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Chainsaw oil

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Gary The Rookie

02-11-2003 08:18:59




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Wasn't sure where to throw this question, but a chainsaw is a tool, right? How bad an idea would it be to make use of used motor oil as a bar lubricant?




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Clifford Mitchell

02-16-2003 12:26:43




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 Re: Chainsaw oil in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 02-11-2003 08:18:59  
I am a logger in Northern California. My Timber Faller friends and I use DIESEL drain oil frequently. If it just came out of a $10,000 to $25,000 diesel engine then it is just fine for a $1,200 Stihl 066 as bar oil. The diesel fuel residue cuts pitch and resins. As others have said volume is important. We go thru up to 4 gallons a week per saw. If you only occasionally use your saw, I'd use new bar/motor oil. The acidic combustion residues will harm a saw that sits around. As far as the concerns of the Enviro Wackos...I/we never cut on or near water ways. Our Creator made oil in the ground...We should respect His creation and utilize our resources wisely.
THINK SAFETY--Cliff

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James in MO

02-13-2003 07:14:56




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 Re: Chainsaw oil in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 02-11-2003 08:18:59  
I personally am very particular about my saw I even go as far as using the same manufacturer premix and bar oil as my saws (Husqvarna). If it isn't good enough for your car then it isn't good enough for your saw. There is only one good use for used motor oil anf that is in a proper used oil furnace. I have also seen old farmers dump it on chain elevaters for hay bales now how much sense does this make? You might as well go out and dump motor oil in the water trough.

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Canadian Cowboy

02-12-2003 21:21:13




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 Re: Chainsaw oil in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 02-11-2003 08:18:59  
just wondering those of you who use used oil as chain bar oil, how much do you use the saw's per year. Est your cutting hours per year.



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RayP(MI)

02-12-2003 07:55:14




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 Re: Chainsaw oil in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 02-11-2003 08:18:59  
The manufacturer's instructions on my saw called for 30 weight non-detergent motor oil to lubricate the bar. I've used the drainings form the many oil cans around here for bar oil for years. (Skill/Partner saw.)



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Chuck in Kansas

02-12-2003 05:55:57




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 Re: Chainsaw oil in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 02-11-2003 08:18:59  
Visit this site and look at the archives:

http://www.arboristsite.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=9



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fTom

02-11-2003 17:29:59




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 Re: Chainsaw oil in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 02-11-2003 08:18:59  
Do not use motor oil in chainsaw. Good chain saw bar oil has a bunch of sticky additives to make it adhear to the chain and bar. By using old motor oil, you will save a nickel and spend a dollar.



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Rob

02-11-2003 08:41:17




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 Re: Chainsaw oil in reply to Gary The Rookie Farmer, 02-11-2003 08:18:59  
Answer: Very bad. For a number of reasons: Used oil doesn't differentiate viscosity between cold and warm use. You need a different chain oil in the winter than in the summer to get proper lubrication. Next, it has contaminents in it that will prevent proper flow over in the bar and can clog up your feed lines for the same reason. And bars are expensive > like any tool, they last only if you take care of them by using the right oil. Today they make a lot of new oil products for specific purposes. You might as well take advantage of the work already done. It's not like it was when our fathers were young. Another reason that we are all waking up to so that our kids might be able to have the earth themselves some day: if you get a vegetable based bar oil, you not only get a good lubricating product but you aren't spilling oil all over the woods. Each time that oil hits, it kills something and you would be amazed how much you will use in just one Saturday morning of cutting. think about taking used motor oil and pouring a couple pints into the woods or even into the yard if you are bucking by your house. That alone answers the very good question you have asked. I was one of those who didn't know enough to care about what we have been doing to the earth adn have started to try to get it back a bit. Good luck.

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T_Bone

02-11-2003 15:59:12




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 Re: Re: Chainsaw oil in reply to Rob , 02-11-2003 08:41:17  
Hi rob,

If the used oil is multi-viscosity (10w30 etc) then it will be at the correct viscosity for bar use, winter or summer. I've been using used oil for the past 25yrs without problems and no plug ups.

I do agree that vege oil is a much better choice but also it's very high in viscosity in it's raw state. Do you happen to know what they cut the vege oil with to lower the viscosity? I'm asking cause I don't know but would like to know. Until I know what they cut it with then I can't compare it used motor oil as far a enviromental concerns.

I agree about the enviroment as were tearing it apart faster than mother nature can fix it. We all need to be more careful on what we do. To me automobiles are the largest enviroment polluter we have with factories running not far behind.

T_Bone

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John in MA

02-11-2003 20:36:02




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 Re: Re: Re: Chainsaw oil in reply to T_Bone, 02-11-2003 15:59:12  
Chainsaw bar oil is a lot thicker than 10W30 motor oil. It also has additives to improve shear and adhesion.

There are any number of reasons not to use waste oil in a chainsaw. The main one that many folks don't realize is that used oil has acids and other byproducts in it from combustion. Most chainsaws are magnesium. Used oil can and _will_ eat holes right through the oil tank. So I've seen it happen. Even grass clippings will do this. Then there's the issue of wear to the oil pump, chain, and bar sprocket from the crap in the oil and lack of lubricating properties. Clogging isn't usually a problem with waste oil because it's so thin.

I don't intend to offend anyone, but nearly everybody I or friends have heard using waste oil were inexperienced homeowners or "old farmer types". You never see guys in the tree, chainsaw, or logging industries use anything but real bar oil. Considering how cheap 5 gallons of the stuff is vs. the price of bars (have you seen what they charge for a 36 incher now?) it's a no-brainer for me. There are also a couple companies now (Stihl included) who offer vegatable-derived oils that are supposed to be 100% biodegradable. Edible, too, I hear.

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Burrhead

02-14-2003 19:12:52




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Chainsaw oil in reply to John in MA, 02-11-2003 20:36:02  
I read some research papers once where them fellers at Harvard did a survey of the burnt motor oil using loggers.

All the Harvard research actually proved was that all the logger's children were born nekked just like ever body elses kids.



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