Bar oil?

[Coldfront]

At work we have a 55 gal. barrel of gear oil synthetic 75W-90 would that be ok for winter or summer bar oil? We also have synthetic straight 50 wt transmission oil. I thought I remembered the oil guy say that the straight 50 synthetic was actually thicker oil than the synthetic 75W-90? We also have 15W-40 motor oil in a bulk tank. With the price of bar oil I can get a good break from work, as in free, just from the excess drip pan.

 

[mizzou]

Read on here somewhere recently that bar oil has a viscocity very similar to 30wt motor oil.

 

[blackdogon57]

As long as it is clean unused oil i would give it a try.

 

[ddemmith]

Ive use 80-90Synth axle lube recently and it works fine just smells a bit foul. I dont think the saw is too fussy as long as it is not run dry.

 

[Coldfront]

Yea I hate the smell of 75w90 the synthetic 50 wt has a much more orderless smell. But when I'm cutting I don't know if I would even notice the smell.

 

[logging22]

Oil thread? Really? Where is Gary when ya need him. He should be along shortly.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Encore]

I thought auto oils spun off too much to be useful for saws?

Never tried it myself.

 

[zogger]

In the olden daze

At work we have a 55 gal. barrel of gear oil synthetic 75W-90 would that be ok for winter or summer bar oil? We also have synthetic straight 50 wt transmission oil. I thought I remembered the oil guy say that the straight 50 synthetic was actually thicker oil than the synthetic 75W-90? We also have 15W-40 motor oil in a bulk tank. With the price of bar oil I can get a good break from work, as in free, just from the excess drip pan.

In ye olden daze..all we used was car oil, for the mix and the bar oil. No, I ain't kidding either and it worked. Did that working with some firewood folks for a few years.

The only two stroke oil I used was in the outboard. Frequently the bar oil for the saws was drained crankcase oil....

Bar oil is built "tacky" to help stick. That's about it. Besides that is is slippery liquid stuff that flows at saw operating temps well. The "green" bar oil you see in the stores is vegetable oil.

If what you are using is too thick, well, it won't flow, you'll see it not oiling the bar and chain, not a swell idea.... too thin, you'll need to be careful and top off your tank more, don't let it run out.

Not saying to use or not use your freebie stuff, just pay attention to how it works for you. For mix though, modern synthetic oil and premium gas all the way. THAT works a lot better than the old dino car oil we used to use, even though the gas was much better then. Lube oil has gotten better, and gasoline sucks now..tradeoff with progress.... Chainsaws used to smoke like a rastafarian convention, you worked bathed in clouds of nastiness, today, pretty much clear, much less visible smoke and less smell, etc, got to be better. Plus they lube better, 50 to 1 proves that. Bar oil by the jug is cheap though, but if you can make that stuff you can get free work for you, whut the heck. don't cost nuthin to try it for a few cuts. Proly maybe too thick for winter, but summer cutting might work fine.

 

[Johny Utah]

I thought auto oils spun off too much to be useful for saws?

Never tried it myself.

I use 15w40 motor oil from walmart. It was cheaper then the bar oil right next to it on the shelf. Seems to lubricate way better then bar oil and you don't go through as much because you can back off the oil rate a bit. Gear lube is to thick in my opinion. Tranny fluid would be good too because of it's high detergent content and excellent lubricity. I guess if you are an enviro freak you probably won't want to read this thread. lol

 

[TreeClimber57]

I thought auto oils spun off too much to be useful for saws?

Never tried it myself.

Well I used to think same..

And I still think that it is likely so for longer bars.. just what size bar you use likely makes a difference.

We run Stihl in all the saws though (except for the hyradulic ones in bucket truck).. this is where it gets interesting.
Hydraulic saws DO NOT use bar oil at all.. none of them do.. they lubricate the bar and chain by bleeding off a small amount of hydraulic oil from the truck (now with a 45 gallon tank it does not make much difference). But.. they do only have 12 or 14 inch bars for the most part.

So.. hydraulic oil.. which is not too thick by any standards.. and is even thinner likely when running as it gets warm.. is ok.. in fact designed to be used for the saws. So if it is ok for a hydraulic saw; at what point do you need oil with a sticky additive; and thicker oil; to be one that you should use.

Now I do not profess to be an oil expert at all, and expect for the longer bars (we have 48" for example on 880's), that the correct oil is better.

But.. it is not as clear cut as some try to make it out to be.

 

[Whitespider]

The few times I've seen a bar sprocket tip burn up was always when the saw was using motor oil, both used and new oil. Maybe that's just coincidence, but for that reason I won't use it... unless I'm out of options and just need "something" for the last few cuts or a short run. And it does "sling off" quite a bit.

I've used 75w/80w-90 before, but it seemed I was continuously dressing the bar. Maybe that was just my imagination, but I stopped using it... besides the stuff stinks when ya' spill it on your cloths. And the stuff is just way too thick for winter use, especially in your NW Wisconsin climate.

I tried automatic transmission fluid for a short time one winter, on a recommendation. Wow! Now that stuff "slings off"! I noticed any small wood chips that got trapped in the bar rail would swell, requiring a bit more determination to remove. And the darned stuff would stain the white parts of my saw a faint pink... A feller just can't have girly pink on his saw.

I really like the bar & chain oils in the Stihl jugs (especially the blue bottle winter grade in cold weather) but I always feel like I've been corn-holed when I fork-out the cash for it. C'mon, are they using gold as an additive? Lately I've been using some stuff from the local fleet store, Chain Pro Bar & Chain Oil.

