Cold weather and bar oil

Rugged made
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Just changed the hydro in one of our tractors. It might as well be 20wt and perfect for thinning bar lube.

A couple glugs of hydro into the summer weight TSC bar oil works pretty good. Dosn't leave you stinking like a refinery like with diesel either.

When it gets down around zero or below, diesel is the only way to go though.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
dingeryote said:
Just changed the hydro in one of our tractors. It might as well be 20wt and perfect for thinning bar lube.

A couple glugs of hydro into the summer weight TSC bar oil works pretty good. Dosn't leave you stinking like a refinery like with diesel either.

When it gets down around zero or below, diesel is the only way to go though.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
Click to expand...

A coupla glugs of hydro into a gallon of oil? I'm just curious how much of these thinning lubes ya'll are adding.
 
I usually keep my jug indoors until i have to go cut. Even on freezing temperatures it'll stay thin for hours if you keep it inside your truck. Or you can also use your engine, just get a metal bucket and place it on top of your engine. If you'll be spending some serious hours out there in freezing temperatures miles away from a heating source; build a fire and keep your bar oil next to it :D . Plenty of wood around i bet.
 
RichardGrayJr said:
A coupla glugs of hydro into a gallon of oil? I'm just curious how much of these thinning lubes ya'll are adding.
Click to expand...

With the hydro, about 20% to whatever is in the jug. If it's good and cold, diesel really thins stuff down, so it's add about pint to the gallon and adjust from there, and everything depends on the Bar oil to begin with. Play by ear for the most part.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
Buying "winter-grade" bar oil is the easiest by far... no muss, no fuss, no stink.
Last year I was using some stuff from the fleet store, marketed by Chain Pro ($4-5), that was supposed to be good in any temperature. The stuff was kind'a impressive, stayed about the same (fluid) thickness warm and sub-zero, but when I stopped last week for resupply it wasn't on the shelf anymore. I really had to swallow my pride and buy some Husqvarna "winter-grade" ($7)... it was a fight, but I finally got my Stihl to accept the stuff without spitting it back in my face. Stihl makes (or markets) some really good "winter-grade" bar oil, and I like it a lot... but at over $10.oo a gallon it ain't that good!

If you need to thin your bar oil the use of kerosene, diesel or fuel oil (same stuff, different label) is preferred because they are "oils" and also have a lower flash point than say gas, mineral spirits and the like. Light weight oils like hydro and 10w will work, but they're thicker than kerosene so it takes more of it to do the job. You'll be surprised how much a half cup of kerosene will thin a gallon of oil. But really, when you're already "there"... well, necessity tends to make a fella' creative... 'cause I ain't drivin' back to town for a half-cup of diesel!

Hmmmmm, seems like I have some Marvel Mystery Oil in the tool box? Nope, no Mystery Oil... Wonder how this gas line anti-freeze will work?
 
IMO the Stihl and Husky winter weight bar oils are worth the slight extra cost. It depends on how much you cut in really cold weather, but a gallon jug of the winter weight will last me a couple of years so the extra cost is no big deal. In warmer (above 25), I use cheaper bar oil. YMMV.

Considering the cost of adding diesel, ATF, etc, they aren't cheap either so you aren't saving that much money over buying the better winter weight bar oil.

Ken
 
Like many others, I carry my bar oil in a liquid detergent bottle. I use a small one because it carries enough bar oil to last me all day even if I'm running my big saw a lot. I use the cheap bar oil from TSC, but I keep a gallon of Stihl wintergrade at the house. If I'm going to be cutting in cold weather, I take 3 or 4 detergent cap fulls of the winter grade and mix that in with the cheap stuff. Its just enough to make it pour a little better into the saw. Once it's in the saw, I don't care about it. The saw will keep it plenty warm :)
 
My bar oil is a mix of summer and winter grade most of the time. I pour my bar oil into a 1-gallon plastic gas container w/spout, easy to transfer into the saw that way. When the container gets about half empty I fill it back up, and when the oil jug empties I try to remember to pick up another gallon when I’m at the fleet store. So I usually always have something between 1 and 2 gallons on hand that way. I buy “summer” or “winter” depending on the time of year… i.e. if it’s September/October or April/May I buy summer, if it’s November through March I buy winter. I just add whatever I have to whatever is in the gallon container. So by the time it cycles through, the only time I’m running “pure” winter-grade is during the coldest time of the year, and the only time I’m running “pure” summer grade would be late spring and early fall (try not to run chain saws during mid-summer). I’m guessin’ I use somewhere in the range of 5-6 gallons a year depending.

