Went back to Husky/stihl oil and no issues.

 

[Tig]

I don't dispute for a minute the wisdom of the knowledge and advice posted in this tread but generally speaking I don't exactly follow it.
I do have a can of "chainsaw gas" mixed at the moment. Only because the saw is new and it came with oil. I figure my six pack of 200ml chainsaw oil bottles will last 12 years if I keep heating with wood. Does oil go bad?
Aside from that I have been running the same oil, mixed at 40:1 in all my 2 stokes all year long. Weed whacker (should be 32:1), 2 outboards (40:1), old chainsaw (40:1?). I have also used the same oil in my oil injected snowmobiles. When buying oil I look for a quality oil with TCW3 rating for what ever season/machine I need at the time.
I know this is not "best practice" but mixing tiny quantities of fuel or keeping several different cans of mixed 2 stroke fuel on hand would mean poor mixes, stale fuel and I would need need more than my current inventory of six fuel cans.
I keep an eye on my spark plugs and keep my carbs clean. I'm not shy in working my machines hard if I feel like it but as a rule they are treated kindly.
My outboards are 43 and 18 years old, snowmobiles are 20 years old, weed whacker 15 years, old saw 20 years.
As I said I know that I should not do this, but I do and things are fine.

 

[milkman]

I use and like Tanaka one mix, only have to have one fuel can for chainsaw, string trimmer, and leaf bager/blower although they are all air cooled, don't know if it would work in water cooled engine.

 

[Workstead]

I've been in the boating industry for over thirty years now. ............ Any oil is better than no oil, but the right oil works better than just any oil. ............. Use the wrong stuff and I can vouch for the fact that it shortens the life of the engine sometimes resulting in catastrophic failure. It's not just marketing hype. Compared to the engine, oil is fairly cheap. I'd recommend getting the right stuff.

This thread has been the best education I've ever had on oils. Thanks for the level headed information and the real life experiences that you've shared.

I like the bold quote from Marlowe, above.

I will probably follow the advice from JJZ 109 and use my outboard 2 cycle oil for bar oil.

I like knowing what I should do in a given situation but I really like to know WHY. This thread has given that to me.

Thanks,

Clem

 

[RobertN]

I have a few gallons of Outboard Motor 2 cycle oil. It's bee a while since I read the label but is does specifically say "Outboard Motor" oil.

Can this be used in my chainsaw? We had a pretty bad ice storm earlier this year and I'm using my chainsaw quite a bit. I no longer have an outboard motor and I thought I would just use it to mix with gas for my saw.

My chainsaw is air cooled and the outboard was water cooled. Would that make any difference? Is 2 cycle oil 2 cycle oil or are there significant differences?

Thanks for any help.

Clem

Different oils are made for different RPM' and stresses. Air cooled engines get hotter.

I did something different... I used to ride dirt bikes. I had been out riding on a Saturday. On Sunday, I went out to cut some wood.

I had 1.5 gallons of dirt bike fuel left. I used premium gas, with one of the best race oils at the time. The dirt bike ran great Since I had this premium grade fuel left over, I decided to run it in the chainsaw. The two chainsaw's, one a '60's Mac pro saw and the other a nice Stihl, fired right up. But, they bogged right out. Those saws would not run for beans.

Went out, got some fresh premium, and a fresh bottle of Husky(or Stihl; it was a few years ago...) premium oil. Saws ran great!

Since then, I only use premium gas, with good Husky or Stihl oil. That Stihl is 25 years old and still runs great. The newer Husky I have, and the Stihl string trimmer, run great.

The other thing, which is often disputed, is I only mix 1 gallon at a time, and use it up quickly. My dirt bike buddy used to build race motors for National champions(Danny Magoo Chandler was one), and used to race the west coast circuit. They never used mixed gas more than a day or two. The oild would start to break down. They saw engines go up in smoke. Now, granted, that was competition racing. But, these chainsaws also run 10,000+rpm.

So I like to run fresh premium mix in them

 

[kenmac]

Not all 2 cycle water cooled engines call for TCW-3 rated oil... Owned a Sea-Doo once ...owners manusl stated not to use TCW-3. It called for an ash based 2 stroke oil... Valvoline once made it & quit... Had to buy it from Sea-Doo.. I use Amsoil synthetic 2 cycle mix for blowers, chainsaws, trimmers

 

[djradz]

Use of the oil for bar-oil in the winter is about as close as I would ever let it get to any of my chain saws.