Stihl Bar Oil- Is it really worth the price?

[Somesawguy]

I can get a gallon of generic bar oil at TSC for $6 and Stihl wants $15. Is there anything that much better about the Stihl that's worth the price?

I have a MS290, and I've been running the Stihl oil exclusively in the past, but now that it's out of warranty, I don't want to be wasting money on it.

I like the saw, but the oiler is less than impressive on it. Even with the winter mix, it's barely what I'd consider adequate with the adjuster on full. The chain isn't completely dry, but it doesn't throw much, even at wide open.

Are they all like that, or is my saw defective?

Thanks

 

[blsnelling]

I no longer buy Stihl bar oil, due to the price. The TSC stuff seems pretty good.

 

[SteveH]

The only newer saws I've run are all Stihls, meaning in the past ten yr.

I find that they don't "throw" near as much oil as my saws back in the 70s and 80s did. Far from it. I don't know whether it's different oil characteristics or by saw design. In any case, I use less oil now and I have seen no increase in bar and/or chain wear due to less bar oil consumption.

Any good quality bar oil does just fine, brand doesn't matter.

 

[oscar4883]

No.

 

[Deereman76]

I have an 029, and the oiler never seemed to be right - I could burn 2 tanks of gas, and still have oil in the tank.... Bar wear was pretty bad...... I Finally pulled the oil pump out and modified it to pump more oil. If you are not using over 1/2 tank oil to a tank of gas, I would say you need more.....

 

[Arrowhead]

I run the cheap bar oil. It works just fine.

 

[JustinM]

Its funny because 4 litres of just about anything (husky, stihl, canadian tire house brand etc) all seems to cost around $10 here. Because of that, I usually just buy the stihl or husky but honestly have no real preference.

 

[mikefunaro]

That stihl dealer is seriously taking people for a ride, or not buying in large quantities. one or the other.

I can get stihl for $9.50 at a local stihl dealer in NH and that's pretty normal in these parts.

The TSC is on sale for $6 usually but isn't normally $6 all day every day.

Some of the real cheap stuff and no name stuff is pretty bad, however, if you're looking at a huge disparity it's worth dealing with.

The TSC tends to be pretty good stuff so in your case it's totally worth it.

If you want to run real winter weight and not home brew it yourself cutting down diesel you usually need to go stihl or husky; the no names don't usually put out a winter mix.

 

[ironman_gq]

The stihl stuf is designed to not use as much oil. between the bar design and the driver design on the chain they supposedly dont require as much oil as the other brands do. I think I remember reading that on their website a while back

 

[GASoline71]

I run only Stihl bar oil.

Gary

 

[alderman]

I stocked up on oil before the big price increases. I run the cheaper stuff in the Winter when its colder out and Motion Lotion in the summer. The local shop sells 30 wt. and 40 wt. and I normally run 30 wt. in my saws.

The last time I checked Walmart it was almost $8 per gallon and I can get the oil from the dealer for $8.95. I don't see the point in paying big bucks for oil as I've never had an issue running whatever was cheapest.

 

[CGC4200]

not to me

My only Stihl saw is an HT-75, It gets the same as the rest.
I bought 2 gallons of TSC for $6 each to stock up, bought a gallon
of Poulan yesterday for $5.49.
I am doing good to resist temptation of utilizing used engine oil
for the purpose.

 

[BloodOnTheIce]

We sell only Stihl stuff because guys won't buy anything else. We tried to stock "save a chain" brand oil and seems to be a good quality oil, I still use it in my saws. We sold it at 8.99$ a gallon and had a hard time selling it. On the other hand we charge 12.99$ a gallon for Stihl brand bar oil, guys would walk past the display with oil for 8.99$ and pay 4$ more a gallon for the Stihl. Locally we're on the cheaper end for bar oil, the Stihl oil at the John Deere chain is 16.99$ a gallon, and 22.99$ a gallon for bio oil. And TSC brand is 10.99 and they sell Husqvarna oil for 14.99 a gallon.
Around the corner at the hardware store they sell filtered waste oil for 12.99 a gallon.

 

[o8f150]

i run echo bar oil only,,i have all my saws set to use 1 tank oil to 3/4 tank fuel mix

 

[THALL10326]

We sell only Stihl stuff because guys won't buy anything else. We tried to stock "save a chain" brand oil and seems to be a good quality oil, I still use it in my saws. We sold it at 8.99$ a gallon and had a hard time selling it. On the other hand we charge 12.99$ a gallon for Stihl brand bar oil, guys would walk past the display with oil for 8.99$ and pay 4$ more a gallon for the Stihl. Locally we're on the cheaper end for bar oil, the Stihl oil at the John Deere chain is 16.99$ a gallon, and 22.99$ a gallon for bio oil. And TSC brand is 10.99 and they sell Husqvarna oil for 14.99 a gallon.
Around the corner at the hardware store they sell filtered waste oil for 12.99 a gallon.

Good post. I just checked the computer here and we have sold almost 400 gallons of Stihl bar oil at 10.50 a gallon this year so far. We also stock another bar oil that sells for 6.99 a gallon, some off brand stuff in a green bottle. That we have sold exactly 6 gallons so far this year. People around here prefer name brand over off brand regardless of the price, our numbers prove that beyond any doubt. They also prove there are 6 cheap suckers that come in here, gonna raise the price of that cheap stuff to 9.99 a gallon,

 

[Stihlman441]

Over here Stihl bar oil is a rip off,its made by Castrol, $140 for 20 litres.

 

[spacemule]

Good post. I just checked the computer here and we have sold almost 400 gallons of Stihl bar oil at 10.50 a gallon this year so far. We also stock another bar oil that sells for 6.99 a gallon, some off brand stuff in a green bottle. That we have sold exactly 6 gallons so far this year. People around here prefer name brand over off brand regardless of the price, our numbers prove that beyond any doubt. They also prove there are 6 cheap suckers that come in here, gonna raise the price of that cheap stuff to 9.99 a gallon,

You must be selling to yuppies.

 

[Rudedog]

Good post. I just checked the computer here and we have sold almost 400 gallons of Stihl bar oil at 10.50 a gallon this year so far. We also stock another bar oil that sells for 6.99 a gallon, some off brand stuff in a green bottle. That we have sold exactly 6 gallons so far this year. People around here prefer name brand over off brand regardless of the price, our numbers prove that beyond any doubt. They also prove there are 6 cheap suckers that come in here, gonna raise the price of that cheap stuff to 9.99 a gallon,

..... and you'll be selling your 401st gallon next week. I need a gallon for that 090 for the West Virginia GTG.

 

[Rudedog]

You must be selling to yuppies.

Worse.

 

[tdi-rick]

Over here Stihl bar oil is a rip off,its made by Castrol, $140 for 20 litres.

So, did you buy a 220 litre drum ?