OK, Canola oil. WTH?

[StihlyinEly]

Aside from biodegradability (I like that a LOT), what's good about running Canola oil for bar lube? If it's only $3-$4/gallon, that's quite a plus compared with even budget brand bar lube. Does it do a good job compared with bar lube? It's veggie based, so how long before it goes rancid? Do bugs come for it? Imagine setting the saw down to go do what a bear does in the woods only to come back and run into a bear licking the oil off your bar.

Things that make you go hmmmmm.

But seriously.

 

[WoodChuck'r]

The stuff works great, I use it all the time. I also use Stihl BioPlus oil as well.

The only thing with canola though is dot let it sit in your saw for more than a week or two. If your saw is gonna sit for a while just run a tank of bio plus or regular oil through the saw so it doesn't coagulate on ya.

I try to use 100% canola as often as I can. I've never had a problem. I run my saws hard and the chains stay lubed.

 

[kspakland]

And, in a pinch, you can cook french fries with it .........

 

[371groundie]

can you use a chainsaw to julienne potatoes? can you make a hashbrown on the hot muffler. maine has alot of chainsaws and alot of potatoes. hhmmmmm.......

 

[howellhandmade]

There are several reasons to use vegetable oil. Some people do so out of concern for their own health. Breathing aerosolized mineral oil for extended periods can lead to lipoid pneumonia. Some tree guys who have their 200Ts in their faces all day every day reckon better safe than sorry. Some people do so out of concern for the environment, or because their timber contracts are written by people who are concerned about the environment and mandate the use of biodegradable bar oil. Some do so because of cost. Canola oil can be had for $4 a gallon or less. There have been some good threads in the Arborist forum about canola oil.

Jack

 

[willsaw4beer]

Canola oil is good stuff but the part about flushing outthe oil tank is very important. It's a little impractical if you spend more time looking at your saw but if the saw is run every day or very frequently it's a great cheap and environmentally friendly substitute.

 

[willsaw4beer]

And bring a frying pan, venison, corn, potatoes and fry em up in the canola for lunch back in the woods.

 

[StihlyinEly]

There have been some good threads in the Arborist forum about canola oil.

Thanks. I searched through the various arborist forums and came up with some valuable info. Canola, here I come.

 

[procarbine2k1]

I am thinking about using it 50/50 with some new bar oil I am trying out. We will see how that goes... I could see it being a great benefit, and substitute vs. other oils. Let us know how it works out for you...

 

[kspakland]

It hurts to pay 8 bucks a gallon for regular bar oil, I might experiment myself with a canola mix and save some bucks towards some serious things, like tires for a truck.

 

[tdi-rick]

Here's the great AS Canola/Vegie oil thread, spanning four and a half years and twelve pages

The first page

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=20909&highlight=canola

and the last

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=20909&highlight=canola&page=12

Bottom line is that a couple of tribologists (oil formulators) i've had dealings with gave straight canola a qualified thumbs up when I asked. Ideally you'd add some EP additives and a small amount of tackifier, (one of those formulators runs a saw, has developed some trick bar oils and reckons most bar oils have miles too much tackifier, more as a selling point ) but the fella's in that thread had been using it for a long time with positive results.

 

[tdi-rick]

It hurts to pay 8 bucks a gallon for regular bar oil, I might experiment myself with a canola mix and save some bucks towards some serious things, like tires for a truck.

It always cracks me up when you fella's have a little whinge about your bar oil costs when we are paying A$20 (US$18.22) for 4 litres (a touch over a US gallon) here.

 

[StihlyinEly]

It always cracks me up when you fella's have a little whinge about your bar oil costs when we are paying A$20 (US$18.22) for 4 litres (a touch over a US gallon) here.

Hey, if a fella can save $5 on a gallon of bar oil without hurting the B&C, it doesn't matter whether he's saving $5 off $18 or $5 off $10. It's still saving $5 off each gallon.

What does a gallon of veggie oil cost over there?

 

[Banacanin]

Baby Oil

Has anyone tried using pure mineral oil aka baby oil. This is really highly refined and clean stuff that is safe and hypo allergenic and I doubt it would be prone to coagulating or causing damage. I know woodworkers use it for things like cutting boards because it protects the wood.

Also the Walmart brand is pretty cheap.

 

[mikefunaro]

I cannot understand why the bio oils from the big names (or the not so big names) cost so much $$$. Stihl bioplus around me is $7 a quart and $20 a gallon, baileys bio stuff shot up to close to that...

My 576 isn't a vegan or vegetarian or anything but I'm not about to run beef tallow through it, so the slightly cheaper G Earth stuff is out.

 

[dumbarky]

Going green is new fad.

Yeah my daughter is trying to get us to go green asking questions about pollutants and all. I guess she makes some sense. We live on a farm and try not to pollute the land anyway, but now I'm no treehugger. However if I can run canola oil get, same results, run cheaper, and it not be a pollutant, then I guess I'm ok with that. They are pushing this at the grammer school level for kids to be conservative and ecofriendly with the environment. I guess its ok but some folks take it to extremes. Glad you guys have tried this canola oil out next time I go to grocery store, think I'll get me some. Is there a particular kind or anything? Are you guys running it straight or mixing to start with. Casey

Farmers/ Ranchers were the first conservationalists/environmentalists not tree huggers.

 

[gmax]

It always cracks me up when you fella's have a little whinge about your bar oil costs when we are paying A$20 (US$18.22) for 4 litres (a touch over a US gallon) here.

Yep! The last lot I bought was $100 for 5 "US" gallons of husky oil.

 

[WoodChuck'r]

The high price is more than likely a name thing. I don't mind though. I'll pay the few extra bucks to not pollute the enviroment.

When those who realize how much they have killed, they can't pay the few extra bucks to bring the life back into any plants or animals they have destroyed. All you can do is start from the beginning and do less polluting and devistation to the woods and forest life by spending that money ahead of time and preventing the pollution to begin with.

 

[stinkbait]

What about EVOO? I hear that's what Paula Deen uses in her saw.

 

[BobL]

It always cracks me up when you fella's have a little whinge about your bar oil costs when we are paying A$20 (US$18.22) for 4 litres (a touch over a US gallon) here.

In Oz, the Stihl branded oil is US$23.40 per US Gallon. Canola is ~US$10 a gallon on special in supermarkets, normally its around US$14 a gallon.