hydraulic oil for bar oil

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murphy4trees

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Tractor supply has a special... 5 gallons hyd oil .. $30 out the door... that's about half what bar oil costs now..
we run saws 4-6 days/week... residential arb, skid loader, big chipper, no firewood, so the big saws don't get run that hard..

Would it save or cost to run hyd oil?.. wonder if we could just buy the additive..

any thoughts?

Thanks
 
Last time I bought a gallon of tractor supply bar oil it was $6.99 , which = $35 for 5 gallons. I'd just wait for the real stuff to go on sale at tractor supply and just by a bunch of that.
 
I've run it when I didn't have anything else and it was too far to town to get regular bar oil.

It doesn't "stick" like bar oil . I used it most of a day in hot weather and the burn marks on the bar rails were very pronounced. Buying an additive would probably help but your total cost would probably amount to the same as buying a decent oil.

Watch the sales and stock up when you have a chance. Saving a little money by using a substitute might seem fine short term but when you factor in increased bar and chain wear you're losing out on long term savings.

Oil is a legitimate business expense and a write off...might as well use the best.
 
Standard R & O hyd oil is very close to 10w. The cost of anything with the properties to thicken it up will be prohibitive.
 
Does the thought of spraying hydraulic oil over your customers' gardens/plants not figure in this equation?
 
Tractor supply has a special... 5 gallons hyd oil .. $30 out the door... that's about half what bar oil costs now..
we run saws 4-6 days/week... residential arb, skid loader, big chipper, no firewood, so the big saws don't get run that hard..

Would it save or cost to run hyd oil?.. wonder if we could just buy the additive..

any thoughts?

Thanks

Dilute the expensive bar oil with the hydro, start at 50/50. You will find out fast when it is time to sharpen the chain. Bar oil consumption will increase compared to for example Stihl's bar oil. Might be worth the effort but probably not.

Not finding any actual bar oil around here for less than $8.00 a gallon, that has been TSCs sale price for a while.
 
Dilute the expensive bar oil with the hydro, start at 50/50. You will find out fast when it is time to sharpen the chain. Bar oil consumption will increase compared to for example Stihl's bar oil. Might be worth the effort but probably not.

Not finding any actual bar oil around here for less than $8.00 a gallon, that has been TSCs sale price for a while.

Even at $8 a gallon at TSC, that's still only $40 for 5 gallons, that's a far cry from double the price of the hydrolic oil the OP was describing and well worth the $'s. Bar oil has a bit of tack in it to help it stick to the B&C.
 
Even at $8 a gallon at TSC, that's still only $40 for 5 gallons, that's a far cry from double the price of the hydrolic oil the OP was describing and well worth the $'s. Bar oil has a bit of tack in it to help it stick to the B&C.

100 gallon store brand bar oil @$8.00/gal = 800.00

50 gallons store brand bar oil @ $8.00/gal = 400.00
50 gallons generic hydro @ $6.40/gal = 320.00, local price last time I check.

$80.00 off the top, over 100 gallons if he can get bar oil at $8.00 a gallon.

$12.00 a gallon bar oil and things get more interesting, but one would be curious as why he was buying $12.00 a gallon bar oil to begin with.

Anyhoo, I have diluted bar oil with hydro, seed oils, kerosene, etc.... It all works.
 
Last edited:
Murph,

You're doing it wrong.

Hydro is good for cutting summer weight bar oil, so it flows in the cold. 50/50 with TSC bar oil is about a perfct match to Husqvarna winter blend, and sticks just fine.

TSC Cheapo Bar oil is $6.99, and untill summer gets here, could get cut 30% and not fling off badly, as the TSC stuff is rather thick to start with.

Now...stop and think about all the older Hydro in your equipment, that could use a change.
The stuff has been in there for a couple years, enduring all the thermal cycles and breaking down, and suspending condensation before bioling it off.

Go get enough Hydro to do a change out on the equipment, and a couple dozen jugs of Bar oil.
Save the old Hydro. It ain't motor oil. No toxic combustion byproducts and other gunk to fuss over. Cut the cheapo TSC bar oil 20-30% and extend it, saving on both ends.;)

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
Cheapest bar oil at the local TSC is currently $9.00 CountyLine, $9.50 for the TSC brand, black bottle red label.
If you are still able to get it for less than $8.00 you might want to stock up, price is "supposedly" going up again later this year.
 
Ive used it with TSC bar oil (30% hydraulic oil/70% bar oil) and it seems to work just fine.

Hell I'm sure you could mix in a lot of various oddball things with good bar oil at that ratio and not notice a big difference.
 
I got a few partial barrels of Rotella 30w hydraulic oil from a local construction company. When they switched oil brands, all of the partial barrels were goilng to get run through the hot mix plant along with waste oil for heat. My brother was the parts man for them at the time and saved me the heavy hydro oil, 120 plus gallons for free. At first I mixed in Lucas oil stabalizer 8oz per gallon for tack and it worked great. I ran out of lucas and ran the straight 30w and it worked just as good. I have used over 50gal with no additive and my bar and chain wear is no different than using stihl bar oil. Works for me.
 
Justsaws,

Your local TSC manager needs a tune up.
Was just in our TSC this afternoon. $6.99 as listed on the website for the TSC stuff.
Tractor Supply Co.® Bar-n-Chain Oil, 1 gal. - Tractor Supply Online Store

I bought a cart full, back when it was $5.99, and always watch for the next sale.:msp_biggrin:

Thanks for the heads up on the price increase.!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

The link you provided shows the price at $9.49 at my store. It is a conspiracy, not sure who all is involved but still blaming the French.
 
The link you provided shows the price at $9.49 at my store. It is a conspiracy, not sure who all is involved but still blaming the French.

Why are you blaming us?, you are still getting saws, & all the associated bits ,oil etc[ in fact most things] MUCH CHEAPER than we can buy it [ Mind you we do have one advantage NO ETHANOL in our fuel]:laugh:
 
The hydraulic oil will have a stronger EP/AW additive package than most B&C oils, all it lacks is the tackifier.

B&C oil is usually just line wash with tackifier added, and line wash is only the oil that flushes the lines between blending operations, and any anti-wear/extreme pressure additive it has is what it picks up from what it's flushing out.
 
The link you provided shows the price at $9.49 at my store. It is a conspiracy, not sure who all is involved but still blaming the French.

That sucks...

Type in 49090 for a zip code.:D

Then just to be a PITA, burn a copy and take it in to the store, and see what they do.:angry:

Yeah, it's always the French, or Dutch.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 

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