Poulan Synthetic 2 Cycle Oil

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Anyone have any facts or experience with this? Readily available, and would save time and money from driving to the Stihl dealer for Stihl Ultra syn. On the other hand I like going in and looking for new toys, and probably should support my dealer.

TDI Rick tracked the Stihl down as a Castrol product. Poulan is owned by Husqvarna, so maybe the same as theirs????
 
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Although I don't know anything about the Poulan product, it's probably a decent oil. But I say support your local Stihl dealer.

Why? Because I'm one of them
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I used it last year in my leaf blower and weed whacker. The leaf blower runs fine on it, but the weed whacker hates it. Leaves tons of oily deposits around the muffler and spits oil back out through the carb, soaking the air filter. It also fouled out the spark plug in one season of light use. This week, I'm driving out of my way to the Toro dealer just to pick up a bottle of Stihl oil, even though I have a lot of the Poulan left at home. I'll use it up in the blower, but never again in the whacker.
 
Been using it for years in my Stihl and Husky chainsaws (50:1) and LawnBoy mower (32:1). Zero problems. Excellent availability/price (Wally's).
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Nothing against Stihl, also excellent, but I'm at Wally's more often.
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Originally Posted By: hate2work

Although I don't know anything about the Poulan product, it's probably a decent oil. But I say support your local Stihl dealer.

Why? Because I'm one of them
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I knew I liked you for some reason! I wish I had tried Stihl saws years ago. 20 years of grief cutting up downed trees and firewood around the farm with box store saws. I picked up a 250 and 290 the last two years, and when my wife isn't looking I going get a loan and get the 361. I think you really do get what you pay for with saws. OOPs I hijacked my own thread.....
 
Originally Posted By: Cmarti
Originally Posted By: hate2work

Although I don't know anything about the Poulan product, it's probably a decent oil. But I say support your local Stihl dealer.

Why? Because I'm one of them
thumbsup2.gif



I knew I liked you for some reason! I wish I had tried Stihl saws years ago. 20 years of grief cutting up downed trees and firewood around the farm with box store saws. I picked up a 250 and 290 the last two years, and when my wife isn't looking I going get a loan and get the 361. I think you really do get what you pay for with saws. OOPs I hijacked my own thread.....


Aw, schucks..( blushing )

You're going to love the 361 when you get it. It's one of the few Stihl saws still made the old fashioned way (read; well built). It has what we call a vertically split crankcase with laser line-bored bearing pockets as well a super hard chrome lined cylinder. The consumer saws Stihl puts out are cradle-crank designs with nikasil lined cylinders. Obviously they work, but they don't hold up as well as the better built ones.
 
Since cmarti DID start the hijacking....
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I currently have 5 Stihls, 036 PRO; MS360 (newer version of the 036, I think); 046 Magnum; 056 AV (so old it doesn't even have a blade brake, but, man, does it cut) and an 066 Magnum. Just got rid of an 026 PRO this past weekend, great little saw it was. Except the 056, all are older saws (3-8 years or so), from before Stihl decided they had to change model designations every year, why, I don't know. Stihls really are super saws. They always work, and they're decent to work ON.
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I just bought a 290 on monday.
My dealer says to just run the regular Stihl conventional.
I tend to keep my stuff forever, should I start using the synthetic Stihl oil?
What are the benefits?
 
Nothing wrong with Nikasil bores made by Mahle, it's what the best saws use.
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and of course, all you fella's are talking about the wrong German saws.....there are some pretty fine saws made in Hamburg
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and mine just happens to be lubricated by the finest esters from France, Motul 800 2T, just to continue on the European theme.

I think you'll find US Poulan Pro synthetic oil is the same as Dolmar/Makita US synthetic oil and Baileys Woodland Pro synthetic oil, all blended by Spectrum Corporation in Tennessee. http://www.baileysonline.com/msds_sheets/PDFs/wp_synthetic.pdf (this MSDS is identical to the Dolmar one I have)
I'll try and dig up an MSDS for the Poulan oil to compare.

Husky's XP oil is also blended by Spectrum, but it isn't a full synthetic. http://www.mymowerparts.com/pdf/Husqvarna_Service_Bulletins/N0207008.pdf
 
Originally Posted By: tdi-rick
Nothing wrong with Nikasil bores made by Mahle, it's what the best saws use.
wink.gif


and of course, all you fella's are talking about the wrong German saws.....there are some pretty fine saws made in Hamburg
grin2.gif

and mine just happens to be lubricated by the finest esters from France, Motul 800 2T, just to continue on the European theme.

I think you'll find US Poulan Pro synthetic oil is the same as Dolmar/Makita US synthetic oil and Baileys Woodland Pro synthetic oil, all blended by Spectrum Corporation in Tennessee. http://www.baileysonline.com/msds_sheets/PDFs/wp_synthetic.pdf (this MSDS is identical to the Dolmar one I have)
I'll try and dig up an MSDS for the Poulan oil to compare.

Husky's XP oil is also blended by Spectrum, but it isn't a full synthetic. http://www.mymowerparts.com/pdf/Husqvarna_Service_Bulletins/N0207008.pdf


Is 7 a fairly low viscosity (although it is only 40:1)?

I am curious about your germanic cutting implements. A small mower dealer right by my home, and where I buy a ton of poulan/craftsman/B & S parts, is now a Dolmar dealer. He
gives me a hard way to go about any orange saws.
 
Well if you like chainsaws, getting a dolmar 7900 will make your day! Better hp to weight than everything that stihl and husky have right now in the mid-size class. Most serious users would give a 7900 a try if they had a local dealer. I have a husky 372 but it doesn't really keep up with a 7900 even though they are the same weight.
Ian
 
a lot of two stroke lubes are around 7-9 cSt, Stihl Ultra is 8.45cSt, Oz Castrol TTS is 7.7 (now Power 1 Racing TTS), Motul 710 is 8.9cSt, and both of these are JASO FD and injector rated.

Interestingly the Stihl Ultra has a much higher flash point than the TTS yet both are Castrol ester based synthetics.
Whether this has any bearing on the protection of an air cooled engine I'm not sure, but the numbers are significant with TTS having a relatively low flash of 76*C and Ultra being 220*C !
Motul 710 is 88*, yet Motul 800 2T OR is 252*C.
Low flash may also mean slightly less carbon deposits, or at least a chance for them to burn more completely at part throttle/low load situations, eg. on a scooter, so may be a way to meet the cleanliness and low smoke requirements of JASO FD, but that's mere speculation on my part.

It's only the racing lubes that are a heavier viscosity too, eg Motul 800 2T Off Road is 15.5, 800 2T Road is 19.2, Mobil 1 Racing 2T is 13.9 and both Elf HTX oils are around 17.8cSt @100*C, Silkolene Pro 2 SX is 13.5, etc.

Re saws, Dolmar/Makita have always been pro saws, every bit as good as their better known Swedish and German counterparts, but here, and it looks like the US, Makita just don't market them at all. It's a bit like the [censored] child no one wants to talk about ??
My nearest Dolmar dealer is also the Husky dealer for the district (covers logging through heavy farming) and they push Husky over Dolmar as Husky really support them in advertising dollars and campaigns, whereas Makita do nothing for them, yet they've sold Dolmar for over thirty years.

A friend who is a contract fencer put me on to Dolmar, I'd seen them but never really considerd them, to me the only saws to consider were orange and grey.
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Jon has had Dolmars for the past twenty three years and they've given excellent service. He has no brand loyalty as he also runs Stihl and he like them too, but he does really like his older Dolmars.

I suppose for most, a saw purchase should come down to dealer post sale support and backup rather than saw brand, it's probably the more important aspect of the purchase.
For me, I would have been happy with Stihl (miles too exxy here) Husky, Dolmar/Makita, Shinny, Solo, and Oleo Mac but I got the best deal on a 6401 Makita and I can service it myself. (yes, it will be getting a 7900 piston/barrel
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)
Of course the aspect that it's cool to have a teal blue saw rather than an orange or orange/grey one in these parts didn't come into the purchase decision, it was purely $ in the finish, but some may say that it is startlingly similar to the fact I drive a Land Rover Defender rather than a Land Cruiser, Hilux or Nissan Patrol ute (pick up) like every other bloke around here.
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It's an OEM oil....that means the main goal is profit....profit and profit.


Buy from a manufacturer...come on..
 
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Originally Posted By: Pete591
It's an OEM oil....that means the main goal is profit....profit and profit.


Buy from a manufacturer...come on..


