Chain lube oil for Stihl MS 261 cm

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Trailmender

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Stihl chain oil and pre-mixed gas are pricy. Curious if a more generic chain oil would be satisfactory. And Husky pre-mixed fuel is significantly less expensive. Any problem with using that vs Stihl's on the MS 261 CM? Thanks for any thoughts. Oh, one more? Looking at a cordless air duster (my air compressor no longer builds pressure) to blow oil laden sawdust in cleaning the saw and clearing gas and oil caps areas prior to refilling. Any experience?
 
I have been using soy oil as bar oil for years now. Safe, you can drink the stuff and spill it all over and no big deal, and its cheap. $5 for a gallon of veggie oil (pure soy oil) at WalMart. It also works great. No issues with bars or chains for me. It can get stiff if the bar is not used in a few months time. It works better than Canola oil, which more people recommend for some reason. Canola gums up more than soybean oil. Soybean oil also has a higher flash point. And its cheaper. I run all my saws with the oil setting fully open with the stuff. Its a bit thinner than regular bar oil, but so what? More oil on the bar, no tackifier needed. And if you get stuck in the woods for some reason with a half gallon of soy oil, you can live for a week off of it, if not longer.
 
Any bar oil is just fine. You do not need to spend a bunch on it. Expensive bar oil is a rip-off, in my opinion. The little bit of oil that is flung off of a chainsaw bar is of little consequence to the environment. Why use pre-mixed fuel? It is very expensive. Just mix your own for a fraction of the cost.
 
Stihl chain oil and pre-mixed gas are pricy. Curious if a more generic chain oil would be satisfactory. And Husky pre-mixed fuel is significantly less expensive. Any problem with using that vs Stihl's on the MS 261 CM? Thanks for any thoughts. Oh, one more? Looking at a cordless air duster (my air compressor no longer builds pressure) to blow oil laden sawdust in cleaning the saw and clearing gas and oil caps areas prior to refilling. Any experience?
First, thanks for all the helpful responses.
For elevator guy, I might respond that concern over the cost of frequently recurring/long term expenses has enabled to save the money to buy such a splendid saw. I do love it.
 
First, thanks for all the helpful responses.
For elevator guy, I might respond that concern over the cost of frequently recurring/long term expenses has enabled to save the money to buy such a splendid saw. I do love it.
I have the same saw. My bar oil is $10.50 per gal. I mix my own fuel using expensive non ethanol gas. No sense in using inferior products in an expensive saw. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with whatever you decide. FS.
 
I have the same saw. My bar oil is $10.50 per gal. I mix my own fuel using expensive non ethanol gas. No sense in using inferior products in an expensive saw. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with whatever you decide. FS.
That's a bargain Steve on the bar oil , some of the premium stuff around here their asking $30 / gal. , good luck with that lol.
 
First, thanks for all the helpful responses.
For elevator guy, I might respond that concern over the cost of frequently recurring/long term expenses has enabled to save the money to buy such a splendid saw. I do love it.
I totally agree. I save money where I can without using inferior products. I buy things in bulk that I know I will use. I buy a lot of generic and store brand items, especially groceries. I buy 2stroke mix oil by the quart, about a third of the cost of the little one gallon mix bottles. Every little bit adds up.

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I look at this the same way as my buddy that put a pellet stove in his basement to supplement the wood stove upstairs. He has had about 30 bags of cheap ass pellets in his garage for 4 years now. He won’t run the pellet stove because pellets are too expensive. Makes no sense to me but I’ve never been known to be cheap.
 
I look at this the same way as my buddy that put a pellet stove in his basement to supplement the wood stove upstairs. He has had about 30 bags of cheap ass pellets in his garage for 4 years now. He won’t run the pellet stove because pellets are too expensive. Makes no sense to me but I’ve never been known to be cheap.
I don't see that's the same thing. That's just making bad decisions. There is a big difference in being cheap and trying to save money where you can. Being cheap usually ends up costing you in the long run. Some things you can't save money on but there are a lot of things you can.

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I don't see that's the same thing. That's just making bad decisions. There is a big difference in being cheap and trying to save money where you can. Being cheap usually ends up costing you in the long run. Some things you can't save money on but there are a lot of things you can.

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It’s the same, He’s plain cheap. That’s just one example and his bar oil is rope lubricant we get at work haha.
 
I should let this go. First though, I might add that Trufuel premix seems to be an acceptable alternative to Stihl's fuel at a third less cost.
For my first post here, I am much encouraged by the quality of responses to my question. A Help to Flame ratio of 6 to 1 is quite good.
 
Folks are right, mix your own fuel, it is way cheaper, keep a liter of the premix to run
through the saw before you park it up for a spell, that should remove any contaminated
fuel from the lines and carb, then drain the tank and keep whats left for the next round.
30 wt engine oil does for bar oil, buy the cheap stuff, watch for smoking bar or feel to
see if its hotter than you would like when running, I never had an issue running engine
oil as bar oil.
 
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