Tractor supply destroyed their once good bar & chain oil. Now what?

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Sep 10, 2005
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Location
Erie, PA
I had gallons of bar and chain oil from tractor supply from 2014 ~ 2017 era and it was very thick, tacky, and was very good quality. I used it for undercoating clunker vehicles that I did not want to spend good money on fluid film / krown. I went to re-purchase some recently and I made sure to NOT buy the winter formula. It is no joke the viscosity straight 30.

The $24 husky oil is nice, but I aint paying that ever again.

Any new recommendations for 2023?
 
The $24 husky oil is nice, but I aint paying that ever again.

Any new recommendations for 2023?
Yes, I about fell off my chair when my employee recently came back with $25/gallon Stihl bar oil. I can't help you out yet. Maybe peruse the arboristsite.com forum to see what the pros are using.

EDIT: arboristsite.com has pages of threads discussing this. It's not too promising. One poster stated that Menards has $10/gallon bar oil. My local one has 2 brands.
 
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Just an FYI, all 4 Tractor Supply stores around here charge more than the posted prices. Often 2 or 3 items are incorrect out of the 6 or so I purchase.

I've stopped going there.
 
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You could find out who supplied it to TC and contact them to see if anyone else has the same product. It's interesting they're not stocking a product you were using "off label". Wonder how it worked in chainsaws?
 
I prefer thinner oil, I like to have my oil pump work. I don't like to have to use a paint brush to brush on the ultra thick stuff.
 
I going to go off on a limb and say I need it VERY tacky for two reasons. On beater vehicles, I need the tackifier to keep it on the underside. My last tractor supply gallon washed off already in 40 days.

Also when cutting pine, I ran out of my last tacky batch of 2014 ~ 2017 tractor supply stuff and immediatly when I went to their new non winter formula, my chain is dry even though my saw (cs-670) oils like flood. It just blows off the tip as a lack of the tackifier.

So is there a new shortage of tackifier due to the supply chain issues? 3 off brand bar oils I have tried are nothing like before.
 
I stopped at my Stihl dealer and Stihl silver bottle B&C oil was almost $30/gal. Yikes!

I get tree service wood and have been using Harvest King B&C Oil from Runnings, a store near my daughters house in Putnam CT - $9.99/gal.

It's pretty tacky, no complaints on pumpability or staying on the bar. My main firewood saws are using Stihl RS and Oregon EXL chains. They carry the oil all around the bar very well.
 
I had gallons of bar and chain oil from tractor supply from 2014 ~ 2017 era and it was very thick, tacky, and was very good quality. I used it for undercoating clunker vehicles that I did not want to spend good money on fluid film / krown. I went to re-purchase some recently and I made sure to NOT buy the winter formula. It is no joke the viscosity straight 30.

The $24 husky oil is nice, but I aint paying that ever again.

Any new recommendations for 2023?
Huh. I used tractorsupply oil for that same reason in that same time period. Haven’t bought any since. That’s a shame
 
Something you might try if you are out-of-town, or through mail order.
I live in Las Vegas but was doing cutting in the Placerville California area. Big difference between the two in bar oil rotation. Autozone stocked it in both locations, but it set on the shelf in Vegas and got dusty until they basically gave it away. You might be able to find old stock at TSCs in areas with few trees.
 
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