I worked with a professional tree service for 7 years. We used the bar oil or motor oil . Whatever was available at the time.. Using motor oil never hurt any saw we had. We used Stihls, we had Huskys, Echos (long time ago). Never hurt any of them. the main thing is to make sure that the bar gets oil. Theres a slot that the chain runs in.. sometimes it's good to clean that out. It can get gunked up a bit. That'll help keep the bar lubed up.dean said:
I've seen all sort of crappy oil used, even used motor oil. It works. OTOH, I'm still on my first gallon of bar oil that I paid about $5.dean said:
The oil on the chain will be distributed in you environment it's totally unacceptable to use a non-biodegradable oil for lubricating the saw. The pro's you have seen obviously don't care a dam about the rest of the world and should be [insert punishment of choice]...dean said:
In misc.rural dean said:
I use Poulan bar oil from Walmart. Its 30 weight with a tackifier (sp?) in it so it sticks to the chain better than motor oil. Since it doesn't have any of the additives needed to keep an engine clean, its cheaper than motor oil too.
Scrotum or bladder cancer. No thanks ! Whatever you use as an oil, you're also breathing it as an aerosol. I won't use engine oil and I certainly won't use used engine oil.
Are you a jerk in real life, too, or just on Usenet?
Actually, I never thought of it, but I really doubt it's really doing any harm--it's not a demanding lubrication problem and the solids suspended in the oil aren't anything much to compare to the junk that's being collected on the bar anyway...Doug said:
Well, they <are> cutting trees, aren't they, the scum...Juergen said:
Husqvarna were selling a bar oil based on vegetable oil. I have recently heard that the performance was/is considered unsatisfactory but this is very second hand info, just some guy whose brother does logging in Bavaria. Guess it probably would be more environmentally friendly, somewhat.
The suspended solids in used engine oil are, for the most part, fine particles of metal. The junk that collects on the bar during use is wood dust. Surely you don't imagine that the two produce the same degree of wear on the chain and bar.
A lot of the chips and dust are wood, but a lot isn't--the inevitable dirt and other grime is at least as abrasive as the much smaller diameter particles that made it through the engine oil filter...after all, you wouldn't be particularly concerned to run your auto another 500 or even 1000 miles above the 3000 mi mark if you were on a trip and needed that to get home for a more convenient oil change, would you? The lube requirements of any modern engine are <far> more onerous...
Stihl, for one, does have a vegetable based oilElmo said:
Just the same, it should be obvious that you're not doing your chain saw any good by running used motor oil through it.
By the same token, I don't think it at all obvious there would be much difference observable one way or the other as opposed to clean motor oil...Doug said: