Chainsaw Bar Oil ??

[jpm]

many years ago i just used 30 n/d and it worked fine, but with newer saws the bar oil works better. just my $3.00 worth

 

[KubotainNH]

Hm, interesting that you are talking about this. I had to pull my FIL's chainsaw apart a month ago because the oiler stopped working. He tells me he's been running used motor oil though it the last few months. His oiler hose, deep inside of course, turned to goo. Maybe it was just old or maybe the crap in the oil broke it down but the timing was perfect if it wasn't the oil. Chain oil is cheap enough to use the correct stuff in my opinion.

 

[LD1]

Boy I have read toooo many of these bar oil threads. On this site and on arobristsite.com.

General consenus is used oil is BAD. Sure, some get lucky and never have a problem. But those people are the ones only running a saw a few times a year and would only have to buy a gallon or two of bar oil anyway. So you are trying to save $15 or less

IMO the best bar oil I have found is the tsc stuff. It just seems to be tackier than the rest. And most of this year it has been on sale for 6.99/gal.

It is not the chain I am worried about. You can run used motor oil and still wear the chain out (sharpen enough there are no cutters left) before the oiling becomes an issue. But with bars costing $50 or so for a good 20-24" bar, replacing them more often than necessary is not something I want to do. Not to mention that used oil you are pumping through your oiler.Those arent cheap or easy to replace either. But to each is own.

If you are the guys running the $100 poulan walmart specials and running 87 octane gas, then use the used oil. But there is no way I am going to dump that in my $700-$800 saws. Not when bar oil is a minimal cost in a firewood cutting operation.

Would you put motor oil in your transmission, or hydraulic oil in your engine just to save a few $$??? Buy the right oil for the job. And if you are using MAXlife of whatever oil in your car and run that in your saw, that is bad news. Those high mileage oils have addatives that causes rubber seals and stuff to swell and seal again.(I think they advertise it as "renewing old seals). This is very bad on your rubber pickup hose.

And to the guy paying $38 for stihl oil, either you bought their environmentally friendly biodegradable vegtable oil, or they are seriously taking advantage of you. There regular bar oil is 10-15 bucks.

 

[frogfish]

The shop I bought my Dolmar from recommended using 100% corn oil for the bar oil. claims it has a higher flash point and is better for the envronment. I've been using it for over a year now and have not seen any problems.

 

[bdeboer]

And to the guy paying $38 for stihl oil, either you bought their environmentally friendly biodegradable vegtable oil, or they are seriously taking advantage of you. There regular bar oil is 10-15 bucks.

I grabbed a gallon there due to convenience, but I will remember this when I purchase another saw soon.

 

[beppington]

I buy generic "bar & chain oil" from WalMart or Home Depot. "Reasonably" priced (still too high for flippin' oil, but whatever) & seems to work fine in my Stihl pole saw. Needs re-filling at almost the exact same rate as the fuel.

 

[firefighter jim]

I have heard that Stihl formulates their oil to work with their bars, but I just paid $37.99 for a gallon at the local JD dealer.

I am not sure if this the price everwhere, but they are the most convenient dealer.

That's rediculous..........Tractor Supply 11.00 for Husqvarna and 8.00 for TSC brand per gallon. Zanesville Ohio

 

[bdeboer]

That's rediculous..........Tractor Supply 11.00 for Husqvarna and 8.00 for TSC brand per gallon. Zanesville Ohio

Usually pay alot less than that at a different Stihl dealer in Marion, OH. Zanesville, my wife has family there and in Morgan County to your south.

 

[LD1]

Usually pay alot less than that at a different Stihl dealer in Marion, OH. Zanesville, my wife has family there and in Morgan County to your south.

Not to hijack the thread, but where in central OH you located??

I don't need specifics but was just wondering how close to me you were. I am about 25 Miles east of marion. Near Mt. Gilead.

 

[Carykong]

I have used motor oil,auto trans oil in my stilh only when I was desperate for bar oil. I can buy a gallon of Stilh bar oil at local John Deere Dealer for $9.95. Really prefer official bar oil. Smokes less,keeps chain cooler, healthy for environment and healthy for me,cause I have to breath that smoke if the wind is coming from the wrong direction.

