Used (not engine) oil as bar lube

[J D]

Was changing the oil in my gearbox the other day & it got me thinking... now I'm the first person to say used engine oil is a bad idea for bar lube for a number of reasons, but most of the reasons that come to mind for engine oil aren't (as far as I'm aware) nearly as relevant for the likes of gear oil (diff, gearbox, lathe, etc) or non combustion motors like compressors etc. Asides from the lack of tackifier, are there any significant reasons not to filter these & either add them in low ratio to regular bar oil or use them in the aux oiler for the mill?

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

It STINKS is a good one, especially for milling slabs.
Then you can get into the greeblies you are not meant to be exposed to etc.

I used used electrical transformer oil for a couple of years as it was the bar oil supplied by the employer- before the days of machine harvesting. Didn't hurt the oiling systems of the saw- worked okay running non max length bars and oilers turned up full on standing live Pine.
Didn't kill me at the time, but who knows what is on the insides- might have to wait till I can no longer saw and my remains are donated to science to find out.

 

[NSEric]

I'd use it up.
I run a 50/50 mix of thick bar and any used oil I have in the garage to use up the used oil. The saws, bars and chains dont seam to care.

 

[J D]

It STINKS is a good one, especially for milling slabs.
Then you can get into the greeblies you are not meant to be exposed to etc.

I used used electrical transformer oil for a couple of years as it was the bar oil supplied by the employer- before the days of machine harvesting. Didn't hurt the oiling systems of the saw- worked okay running non max length bars and oilers turned up full on standing live Pine.
Didn't kill me at the time, but who knows what is on the insides- might have to wait till I can no longer saw and my remains are donated to science to find out.

Yeah the smell is a good point... probably wouldn't be so bad with 1 or 2L to 20L of bar oil. Its the "greeblies" I'm really wondering about. I'd imagine once filtered any metal content would be no more significant than what comes off the bar & chain but I could be wrong.
The used transformer oil could maybe have been a concern if the transformer had issues & was arcing... but then I'd imagine those ones would get a one way trip to the scrap yard oil & all. I believe most of the oil replacement on transformers is neglected these days

 

[J D]

I'd use it up.
I run a 50/50 mix of thick bar and any used oil I have in the garage to use up the used oil. The saws, bars and chains dont seam to care.

Between the awful black nastiness & the potentially carcinogenic stuff in it I'm not a fan of waste engine oil as bar oil in any form. From what I've seen bars & chains don't seam to be as well lubricated by it either, but I guess you could argue the savings in bar oil would offset any additional cost due to increased wear.
The waste engine oil thing has been discussed plenty... I'm more interested in whether there are any issues with using gear oils etc

 

[peterbro]

I use gear oil at 50/50 with a tackified bar oil and am settled with that arrangement.
The gear oil is still fresh, and given what gear oil is structured to do, I reckon it is very compatible protecting the bar and chain.
And dressing the bar is a rare event.

 

[dave ensign]

The other day Wally world had 30 SAE Diesel at 13$ a gallon. Would that work?

 

[farmguywithasaw]

It STINKS is a good one, especially for milling slabs.
Then you can get into the greeblies you are not meant to be exposed to etc.

I used used electrical transformer oil for a couple of years as it was the bar oil supplied by the employer- before the days of machine harvesting. Didn't hurt the oiling systems of the saw- worked okay running non max length bars and oilers turned up full on standing live Pine.
Didn't kill me at the time, but who knows what is on the insides- might have to wait till I can no longer saw and my remains are donated to science to find out.

Some of that transformer oil was nasty stuff back in the day with pcbs. Bad bad stuff

 

[jblnut]

I run used gear oil often in my saws. I have numerous old Farmalls so I like the smell lol. It smells like an old tractor.

I have a 5gal pail that I dump anything in I think I can run in my saw and love adding gear oil to it. It’s thick heavy stuff that seems to work well. I have two pails going and add 1gal of actual bar oil in first, then add until full and use it. I empty one before I start using the other one. Usually goo through a little less than two pails a year. Oilers turnt up and 3/4 full tanks of fuel seems to be the right ratio.