The label says for both summer and winter use... (shrug)... I haven't tried it in the winter yet, but seems to work good in warm weather. As far as thickness/tackiness, it appears to be about half-way between the Stihl summer and winter stuff. It sells for 6 bucks, and goes on sale for 5 bucks every now and then. At a buck-twenty-five/buck-fifty a quart it's cheaper than motor oil, 75w-90 or transmission fluid... but it ain't free, and your source is free... (another shrug)

I guess free is relative... if it wears bars, sprockets or chains at a faster rate, or ruins cloths, or makes your truck stink, or stains your saw girly pink... Is it still free?

 

[redoakneck]

I have heard to add 10% kerosene to the thicker oils to thin them out. I bet that adds to the smell. I bought some cheap gear oil 80w-90 to get the cool squeeze bottle to use to fill my saws. Not sure what I will use the gear oil for. I like tractor supply bar and chain oil. 7 bucks

 

[Coldfront]

Well we also have hydraulic oil in bulk. I didn't think of that. I can try making a concoction of Synth 50w, 15w40 and hydraulic oil, its free, and none of it is stinky like the 75w 90. So even if I burn up a bar and chain it will pay for itself. The store bought stuff I use now summer bar oil from the Husky dealer, I use one fill up of bar oil for every tank of gas, so if I get it about the same consistency and use the same amount of oil it's worth a try. I can still grease the sprocket at the end of the bar by itself.

 

[rwbinbc]

I tried used motor oil a few years ago and it worked but I ended up with more oil on Me than the bar. I use the tsc bar and chain oil, $6 on sale or $6.99 normal. Your chain gets hot, The cutters dull faster. I use a 441 and 260 with the oilers cranked. It uses a whole tank of oil per tank of gas. I think I get almost 4 cords of wood per gallon of bar oil. $1.75 per cord for oil. I would stick with bar oil.

 

[Whitespider]

...So even if I burn up a bar and chain it will pay for itself...

Really?... ...Really?... ...At 5-6 bucks a gallon at the fleet store I can buy around 12-15 gallons of bar & chain oil for the same price of a new bar and chain, and those 12-15 gallon will cut somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-70 cord of firewood. How do you figure it will pay for itself? If it burns up a bar and chain while you're using the first gallon of the "free" stuff, how can you possibly figure it will pay for itself? The way I figure it I would need to use at least 13 gallon of "free" stuff before the bar burned up before I could even think I'd broke-even. Fact is, I've never worn out a bar... worn out a few drive sprockets and the cutters on dozens of chains, but never a bar. Heck man, my Stihl 16" bar has cut so much wood there isn't a speck of paint left on it, it's just bright shiny steel (it's on its second saw)... My 20" is just as old but I don't use it near as much, still has lots of paint on it.

 

[rwbinbc]

I've gone through a couple bars, But from being bent or pinched really bad. When cutting wood things happen. I use the same 3/8" bar on the 441 and the 260, The 325 bar still looks new.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Really?... ...Really?... ...At 5-6 bucks a gallon at the fleet store I can buy around 12-15 gallons of bar & chain oil for the same price of a new bar and chain, and those 12-15 gallon will cut somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-70 cord of firewood. How do you figure it will pay for itself? If it burns up a bar and chain while you're using the first gallon of the "free" stuff, how can you possibly figure it will pay for itself? The way I figure it I would need to use at least 13 gallon of "free" stuff before the bar burned up before I could even think I'd broke-even. Fact is, I've never worn out a bar... worn out a few drive sprockets and the cutters on dozens of chains, but never a bar. Heck man, my Stihl 16" bar has cut so much wood there isn't a speck of paint left on it, it's just bright shiny steel (it's on its second saw)... My 20" is just as old but I don't use it near as much, still has lots of paint on it.

+1. I also use that same brand of bar oil and have never had trouble with it, winter or summer. For $5 to $6 a gallon, you cannot beat it. Loggers also use it and to my knowledge, they have never complained. A few have said that they would like it to be a little more tacky for summer work, but in the winter, that can work against you. This brand appears to be an excellent compromise and far superior to any motor oil that usually ends up costing more.

 

[AIM]

I've used a little bit of everything over the years. I can't really think of one that worked any better than another. I typically will use regular bar oil though just because it can be found cheaper than anything else. (I haven't bought any this year though)
Of course if I had a source for free oil I would likely try it and see.

I have no proof to back this up but I think bar oil is just rejected lubricating oil that they add a tacky mix in and sell it as bar oil.

 

[ponyexpress976]

Our local newspaper (has a heavy global warming lean) just published an article about using old motor oil for a bar oil substitute. The author recomends getting the car warm before changing the oil and then immediately running it through a couple coffee filters. Something tells me that the coffee filters aren't pulling to many particles out of the oil. I've used motor oil, tranny fluid, even thick gear oil all in a pinch. Just have to keep an eye on it more so and if your oiler has an adjustment turn it in/out accordingly.

 

[Coldfront]

I have replaced one bar in my life and that was because it got bent. the bar chain combo was about $35 I don't know what makes people think bar oil is so special. It is probably the cheapest reject oil they can possibly use. the synthetic 50 wt transmission oil is very expensive stuff and it seems to hold semi truck transmissions together for hundreds of thousands of miles, I'm sure the bar won't mind it.