Canola B&C oil?

[Wortown Mick]

Brassica napus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Final sentence under "Controversy"
"Untreated rapeseed oil/Canola intended for human consumption can be used as an inexpensive "complete loss" chain and bar lubricant for chainsaws, however its efficacy has been the subject of considerable debate on internet forums."

There is no Arboristsite reference.

Surely we know the best oils for chainsaws, period.

 

[lunger]

I asked about this very thing. I found out that in the winter canola can goop up if left in the saw. In the summer the complaint is that there is not enough tacifiers in it to make it sticky and most of it would just end up running off the end of the bar before it got into the cut.

My solution for that would be to dissolve tallow (beef fat) or lanolin (wool oil) into it. lanolin would probably be stickier and cleaner. I never tried it out though, so its just speculation on my part.

 

[tdi-rick]

I asked about this very thing. I found out that in the winter canola can goop up if left in the saw. In the summer the complaint is that there is not enough tacifiers in it to make it sticky and most of it would just end up running off the end of the bar before it got into the cut.

[snip]

You've never ever read the great bar oil thread, have you

http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/20909.htm

 

[ray benson]

Do an arboristsite search for canola oil or vegetable oil. Threads go back further than 5 years. Lots of info.

 

[fubar2]

A simple solution is to ask yourself which one is most likely to be found listed in a cookbook and which is most likely found in a chain saw operators manual.

 

[Wortown Mick]

Hey, I just saw the article on wikipedia, and there was no reference to our awesome oil discussions.


whats a chainsaw operators manual look like?

 

[fubar2]

Hey, I just saw the article on wikipedia, and there was no reference to our awesome oil discussions.


whats a chainsaw operators manual look like?

Look in your Funk and Wagnels under bar and chain oil, you should find some information on it there.

 

[E.V.A. Sawman]

Just got a 2153 Jonsered (heated handles) that was used by a carver friend that was in his winter saw collection. He uses canola oil because he says it doesn't burn at on high speed use like regular oil. This saw had sat in his shop over the late spring and summer season with no use. When he went to use the saw it was running poorly and fouling plugs with a heavy oil film. He gave up and after I got the saw i split the cases only to find that the gaskets were ate away between the engine and oil tank and the saw, also the inside of the oil tank was really corroded, this saw is only about a year and a half old. He never drains any of his tanks, because of constant use. Now he has drained most of his winter saws and found a few, including a dolmar 5100 wh, that has corrosion and hardened oil deposits. This may be a isolated situation but it is something to look at.

 

[GASoline71]

You couldn't pay me to use that crap...

Gary

 

[Labman]

I am a chemist that spent years making paint out of oils.

Canola, corn, soy, etc. and sold for the purpose bar oil

Canola is unsaturated, polar, lacks tackifiers, and is biodegradable.

Unsaturated means on exposure to air it hardens. The hotter, the better.

Polar means it will attack some of the rubber used in gaskets and seals.

The lack of tackifiers means more of it will be thrown off.

Biodegradable means once in the environment, it goes away.

Using it will leave less oil in the environment. If I was using it, I would make the last fill of the day a conventional oil.

Worse yet are the crazies that want to use it as a motor oil.

 

[andrethegiant70]

I used to be a more religious user of canola, but found that if you leave it in a saw, it can cause you some grief (plugged oiler holes, varnish-like deposits, etc). I still use it, but towards the end of the cutting season, I switch over to conventional bar oil to clear things out. The strategy seems to work and I've had no more issues.