I’ve run all kinds of odd things through the saws. I ran a few gallons of new cutting fluid for a lathe a few years ago and it was great. Peanut oil works well and smells great. 120w cut with diesel works great. If it’s oily and clean I’d run it. It’s better than nothing and when it’s free it’s even better !!

 

[OM617YOTA]

I used to burn most things that were flammable and would pour in my Yota. Loved getting all the 25 cent partial gallons of paint thinner at garage and estate sales, and dumping them in the fuel tank before leaving. Got some weird looks, gave me a chuckle and some cheap fuel.

 

[Tothemax]

If I recall husqvarna oil used to be mostly peanut oil.

Other than wood contamination and metal wear due to poor lubricity I wouldn't hesitate to try other oils.

 

[buzz sawyer]

The other day Wally world had 30 SAE Diesel at 13$ a gallon. Would that work?

Why use this when you can real bar oil at Rural king or tractor supply for under $10?

 

[atpchas]

Why use this when you can real bar oil at Rural king or tractor supply for under $10?

Tractor Supply wants $15/gal for their County Line brand, $25/gal for Husqvarna brand. Of course, this is California where are petroleum products are off the wall...

 

[pdqdl]

It STINKS is a good one, especially for milling slabs.
Then you can get into the greeblies you are not meant to be exposed to etc.

I used used electrical transformer oil for a couple of years as it was the bar oil supplied by the employer- before the days of machine harvesting. Didn't hurt the oiling systems of the saw- worked okay running non max length bars and oilers turned up full on standing live Pine.
Didn't kill me at the time, but who knows what is on the insides- might have to wait till I can no longer saw and my remains are donated to science to find out.

Transformer oil is often treated as a hazardous waste, especially in older transformers. PCB's and other stuff. Bad idea!

I took down a tower last year that had an ancient transformer on it. The work was for a public levee, but they weren't too concerned about how I got rid of it. My plan was to give it to a proper disposal facility, and pay them about $400.00. Despite having a waste oil burning furnace, I wasn't going to do that, either.

Fortunately (sort of ), a metal thief stole it from my lot, and I never saw it again.

 

[pdqdl]

Its the "greeblies" I'm really wondering about.

What the heck are greeblies?

I suspect this is NOT what you are referring to:

 

[Yukon Stihl]

I burn waste oil in my furnace designed to do that. Up to 25% gasoline is ok.
I have been scraping a bunch of vehicles. All the clean oil goes into 5 gallon buckets for bar oil. ATF differential oil power stearing fluid
I have over 20 gallons in stock.
Been using it for years no I’ll effects on the chain or bars.
So far I’m pretty healthy.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Transformer oil is often treated as a hazardous waste, especially in older transformers. PCB's and other stuff. Bad idea!

I took down a tower last year that had an ancient transformer on it. The work was for a public levee, but they weren't too concerned about how I got rid of it. My plan was to give it to a proper disposal facility, and pay them about $400.00. Despite having a waste oil burning furnace, I wasn't going to do that, either.

Fortunately (sort of ), a metal thief stole it from my lot, and I never saw it again.

You people do read don't you?
I said it was decades ago- employer supplied and we did not know what it was at the time until some years later- I do NOT use it now- nor did I suggest anyone here should.
I also said it probably contains greeblies- JD being a human, I mean fellow Kiwi knows exactly what I am talking about and seeing as how he is the one asking and the one I was responding to- no explaining needed.

 

[pdqdl]

I guess it's a good thing I wasn't asking you anything about greeblies, right?

Besides which, I was dealing with a very old transformer just last summer. There's no need to get snotty about your work from 20 years ago. I have every confidence that 20 years ago you would have come across an old transformer, too. Add to that, you said your employer was providing said oil. As far as I am concerned, that means you had no idea where the transformer oil came from.

 

[J D]

What the heck are greeblies?

I suspect this is NOT what you are referring to:

Affectionate term for all the nasty things we don't know the names of

 

[pdqdl]

Thanks.
I was getting that worked out using two different AI search engines, as a sensible answer didn't seem forthcoming from Bob.

It's amazing how few correct answers are available from ChatGPT. That one was clueless.