bar oil shelf life

[WI_Hedgehog]

You sound like my wife that throws out food because the “best used by” date is old.

I pull it out of the garbage and put it pack in the pantry.

Ya might also turn your skivvies the other way to wear a second day...

 

[svk]

Almost indefinitely.

The only time I’d worry about any sort of oil going bad would be if it was stored in a very humid environment, uncovered and looked contaminated.

Plus, bar oil is only used for a couple of seconds once it’s called into service. Not like 4T oil that might sit in a crankcase from months to years.

 

[HadleyPA]

I haven't bought any in years as I bought cases a few yrs ago when TSC had it on sale for like $3.99 or $4.99 a gallon, can't remember which. I just counted the other day and I've got something like 5 gallon left and it is kept in an unheated storage building that can get up to 90 and humid in summer and as low as -20 or more in the winter. Been using it right along with no problems and have no intentions of getting rid of it except right through the saws!

 

[Wood Doctor]

One of my friends used to live near a restaurant that fried a lot of food. He collected all of their used cooking oil after the chef threw it out and poured most of it into his chainsaws. He liked to watch and smell the smoke as he sawed away. Some of his bars actually turned black. Lord knows how the oil pumps and filters on the saws survived. But, he claims he saved about $50 a year.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Stihl Woodcutter Bar and Chain Oil:

Unopened container shelf life: 4 years in originally sealed containers.

Container already opened shelf life: up to 4 years if stored in a firmly closed container, in a dark and dry location, at cool (up to 25°C/77°F) constant temperatures.

Adhesion is what makes bar oil valuable at high chain speeds. Used vegetable oil doesn't have as high of adhesion, but is probably fine if:

• The oil feed is turned up enough to compensate for the oil being slung off.
• The bar isn't so long as to not be lubricated by the oil.
• The amount of additional wear is acceptable.

Smelling like fries is a bonus!

(something tells me if putting canola oil in things was a good idea, almost everyone would know about it)

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Slightly off topic: Bacon Grease As Motor Oil



NOTE: Do not use bacon grease as a replacement for transmission oil since it has no trans fats.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

So the shelf life is 1 year for oil according to the information I posted before. However, what about real-life testing?

Spoiler alert below the video





Keep your oil, it's probably fine.

 

[banditt007]

If its regular petroleum bar oil I have used stuff that was easily over 10 years old in a half used, but capped gallon jug. It was stored in an uninsulated shed in the north east. easily saw 90F in the summer to 10F in the winter. I couldn't tell a difference from new stuff. I've used 6 different brands and of those, 2 or 3 different viscosities of quart containers of motor oil. All at least 10 years old, who knows how they were stored, but all were sealed plastic quart containers, I did an oil change with it, and noticed no difference in running/noise/oil consumption and the engine is still going 100k miles later no problems. As for these vegetable based or bio bar oils thats a different matter. When in comes to standard synthetic or regular petroleum based stuff I wouldn't even blink an eye at using really old stuff.

 

[OM617YOTA]

I ran just whatever store brand gallon jugs of vegetable oil were cheapest at the grocery store for years. Would go funky in storage, definitely dump out the veggie oil and make sure the last couple tanks are dino oil before I was done for the season. If running vegetable oil or bio bar oil, I'd definitely worry about shelf life.

Now I don't use my saws often enough or long enough to make veggie oil worth the hassle, and just run dino all the time. I have a couple spare jugs, I'm in my 30's, and don't expect the oil to go bad while I'm still alive.

 

[jellyroll]

Bar oil is 4.99 per gallon here i just run the summer weight year round and thin it with kerosene if it gets really cold out.

 

[husqORbust]

50 years or so. Crack it open at 50... probably still good for 50 after that.