That's not by design... it ain't something I planned or thought about... it's just the way it works out.
 
My question is has any one noticed a difference between the Stihl oil and tsc oil other than the price. I currently use Stihl but hey if I can save a couple bucks.
It just easier for me since I'm buying the gas mix at Stihl I just get the oil there too. Buy a six pack of 2 gal mix and a couple gal of bar oil and I'm good for a month or so
 
Rob1276 said:
My question is has any one noticed a difference between the Stihl oil and tsc oil other than the price.
Click to expand...

In COLD WEATHER? Absolutely. (That's the topic of this thread, "cold weather". Otherwise I use TSC bar oil.

Ken
 
ken45 said:
In COLD WEATHER? Absolutely. (That's the topic of this thread, "cold weather". Otherwise I use TSC bar oil.

Ken
Click to expand...

I know the topic of the thread but thank you for the reminder anyways way to look out. :)

Again I will ask the question excluding the winter grade oil. Are there any qualities that make the Stihl better oil than tsc
 
Rob,
The answers you're gonna' get to that question are gonna' be all over the place.
Guys make their choice on bar oil for all kinds of reasons... quality, price, what grandad used, what's handy, smell, if it stains cloths or not, etc.
Some guys will tell you only x-brand of bar & chain oil should be used, others will tell you there ain't any difference in any of them, and yet others will tell you that Vaseline mixed with cow urine, used oil and fish slime is the best there ever was or will be.

Do a search and you'll find dozens of threads where bar & chain oil was the topic of argument... none of the arguing participants have changed what they use, and all of 'em are still cutting wood.
 
I use Stihl 'Light Oil' Winter grade in the colder temps..
I let my machine warm up real good, once the oil sprays off the nose, it's ready for the timber..
 
Whitespider said:
Rob,
The answers you're gonna' get to that question are gonna' be all over the place.
Guys make their choice on bar oil for all kinds of reasons... quality, price, what grandad used, what's handy, smell, if it stains cloths or not, etc.
Some guys will tell you only x-brand of bar & chain oil should be used, others will tell you there ain't any difference in any of them, and yet others will tell you that Vaseline mixed with cow urine, used oil and fish slime is the best there ever was or will be.

Do a search and you'll find dozens of threads where bar & chain oil was the topic of argument... none of the arguing participants have changed what they use, and all of 'em are still cutting wood.
Click to expand...

True kinda like Chevy vs ford
 
I actually have the problem getting summer weight oil. Our local store here carries some brand (I'm not even sure what it is) that is pretty thin. To thin for warm weather to me so I use it mainly in the winter or in a pinch during warm weather.
I have to drive a 1/2 hour to get heavier stuff.
A friend once gave me a gallon of mystery motor oil that was in a milk jug. Not knowing what it was I didn't want to use it in my motors. I added about a quart of Lucas oil to it and it acted just like bar oil.
I wouldn't want to do that often though cause Lucas is expensive.
 

Similar threads

S
Starting a Cold Splitter
2
Replies
37
Views
2K
Brufab
Brufab
B
Sidearm heat exchanger reverse heating
Replies
2
Views
264
rancher2
R
Chainsaw Collectors
Want to Sell Craftsman Snowblower
Replies
0
Views
170
Chainsaw Collectors
Chainsaw Collectors
M
Husqvarna 55 Rancher leaking oil
Replies
9
Views
908
Gord404
Gord404
asavageoak
Ms251c oil pump issue fixed, looking to convert the tensioner to bolts
Replies
0
Views
300
asavageoak
asavageoak

Latest posts

Back
Top