Possible cheap two stroke + bar oil

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bwalker
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I wanted to make a side note about mystic in general. Years ago, when u did a lot of work in coal mines and rock quarries mystic was a main stay in oils, and grease. Never seen any more or less wear in pins, engines or transmissions then using any other brand. Price was always decent.
I can't comment on underground coal. But have worked in Iron ore and above ground coal. After the mines get discounts from large companies like Mobil, etc. In Iron ore we used Mobil with some Lubrication Engineer's specialty products. In coal we used Shell mostly except for drag line lubes which were Bel Ray.
For the same reason many mines use GM trucks.
 
singinwoodwackr
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So, ordered the max on this Mistik oil…10.
$6.99 and $7.99 shipping.
showed up yesterday. It comes in 3-pk cases so I ordered another 9 while their sale is still on.
I may just keep ordering and pile it up. Have plenty of friends who need bar oil 😀…add $1 for storage fee, lol
$20/gal around here…for the cheap stuff..
 
Hermio

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OM617YOTA

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Check out Project Farm's recent tests and review of several bar oils. The cheap Harvest King drastically outperformed expensive Stihl and Husqvarna oils.

I saw that test.

I'm sure Stihl and Husky have their specific and consistent recipes, but I'd be surprised if any of the other guys have anything but a minimum spec and are just adding tackifier(or not?) to whatever oil is cheapest when the time comes to run a batch. Just because this batch kicked ass, maybe it was leftovers from a motor oil run and had some leftover additives in it which contributed to it doing so much better this time around, and that doesn't mean the next batch will do any better than Stihl or Husky.

Purely academic, it all seems to work just fine. I get whatever bar oil I can find that's cheapest.
 
huskihl

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I thought the tests were interesting. One thing the old crusty saw guys say is, "Buy the cheapest bar oil you can find and turn the oiler up all the way." Seems they're right.
They’ve mostly always been right. Used to hear of loggers on here who would run hydraulic oil that was drained from replacing hoses or cylinders on the skidder, forwarder, yarder, etc. Every one of them said it worked fine and made no difference as to the wear on the bar
 
bwalker
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They’ve mostly always been right. Used to hear of loggers on here who would run hydraulic oil that was drained from replacing hoses or cylinders on the skidder, forwarder, yarder, etc. Every one of them said it worked fine and made no difference as to the wear on the bar
There was a guy on here by the name of Walt Galer who worked for Windsor. He claimed hydro oils without tach made the best bar lubes.
There is stuff I worry about, but bar oil isnt one of them. I mostly run the cheapest I can get.
 
bwalker
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I saw that test.

I'm sure Stihl and Husky have their specific and consistent recipes, but I'd be surprised if any of the other guys have anything but a minimum spec and are just adding tackifier(or not?) to whatever oil is cheapest when the time comes to run a batch. Just because this batch kicked ass, maybe it was leftovers from a motor oil run and had some leftover additives in it which contributed to it doing so much better this time around, and that doesn't mean the next batch will do any better than Stihl or Husky.

Purely academic, it all seems to work just fine. I get whatever bar oil I can find that's cheapest.
It appears to me that Harvest King is partially motor oil. Bar oil shouldn't have Zinc, calcium, or magnesium in it as it serves no purpose and is a environmental hazzard.
 
scottr
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They’ve mostly always been right. Used to hear of loggers on here who would run hydraulic oil that was drained from replacing hoses or cylinders on the skidder, forwarder, yarder, etc. Every one of them said it worked fine and made no difference as to the wear on the bar

About a week ago I saw a video on youtube where a guy made his own bar oil from tractor transmission oil and tackifier .
 
StihlsawuserMS361

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Worked at a car dealership for many years. Always used new motor oil as it was a perk. Figured if it worked on internal engine components, crank and main bearings etc., should work on a chainsaw. On my Poulan 3400 with a manual oiler, bar and chains lasted forever. Back then, the bar oil hole wasn't drilled on both top and bottoms, so it couldn't be flipped. I miss those manual oilers and wish that my Stihl 361 and 500I had them.
When I brought home the 500I, I looked closely to the Stihl bar oil (1/2 tank, how generous) the dealer put in. Compared it to the 'Pro Select" I am using from Lowes. Smells the same, looks the same, same "tackiness".
Go figure
 
scruffy808

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I saw that test.

I'm sure Stihl and Husky have their specific and consistent recipes, but I'd be surprised if any of the other guys have anything but a minimum spec and are just adding tackifier(or not?) to whatever oil is cheapest when the time comes to run a batch. Just because this batch kicked ass, maybe it was leftovers from a motor oil run and had some leftover additives in it which contributed to it doing so much better this time around, and that doesn't mean the next batch will do any better than Stihl or Husky.

Purely academic, it all seems to work just fine. I get whatever bar oil I can find that's cheapest.
See my ideas in Oil Test Thread on how chain and bar oils are made and how they work.Someone who has inside knowledge how these oils are formulated should chime in to sort out all the opinions.
 
rogue60

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Many think that.
I can only say that I ran thin Walmart bar oil for years without issue.
The amount of hrs we got out of hard nose and sprocket bars running hydrologic oil was impressive. we used to buy it by the 44 gallon drum and saved thousands "bar oil" is expensive here.
I don't think wearing out bars is something to worry about for most provided they dress their bars and don't continue forcing an on fire smoking dull chain to cut that's what destroys bars.
 
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