Synthetic Oil

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Dale M

ArboristSite Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2006
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Location
Calgary Alberta Canada
Hi Guys
I don’t want to start a big debate thread about using Synthetic oil or Not, But have a question for those of you that do use it.
I have a husqvarna 562-xpg and thinking of going the synthetic route with this and and with a 359.
I see some of the gas/fuel ratios are up to 100-1. Maybe that’s fine but
Seems scarey to me. Can you run it at a 40-1 ratio or 50-1 ratio or do you need that ratio since synthetic doesn’t really burn off very well and don’t want a gooey saw. I don’t use more than a couple of litres/quarts a year so the cost really isn’t an issue.
Thanks
Dale
 
I'm confused.....100% dead dinosaurs with a synthetic oil? Am I missing something?
I'm guessing zero ethanol.

OP, for the little bit that you use, why not just buy a gallon (3.78 liters) of quality premix? Most have 91 octane zero ethanol gas, fuel stabilizer, and synthetic oil.
 
Thanks guys, that premix in a can might be a good idea. Does it have a good shelf life? I burn a tank of gas and then don’t use the saw for a month.
Thanks
DM
 
I run 91 octane non ethanol with Stihl Ultra @ 3 oz per gallon which comes out to be 42.66:1.

I buy the Stihl Ultra by the gallon because it is cheaper this way.

I have been running this mixture for several years now with no problems.

Occasionally I will mix up a gallon with Klotz R50 just for the smell.
 
...(snip) Does it have a good shelf life? (snip)...
DM
Yes, 2 - 3 years and up to 5 years unopened claimed by some brands. Personally I would not worry using from the metal can for a year or so. The quart size can is convenient, reuse the can. Husqvarna brand premix ran real well in my Stihl(dealer PDI fill) and Tru-Fuel brand seems good also.
 
Thanks guys, that premix in a can might be a good idea. Does it have a good shelf life? I burn a tank of gas and then don’t use the saw for a month.
Thanks
DM


I have some canned fuel that is over two years old. It performs fine. All that I've used so far is TruFuel.

The 1 qt. cans are pretty heavy-duty. I save all that are empty and reuse them.
 
Thanks guys, that premix in a can might be a good idea. Does it have a good shelf life? I burn a tank of gas and then don’t use the saw for a month.
Thanks
DM
Trufuel & similar have a long shelf lif even after the container is opened the only perceived downside with using it is cost. A saw used more than 1hr a month would probably cost more to run alki fuel
 
If Husqvarna says "Run the saw on 50:1 premix", you run the saw on 50:1 premix or richer if you want to use your chainsaw fumes as a cheap and legal alternative to a smoke grenade. As the saying goes never assume to be smarter than the people who designed the saw.

And I am only repeating this once so pay attention. US legislation still allows the use of the terms "synthetic" and "semi-synthetic" which have disappeared in both Europe and Japan due to a massive legal pissing match between Exxon and BP several years back. Lubricants can only be labeled as "synthetic" if the base oil used in them belong to API Group IV (poly-alpha-olefins, PAO for mates) or V (all lubricants not mineral or PAO, usually meaning esters), otherwise they can only be labeled as generic "oil" or "lubricant.
API (which is headquartered in Washington DC) has shrewdly dropped all references to "synthetic" in their documentation and these days only speak about "Group IV" or "Group V" base oils. So in the US "synthetic" is usually nothing more than a marketing ploy.

Many oil merchants (oils are all blended in the same facilities according to the customers' specifications) make wild claims about their products to entice buyers into buying their products. These claims may not be as completely made up as those of fuel and oil additive companies (which landed in serious legal troubles in several European countries) but are 90% advertisement and 10% embellished reality. People believing in these claims will go to incredible lengths to prove themselves smarter than anybody else, like the idiot on another board who kept on pitching an astronomically expensive oil which, according to him, would allow you to run a chainsaw on 110:1 premix (not a typo... o_O ). He claimed to have run his saws for "many hours a day" on that concoction until one of the older guys on the board, possibly after having had a few beers too many, decided to investigate the matter and found he was just some kid with far more money than common sense who fancied himself a big expert on chainsaws and opted for the oil route to dazzle us common peasants while in reality he was barely able to limb a small tree without cutting off one of his own limbs. He had a nice Shindaiwa collection though.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go and see if a source of scroungeable firewood I have been told about is accessible and I won't break my neck there...
 
That stuff is 9 bucks plus tax a can. Cant aford to use that.

Sent from my SM-J320W8 using Tapatalk
I don't know if you guys have Home Depot up there, but my HD has Trufuel in quart cans for $5 and change and 1 gal cans for $20. I use it quite a bit because the nearest gas station to me that has ethanol-free gas is 50 miles away.
 

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