OT bar chain oil vs used motor oil

John, NY · Feb 19, 2012

My 18" Echo chainsaw is starting to fail, I treated myself to a 20" Husqvarna rancher 455. I've ALWAYS filtered through a paper coffee filter, and reused my motoroil as bar chain oil, never had a problem. I dont wanna mess up my brand new saw though... The owners manual says not to, but I always have, why exactly should we not reuse motor oil as bar chain oil?

I included a pic of my yearly wood delivery....

mhb@ufe · Feb 19, 2012

Bar and chain oil is sticky. If you dip your finger in it it will run of kind of stringy instead of just dripping off like used motor oil so it sticks to your bar and chain better instead of slinging off like used motor oil. Bar and chain oil is also formulated to degrade faster.

Mark

CJ in Michigan · Feb 19, 2012

Ive always used the sticky stuff- it clings to the chain longer and lubricates better. That being said I don"t think there"s a big downside to using waste oil-

Geo-TH,In · Feb 19, 2012

I change the oil and filter on my loader/backhoe every 300 hours, 4 gallons of 10W40, as required. I catch the oil in a 5 gallon bucket. Use an old Tee-shirt and a bungee to keep the big dirt particles out. Let the oil set for a few weeks and skim off the top oilon the top. Use it in old lawn mowers. The oil looks as clean as new oil. Like you, I like to think Green and find another use for things. What's the worse that could happen by you using used oil? If the oil is thinner, the auto oiler will just put more oil on the chain. Chains and bars aren't that costly if you buy them at the end of the season when they go on sale.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 19, 2012

Can you ignore the cancer warnings on used oil.One container has the warning on my shelf.Skin cancer in lab animals.

G6 at Snook, TX · Feb 19, 2012

I dont wanna mess up my brand new saw though... The owners manual says not to, but I always have, why exactly should we not reuse motor oil as bar chain oil?

I would not use old motor oil especially if the manual says for your to not use it. Aside from voiding your warranty, I would think that "poor boying" the saw would invite oiler and mechanical trouble with the bar and chain in the long run. It is not worth the risk to me.

As a thought exercise, are oilers and chainsaws more advanced and better than years gone by? If so, I would heed their advice like I heed the advice of my dealer to buy certain types of oil and avoid others for my truck. (I change my oil, but buy synthetics--within their recommendations. Royal Purple, Mobil, and so on.) Trucks today are more sound mechanically than in the 1970s or 80s and should last twice as long a pickup we bought in the 1970s or early 80s. Granted, we can't work on them, but I will take that trade off. My two cents give free of charge.

Phlash in OK · Feb 19, 2012

The price of chain and bar oil has made me mix half and half with used oil. Seems to work. when I saw nearly $4 for a qt, I said thats to much. Found a gallon for $6. Mixing with used motor oil isn"t so bad.

old-9 · Feb 19, 2012

So don't use it as a skin conditioner.

Ron-MO · Feb 19, 2012

I used to use the used motor oil, but with today"s thinner detergent oils, it seems to fling off the chain, and I was noticing my bar and chain did not hold up as well, and actually was discoloring the bar from heat at times. I went to actual bar oil, and it seems to stay on better, and bar lasts longer. Mixing 50/50 might be ok. I know dad used to exclusively use the used oil, but back then it was usually straight 30 wt non detergent, and maual oiler and he put a lot of oil to the chain - usually empty with each fill of fuel.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 20, 2012

Its easy to spill oil when filling the oil tank.You have to handle the bar and chain when cleaning and sharpening.Saws leak oil when idle.The wood you cut with the saw gets oiled.Best place for drain oil is in a waste oil furnace.My saw doesnt use that much oil so I use bar oil.I would use hydraulic oil but it dosnt have the sticky additive.Last of all drain oil stinks.

Buss · Feb 20, 2012

When I bought my last saw, the dealer said to use only bar and chain oil because it is also biodegrateable(sp?).

chevytaHOE5674 · Feb 20, 2012

(quoted from post at 03:33:16 02/20/12).Last of all drain oil stinks.

And if you ever have the "pleasure" of working on a saw that drain oil has been run in you will curse. It coats the inside of the tank and oiler in this black sooty sledge. It is a mess to clean and often times clogs the oiler holes. Not to mention that it flings off the bar and doesn't stick around long enough to help cool the bar.

Dean · Feb 20, 2012

New or even used motor oil is better than no oil for your bar and chain but not as good as proper bar and chain oil.

I would not consider using it in a old, let alone new, chain saw.

Dean

John in Mich · Feb 20, 2012

I don't do much wood cutting so I use a jug of straight 20w non-detergent as bar oil. It's oil, it lubes. I fill both fuel and oil tanks at the same time and they run out about the same time.

andyd4ntx · Feb 20, 2012

I buy chain oil at the end of the season, much cheaper then. I go thru about 1.5 ~2 Gal a year. That being said I have also cut chain oil with filtred used motor oil. But I am a chicken, so I only use 30% used oil with 70% new chain oil. My Echo CS305 has 5 years on med duty usage and seems to be running fine. My last chain and bar replacement was when I pinched it in a 30ft pine I was taking down. (User Error

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Andrew

Bshugarts · Feb 20, 2012

todays saws rev much higher than saws from even 15 years ago. they also cost much more. my first saw a homelite, said to use new motor oil. my uncle used used oil and his saw was always filthy dirty. I will not put used oil in my brand new 576XP husky [$875.00] something just makes me cringe to think of it. besides chain oil is only 11.69 per gallon and it is so good.

bawb · Feb 21, 2012

Would you put motor oil in a tranny that requires gear oil? I know I wouldn"t. I know there is a big price difference between chain saws and trannys but I us what"s recommended. I have a 2002 372xp husky it was a felling saw for 6 years and I have cut 3 tri axle truck loads a year for the rest of it"s life. It"s never had a problem and I get 4-5 chains per bar. I never grease the tip of the bar cause it will hold dirt and blow it up quicker. The price of bar oil is cheaper than having to replace oil pump or more bars and chains than you would need to.

John, NY · Feb 21, 2012

I was in tractor supply buying jeans this evening and saw that bar chain oil was on sale for $7 per gallon..... Thats way less than I thought it was, I stocked up..... My Husq will get the real stuff, BUT... My Echo saw still gets the used stuff! lol..
Thanks for all the advice.
John

OT bar chain oil vs used motor oil

John, NY

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mhb@ufe

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CJ in Michigan

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Geo-TH,In

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Anonymous-0

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G6 at Snook, TX

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Phlash in OK

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old-9

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Ron-MO

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Anonymous-0

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Buss

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chevytaHOE5674

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Dean

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John in Mich

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andyd4ntx

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Bshugarts

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bawb

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John, NY

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