I imagine everyone who manufactures, distributes or sells a product would like to make a little money. Well until we are completely socialist.
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Actually the poulan is cheap and readily available at walmart, and I was just looking for a backup if I can't take 30 minutes to my Stihl dealer. I do not want to use a TCW3 or dino, and I have not braved mail order oils (Maybe I should ?). It does not leave many alternatives, but to purchase some Manufacturer's label. The Stihl ultra is high priced, but has had good reviews and I am addicted to it's unique smell!
 
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Originally Posted By: cronk
I just bought a 290 on monday.
My dealer says to just run the regular Stihl conventional.
I tend to keep my stuff forever, should I start using the synthetic Stihl oil?
What are the benefits?


We no longer sell the Stihl conventional oil( orange bottle). We only have the HP Super (blended, black bottle) and the Stihl HP Ultra (full synthetic, white bottle). We recommend the HP Super for most of our 2-cycle equipment, including the 290. The HP Ultra CAN be used in 2-cycle equipment, but it's not really needed.

The HP Ultra really shines in the 4-cycle hybrid engines we sell. The HP Super oil was causing quite a bit of carbon and calcium buildup on the exhaust valves, the Ultra oil burns much cleaner and no deposits form. In fact, using the Ultra will "clean up" an engine( 2 cycle or 4 cycle hybrid ) that has carbon build up.

To answer your question, I don't see much benefit in running the Ultra oil in your 290. We've got thousands of customers running the Super in those saws with great results.
 
Originally Posted By: tdi-rick
Nothing wrong with Nikasil bores made by Mahle, it's what the best saws use.
wink.gif



When I was at the Mahle plant I asked specifically about this very thing. I had noticed that the saws that were lined with Nikasil could not be honed after being scored, whereas the hard chromed cylinders were almost always able to be honed back to pure chrome.

They pretty much told us that Nikasil was an inferior process/product compared to chrome. That's pretty much reflected in the price of the saws with/without chrome cylinders. Stihl's 4.4 HP Nikasil saw sells for $490, and there 4.4 HP chrome lined saw sells for $609.
 
Originally Posted By: Cmarti
Originally Posted By: Pete591
It's an OEM oil....that means the main goal is profit....profit and profit.


Buy from a manufacturer...come on..


I imagine everyone who manufactures, distributes or sells a product would like to make a little money. Well until we are completely socialist.
happy2.gif

Actually the poulan is cheap and readily available at walmart, and I was just looking for a backup if I can't take 30 minutes to my Stihl dealer. I do not want to use a TCW3 or dino, and I have not braved mail order oils (Maybe I should ?). It does not leave many alternatives, but to purchase some Manufacturer's label. The Stihl ultra is high priced, but has had good reviews and I am addicted to it's unique smell!


Why don't you just buy a few extra bottles and have them on your shelf? That's what most of my homeowner customers do, they buy a 6 pack of bottles and they're good for a while. Of course, I've got commercial customers buying 5 gal pails of the stuff to save money. IIRC, the retail price of a 5 gal pail of Ultra is $257, and it will mix 250 gals of gas, so that gets the price per gallon pretty low compared to buying the small bottles.

As far as profit goes, isn't that the goal of everyone in business? I can tell you that's my goal, for sure. :)
 
Originally Posted By: hate2work
Originally Posted By: Cmarti
Originally Posted By: Pete591
It's an OEM oil....that means the main goal is profit....profit and profit.


Buy from a manufacturer...come on..


I imagine everyone who manufactures, distributes or sells a product would like to make a little money. Well until we are completely socialist.
happy2.gif

Actually the poulan is cheap and readily available at walmart, and I was just looking for a backup if I can't take 30 minutes to my Stihl dealer. I do not want to use a TCW3 or dino, and I have not braved mail order oils (Maybe I should ?). It does not leave many alternatives, but to purchase some Manufacturer's label. The Stihl ultra is high priced, but has had good reviews and I am addicted to it's unique smell!


Why don't you just buy a few extra bottles and have them on your shelf? That's what most of my homeowner customers do, they buy a 6 pack of bottles and they're good for a while. Of course, I've got commercial customers buying 5 gal pails of the stuff to save money. IIRC, the retail price of a 5 gal pail of Ultra is $257, and it will mix 250 gals of gas, so that gets the price per gallon pretty low compared to buying the small bottles.

As far as profit goes, isn't that the goal of everyone in business? I can tell you that's my goal, for sure. :)


Dang Ike and an ice storm, has me almost done with my second 6 pack this year. If I stock up is there any worry it goes bad?
 
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