Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2018 20:09:25 GMT -5
I have seen several threads on mixing oils but nothing on bar oil. I used to think it wasn't a big deal that bar oil is bar oil and that still may be the case. I bought a gallon of the house brand bar oil from Oreilly's a while back and have used most all of it but I have noticed that it just doesn't seem as heavy and thick as what I used to use in the past. I don't remember what I used then either I honestly think it had Robin Hood on the label which was a large logging supply Homelite dealer in the area. They are still open but about 50 miles from here I just don't think a gallon of bar oil is worth the trip. So does it matter or is there a recommended brand out there.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Bar oil
Mar 1, 2018 20:25:25 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2018 20:25:25 GMT -5
I've had people tell me that it's best to use name brand bar oils.I say hogwash,as long as the oil has good viscosity (The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of it resistance to gradual deformation by shear stress or tensile stress).It should also have a good cling tendency as well.I've also heard that bar & chain oil is too heavy for some chainsaw oilers & it should be cut with kerosene,especially in colder climates,or winter & sub-zero temps.I've had several oilers all go bad over the yrs.& I think it's due to the oil being too heavy.I've also been told not to use bar & chain oil altogether,to user 10-30,or 10-40,of courser you'd have to readjust your oiler accordingly if at all possible.This spring I'm going to try cutting my oil with kerosene to see how it works.
|
|
|
Bar oil
Mar 1, 2018 20:28:18 GMT -5
Post by stillsawing on Mar 1, 2018 20:28:18 GMT -5
There's usually two different weights, one for winter and the heavier weight for warmer air temperatures. The two weights are sae10 and sae30. I've heard of bar oil being a water emulsion based lubricant and was told to never use it. The label should have some information as to what you have. Back in the day, the pro's diluted the oil with kerosene. Shake it up, see if appears different.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Bar oil
Mar 1, 2018 20:32:59 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2018 20:32:59 GMT -5
There's usually two different weights, one for winter and the heavier weight for warmer air temperatures. The two weights are sae10 and sae30. I've heard of bar oil being a water emulsion based lubricant and was told to never use it. The label should have some information as to what you have. Back in the day, the pro's diluted the oil with kerosene. Shake it up, see if appears different. wish I would've asked sooner. We use a water glycol hydraulic oil at work in our hydraulic units for the anti flammable properties mostly. Its a mess and I despise it. You can take a valve off and leave it out for a few weeks and the water I assume has evaporated from it and left an almost impossible to clean goo behind. I hope that isn't what I've put in my saw lol
|
|
|
Post by sweepleader on Mar 1, 2018 21:05:22 GMT -5
I use 10-30 or 10-40 engine oil on my chains, not in the gas though, and never adjusted any oil pump. I always check the oil when I gas up and have never run out nor burned a chain/bar.
The motor oil has rust inhibitors in it that I believe keep things from rusting when they contact water and/or sap. It is designed with high pressure additives to protect camshaft and lifters that also protects chain parts. I don't run saws for a living so the cost of the oil is not important to me, I don't actually know how automotive oil compares cost wise, I have never purchased bar specific oil. For myself, I see several upsides to multi-weight engine oil and no down side.
I would never use hydraulic fluids in a saw, nor anything with water in it or glycol, neither of which is much good at lubricating steel. Mixing in solvents like kerosene seems like making trouble when there are ready made solutions with no down sides.
All of this is my opinion and your mileage may vary.
|
|
|
Bar oil
Mar 1, 2018 21:18:49 GMT -5
Post by stillsawing on Mar 1, 2018 21:18:49 GMT -5
Just picked up a case, 2 gal. of summer, 2 gal. of winter. 12.50 a gallon, Husky brand. Bar oil has a special additive that prevents fly off at the tip. Good oil should draw a hair when you touch the oil and pull your finger away.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Bar oil
Mar 1, 2018 21:32:56 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2018 21:32:56 GMT -5
Yeah,my dad showed me that when I was a youmg lad.
|
|
|
Post by Clasec on Mar 1, 2018 23:03:30 GMT -5
I have seen several threads on mixing oils but nothing on bar oil. I used to think it wasn't a big deal that bar oil is bar oil and that still may be the case. I bought a gallon of the house brand bar oil from Oreilly's a while back and have used most all of it but I have noticed that it just doesn't seem as heavy and thick as what I used to use in the past. I don't remember what I used then either I honestly think it had Robin Hood on the label which was a large logging supply Homelite dealer in the area. They are still open but about 50 miles from here I just don't think a gallon of bar oil is worth the trip. So does it matter or is there a recommended brand out there. Here is what my 550 manual shows. 550 OILER by CLASEC, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by jerseyhighlander on Mar 1, 2018 23:28:03 GMT -5
When I first started out I used the generic bar oil they sold at the saw shop. Thick as honey and tacky, worked fine but in winter it was impossible and I switched to a winter grade that was much thinner in cold weather. After a going through a few gallons, I started thinking about how much petroleum I was distributing around my property and picked up gallon of biodegradable stuff made by Stihl, comes in a green bottle, can't remember the name but it's supposed to be mostly vegetable oils. It's pretty thin in the summer but I haven't noticed any issue with it at all. Not like it has to have a lot of staying power, it's being replaced by fresh stuff continuously.
Personally, I wouldn't use regular motor oil just cause that's what they did back in the 60's any more than I would use the 16:1 gas ratio. Again, more due to concern for the environment than anything. These days most motor oils have a lot of additives, which include some minerals intended to neutralize ph that comes from combustion, something we don't need for bar lube.
Hydraulic oils have all kinds of seriously toxic stuff in them. I don't go anywhere near it without latex gloves on, certainly don't want to spray it around my property, where some of my food comes from. Dad & Grandfather both died young of cancer, I'm trying hard to avoid that destination.
Got a Nor'easter closing in on us tonight/tomorrow, predicted to be pretty hairy, I may be running the saws & the generator in the aftermath.
|
|
|
Post by Clasec on Mar 1, 2018 23:47:18 GMT -5
I've know of guys using vegetable oil for bar oil. Haven't heard how its working in the wear department yet.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2018 0:12:33 GMT -5
I've been using Tractor Supply brand for as long as I can remember.It's got excellent viscosity,but just too thick,especially if you;re cutting in winter.I don't cut in the winter,I have no need to unless there's an emergency.I get all my wood in by June 1st,that way it has all summer to season if I need to use any of it.I try to keep one yr.ahead of what I'll be using.I already have my wood in for the 2018-2019 season.When I go out this spring,or even in the fall,it'll be for the following yr.I had so much wood stock piled that I'm just finishing up wood that I'd cut in 2014.Some of that isn't the best quality wood to burn,so after it's all dried out I use it during the day when I can fill the furnace more frequently if need be.
|
|
|
Post by Clasec on Mar 2, 2018 0:17:28 GMT -5
If I'm feeling like going back to my childhood helping my dad cut wood here's how I do it. Same oil for the oiler and fuel. The smell and sound makes me remember good times. Old school by CLASEC, on Flickr
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2018 0:35:06 GMT -5
Yup,that's all they had back then.The 2 stroke oil as we know it now didn't come on the scene til about early 80's if I remember correctly.At least I didn't start using it til then.That was a real funky smell too.I get that sometimes when I fire up a saw that hasn't been run in yrs.& there's all that residue left in the saw's cylinder & exhaust port,mufflers sometimes too.
|
|
|
Post by fossil on Mar 2, 2018 10:06:55 GMT -5
The use of motor oil for bar and chain oil is before oil specific for that was around. The old saws (Homelite 330 excepted) generally pumped a ton of oil. Newer saws don't. Not sure if that was an EPA thing or an economy thing. Stihl saws don't pump much oil now. I would say bar and chain oil would always be a good idea with saw like that.
The purpose is strictly to keep the bar and chain lubricated
If the bar and chain don't get hot when cutting, I would say what you're using is working.
|
|
|
Bar oil
Mar 2, 2018 16:41:29 GMT -5
Post by jerseyhighlander on Mar 2, 2018 16:41:29 GMT -5
I've know of guys using vegetable oil for bar oil. Haven't heard how its working in the wear department yet. Been running it for a while now, don't see any reason to stop. This the stuff from Stihl, some good reviews from people been using it for years. www.stihlusa.com/products/oils--lubricants-and-fuels/oils-and-lubricants/biooil/Reading them reminded me of many of the reasons I originally started looking for something different. Everything from the sawdust goes in my compost pile to some of the wood I cut gets used to smoke my food.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Bar oil
Mar 2, 2018 18:27:59 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2018 18:27:59 GMT -5
I wonder if the same would hold true for bar oil that is believed about the mixing oil and that is the newer is much better than what it used to be. If you have an automatic oiler on an old saw that doesn’t quite put out like it used to does it really matter with new oils. One thing that is close around these parts are Stihl dealers. I have a 20 mile one way trip to work and back every day and can pass 3 if I go about another 15 miles the other side of my house there’s another so I might have to grab some and try it
|
|
|
Post by Clasec on Mar 3, 2018 0:28:46 GMT -5
The two things I question about vegetable based bar oil is will it damage the magnesium castings if left in the saw for years and will it damage the engine if it leaks in via a bad diaphragm. Or a crossover leak from the reservoirs.
|
|
|
Post by jerseyhighlander on Mar 3, 2018 1:28:14 GMT -5
The two things I question about vegetable based bar oil is will it damage the magnesium castings if left in the saw for years and will it damage the engine if it leaks in via a bad diaphragm. Or a crossover leak from the reservoirs. Interesting questions. I'll test the ph of the stuff I have. Anything else you can think of might make it problematic besides ph?
|
|
|
Post by sweepleader on Mar 3, 2018 7:50:53 GMT -5
Vegetable oil will dry and leave seriously sticky residue. Check out your kitchen, the cracks are full of dried vegetable oil. They also mix with water and do not protect against it. Petroleum and synthetic oils do not do that. Those are the reasons I never use "3 in 1" oil on anything, it is vegetable oil. There may be additives these days that address these issues.
Most saws seem, particularly the old ones, to have passages in the castings for oil that cannot be drained, whatever goes in, stays there.
New oils are much better at everything compared to the old oils, better viscosity with temperature, anti-rust, extreme pressures(bearings, chains, bars), heat, compatibility with plastics and other oils. Engine oils do contain things that you do not want to eat and that leave deposits on sparkplugs and combustion chambers. Those 2 keep me from using it in fuel mixes, 2 cycle engine oils burn much cleaner, are called "ashless".
Find something you like and stick with it for at least several years, without changing anything. You can form your own conclusions but you need to stay with one thing long enough to know how it will perform for you. I think that goes for gasoline too, it has a big effect combined with oils for fuel mixes. I use the bar and engine oils year after year and buy gas at the same place. No ethanol ever (similar water issues).
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Bar oil
Mar 10, 2018 17:06:55 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2018 17:06:55 GMT -5
Well I got a gallon of the Stihl bar oil, not the vegetables organic stuff but the regular Stihl bar oil. I must say it was a noticeable difference in it and the oriellys oil I was using. I could the chain wet all the way out to the top of that 32” bar and it stayed that way. I couldn’t see that with the oriellys oil. Lesson learned I will never buy that stuff again
|
|