 

[LD1]

I have used motor oil,auto trans oil in my stilh only when I was desperate for bar oil. I can buy a gallon of Stilh bar oil at local John Deere Dealer for $9.95. Really prefer official bar oil. Smokes less,keeps chain cooler, healthy for environment and healthy for me,cause I have to breath that smoke if the wind is coming from the wrong direction.

If your bar oil is creating smoke I wouldn't be worried about the health effects of breathig it, Rather I would be worried about the chain that is getting ready to fly off and take out my leg.

There is NO way that your bar/chain should ever get hot enough to "burn" the oil.

 

[Jay4200]

If your bar oil is creating smoke I wouldn't be worried about the health effects of breathig it, Rather I would be worried about the chain that is getting ready to fly off and take out my leg.

There is NO way that your bar/chain should ever get hot enough to "burn" the oil.

Amen. I've made smoke, but usually only after I stuffed my chain into a rock or something similar, and was just trying to finish that last cut before breaking down and changing chains.

I've run nothing but used motor oil for years, but I change oil in my dirtbikes after only 10 or less hours of use, so I have a lot of barely used oil around - the stuff I dump into saws is generally just about indistinguishable from new. Nothing but Rotella T will do for my saws . All the stuff is doing is lubing a chain and slotted guide - about the least demanding application there is. Short of clogging up the pump innards with debris (not an issue with my barely used oil), there is absolutely nothing bad that could happen using engine oil - I'm convinced of that. Well, there is one thing - engine oil generally comes out faster than bar oil, so you could run out early then burn your chain/bar.

That being said, I currently am finishing up a $10 gallon of Home Depot bar oil, and am about to open a TSC gallon that I got for $5.99 on sale (should've bought 5).

JayC

 

[LD1]

That being said, I currently am finishing up a $10 gallon of Home Depot bar oil, and am about to open a TSC gallon that I got for $5.99 on sale (should've bought 5).

JayC

Thats funny. Over the course of the summer with it being on sale, we have stocked up on about 4 or 5 cases

For $6 a gallon, and considering a gallon will last us through about 5-6 cords worth of cutting, I have never even considered trying to be a penny pincher when REAL bar oil does the job it was designed to do.

 

[Danno1]

I have never bought bar oil in my life. If you use good oil and change it when you should, can't think bar oil is any better............

Change bar oil????????

My old poulan uses exactly two tanks of gas to one of bar oil. Pretty easy to keep both filled.


.

 

[BXTotal]

It's not your chainsaw that you should be worried about.

All motor oil is mildly toxic and bad for the environment. Used motor has heavy metals and all sorts of other nasty stuff.

Running a chainsaw with used motor oil is not much different than changing the oil in your car by dumping it on the ground. Petroleum contamination is a serious problem and very expensive to fix. A chainsaw is also pretty good at creating a fine mist of oil which the operator will inhale. Not to mention the oil that ends up on you and you clothes.

For my health and for the sake of the land where I cut I use bio based bar oil. If the bio bar oil is too expensive, you can (as others have pointed out) run straight vegetable oil, although this may eventually cause problems with the oiler in your chainsaw.

 

[SpringHollow]

The stihl oil i have used is much tackier than the TSC etc brands i have used. I save it for hot weather and use the other brands during the winter to save a couple of bucks.

Ken

 

[PILOON]

Bar oil is essentially hydraulic oil which is the cheapest oil that they make.

I knew an engineer that worked for Shell that pointed that out to me.
He ran straight engine oil in his tractor hydraulics as he claimed better pump life would result.

A rental shop I knew would recycle/filter automatic tranny oil to provide to the rental clients in lieu of chain oil.
Cheap, I know, but they never had chain or bar issues.

I suspect that hydraulic oil with a simple additive to allow it to 'cling' to chain is what they sell as chain oil.

 

[bdeboer]

Not to hijack the thread, but where in central OH you located??

I don't need specifics but was just wondering how close to me you were. I am about 25 Miles east of marion. Near Mt. Gilead.

15 miles southwest of Marion

 

[LD1]

15 miles southwest of Marion

Richwood area???

Not really a neighbor then but oh well. Go Bucks:thumbsup:

 

[bdeboer]

Richwood area???

Not really a neighbor then but oh well. Go Bucks:thumbsup:

Yes, Richwood area.