Bar oil and low temperature

[Bigsnowdog]

At what temperature do you change to winter grade bar oil. I have some Stihl winter grade bar oil, and also recently purchased a gallon of their biodegradable oil. Has anyone tried that, and if so, what do you think of it?

 

[crane]

I use the Stihl medium grade bar oil year round

 

[REJ2]

i only cut in the winter months Nov- March approx., So far i've gotten by with standard weight bar oil. I have purchased four gallons of the green Poulan bar oil from Wal Mart to try tho. Most of my cutting occurs at or above freezing so viscosity may be of little importance.

 

[Slamm]

I've logged in temps down to -10F and never used winter grade. Once I poured a little diesel in a jug to make it thinner, but, never noticed a difference, so didn't continue doing it.

I let my saws warm up a little more when it gets cold, and the oil tank is directly attached to the crankcase, so the oil gets warm anyways, so I don't see the point in buying winter grade. I usually, buy in bulk amounts so having to split that up into summer and winter would hurt my value purchasing some.

Sam

 

[Nitroman]

I too am generous with warmup time. When I get to a good tree, I scope things out then start the saws and let them run while I get everything set up. They're good to go with 10 minutes or so of putting around on the snow.

I have purchased winter weight Husky bar oil, it works then same when I put a pint of kerosene into Stihl oil. It's all good.

 

[crane]

I too, had added kerosene and diesel to thick bar oil. I works, but you have to really shake it up to get a uniform viscosity. Like slamm and nitroman stated, the key to it all, is letting the saws warm up. With most oil tanks located in close proximity to the engine, a warm engine will help it getting the thicker oils flowing.
Just my 2 cents

 

[CWME]

Once it is in the saw that is great to let it warm up. How do you get it into the saw when it won't pour out of the jug:tongue2:

I use winter weight oil when it gets real cold.

 

[ratso]

Winter grade + Regular

Makes a good blend I very my mixture when its below 34. The thinner oil works well when cutting in the snow. A heated handle may be nice for me one day.

 

[alderman]

Not really an issue out here as it seldom gets below freezing. I will thin it a bit on occasion as someone mentioned it can be hard to get in the saw. I don't often run a bar longer than 24" and mostly 18-20. I don't think viscosity is as important on the shorter bars. You might try the Poulan brand as it seems to be somewhat thinner than some others I've run and usually cheaper as well.