Bar oil SUBSTITUTES
- Thread starter Gab250
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The worst bar and chain oil is used gear oil. That foul smelling stuff has no business on chains or bars.
Me thinks I should grab 2 or 3...
https://www.menards.com/main/outdoo...5269720176.htm?tid=-509676618454932485&ipos=2
https://www.menards.com/main/outdoo...5269720176.htm?tid=-509676618454932485&ipos=2
I usually run cam2 it cost 6.99 at rural king.
Don't got 1 in my area. We have a Theisen's farm supply that carry homeowner Stihl and Husky. I think they have 4 or 5 brands of bar oil there but generally cost more there...
The name brand oil is overpriced and doesn't do any better than the cheap stuff. usually if they are out of bar oil i will grab a 5 quart jug of 10w30 for 12.99 that works fine as well.
SawBawss
ArboristSite Member
A buddy of mine gets me used oil from the windmills around here. It is clean, almost clear. Its thicker than hydraulic oil, but still pretty thin. I mix power punch or lucas with it and it makes great bar oil. Have been using it for a few years and all my saws are liking it. No abnormal wear on bars and chains, and oilers are in good shape. Best part......its cheap.
cheapest 10-30 at Walmart is now around $22 locally
Some stuff, Walmart has better pricing for buying online and picking up in store, instead of just buying in store normally, even though it's the same damn stuff. Might be worth checking on, depending on how much time and PITA tolerance vs. $$$ you have.
I don't know that I've seen motor oil cheaper than bar oil, ever.
KostasVolos
ArboristSite Operative
Use Canola oil .
Much cheaper than Stihl's eco bar oil .
Canola oil has higher lubricity than mineral oils,while is 100% biodegradable and non-toxic.
Canola oil does not harden overtime.It does not "dry" .
Best bar oil substitute,by far.
I use canola I switched when bar oil got expensive. Pretty happy with it
Canola oil gums up and turns to sticky plastic if you let it sit. It also mixes with sawdust and coats EVERYTHING.
I used to run it, but had to tear my saw down and clean it with oven cleaner to get the goo off everything.
Never again.
I used to run it, but had to tear my saw down and clean it with oven cleaner to get the goo off everything.
Never again.
KostasVolos
ArboristSite Operative
Canola oil does NOT gum up or dry ,like linseed and hemp oil do .
I feel sorry for your experience ,
but I can't think of anything else than that you have used something else than canola oil or it was not pure canola oil.
Every oil mixes with sawdust,but
"canola oil sawdust pulp" is the easiest to remove by far.
There are many other vegetable oils that do not dry or gum ,
like :
- Almond oil
- Baobab oil
- Cocoa butter
- Coconut oil
- Macadamia oil
- Olive oil
- Peanut oil
a for technical reason can't be used as such.
Rapeseed oil ( aka Canola oil) was once used as the main machine oil base ,before the mineral oils came to scene.
And also it has a unique ability being that it is the only natural occurringlubricant(from mineral,animal or vegetable)that sticks to wet metal.
For that unique property was used extensively in steam engines and marine applications .
https://www.researchgate.net/public...of_mechanical_-_Dynamic_investigations_part_2
https://ahdb.org.uk/the-physical-characterisation-of-rapeseed-oil-based-lubricants
https://www.biona-oils.com/bar-and-chain-oils-saw-guide-oils
http://fluidcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/VSG-Canola-Oil-Advantage.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._Between_Canola_OilZDDP_and_SAE_40_Lubricants
https://www.machinerylubrication.co...es-disadvantages-of-biodegradable-lubricants-
You're behaving as if your suppositions and assumptions are as valid an argument as my actual lived experience. You are incorrect.
When my saw gets gummed up, I can't show it a fancy link that says it can't possibly have done what it did, and have it clean itself.
KostasVolos
ArboristSite Operative
Have you read my post ?
Do you really think that you are the only one that has tried canola oil at his chainsaw?
How come my own EXPERIENCE is wayyyyy different than yours ,huh ?
Links are provided for further knowledge (which BTW was painfully extracted through lots of research ,experimentation and more research) and not to be used as "fact checkers".
So ,as I 've already stated : I seriously doubt that it was pure canola oil the one that messed up your saw.
There is a long-long history of canola oil used as a machinery lubricant and was never-ever recorded that it gums or dries.
You're actually the first person that ever had such experience .
Do you really think that you are the only one that has tried canola oil at his chainsaw?
How come my own EXPERIENCE is wayyyyy different than yours ,huh ?
Links are provided for further knowledge (which BTW was painfully extracted through lots of research ,experimentation and more research) and not to be used as "fact checkers".
So ,as I 've already stated : I seriously doubt that it was pure canola oil the one that messed up your saw.
There is a long-long history of canola oil used as a machinery lubricant and was never-ever recorded that it gums or dries.
You're actually the first person that ever had such experience .
You might want to recheck your oil supply. I milled with canola last year in my tank and my drip feed. It doesn't stick to the saw or plasticize like you claim. It does not sit in my oil tank long term and is never mixed with anything but STP oil treatment if I needed it as an anti sling agent that day. It gets drained out of my tank and replaced with regular bar oil to run through the system and no adverse effects. My chain wear is the same as regular bar oil and the bar wear is about the same. No gum, no goo and nothing sticks to the saw any different.
Don't try it with other vegetable oils or mixed blends they turn to a polymer pretty quickly after being heated up.
hosocat
ArboristSite Operative
I think people who use motor oil tend to use drained oil, which would just go to recycle tub. So essentially it's free.
No, I didn't read most of your post. When it directly contradicts my experience, words on a screen mean nothing.
You might have something with the "not pure" part, but I'm most definitely not trying canola oil again to find out.
I was also able to google and find plenty of references to canola oil polymerizing. It definitely happens.
KostasVolos
ArboristSite Operative
The one at the left is pure canola oil ,plus an additive pack sold
as bar & chain "fluid" ,from the
italian Oleo-Mac .And for a biodegradable and non-toxic oil is actually cheaper than Stihl's mineral bar oil ( middle ) .Semisynthetic from Stihl has skyrocketed regarding it's price ( right ) .
Not anymore a viable option for
professional use.
Have'n tried the vegetable bar oil from Stihl.Rumors say that it dries and gums after some time .
Smells like canola ,looks like canola !
Used to mix some of this in Stihl
mineral bar & chain oil ...
...cause due to molybdenum disulfide it contains it serves as an excellent anti-wear agent and is
a fantastic black pigment to color the bar oil with !
as bar & chain "fluid" ,from the
italian Oleo-Mac .And for a biodegradable and non-toxic oil is actually cheaper than Stihl's mineral bar oil ( middle ) .Semisynthetic from Stihl has skyrocketed regarding it's price ( right ) .
Not anymore a viable option for
professional use.
Have'n tried the vegetable bar oil from Stihl.Rumors say that it dries and gums after some time .
Smells like canola ,looks like canola !
Used to mix some of this in Stihl
mineral bar & chain oil ...
...cause due to molybdenum disulfide it contains it serves as an excellent anti-wear agent and is
a fantastic black pigment to color the bar oil with !
