Bar and chain oil - what can I use??

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Today or tomarrow I'm going to need to use my chainsaw, but I don't have any bar and chain oil. Problem is, I'm snowed in, stuck with a crappy rental car after my accident. My saw has an automatic oiler. Can I use something that I already have? 10w30 oil? 2 cycle oil? ATF?
 
Anything is better than nothing but the options you mentioned won't have the clinging properties of the proper chain oil. Either will fly off easily probably. If you don't go at it too hard making too long a cut you should be able to get the work done without destroying your chain or bar.
 
What do you think would be best of those choices? Thicker? I have a bottle of 15w40 too..
 
..The 15/40 being diesel fleet oil may be more sticky than the other two choices and may stay on better. You'll have to run the saw and hold the tip of the bar close to a surface while rotating the chain to see how much of the oil flings off. Keep an eye on the oil level also as it may use more of this oil than the regular lubricant that you are use to.
 
Both my new and old Poulan manuals say a good grade of 30 weight is Ok. It also suggests thinning it in cold weather. Your multigrades are already thinner at the outdoor temperature when you are snowed in. Without the cling additives, either is going to be thrown off more than the regular oil. You might start with a little of the thicker. If you don't seem to be getting oil to the chain, switch to the thinner. I guess like other stuff, FLOW.
 
Alright guys...I don't have too much to cut, just a couple of christmas trees. (really big ones though
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I have a problem with chain life on my Husky saw. I now add 50% valvoline synthetic 75 gear oil to the standard chain lube. It is still sticky and I have improved my chain life by quite a bit!

Chris
 
quote:

When running a saw, is there any reason NOT to have the bar oiler at the highest setting?


With the majority of homeowner type saws, no. certain pro saws like the husky xp series and Dolmar bubble saws the pump massive amounts of oil and will make a real mess. Stihls on the other hand are much more stingy with oil and as a result may be maxed out without the mess.
 
I took a spin thru the Sears Lawn & Garden this A.M. and the Craftsman bar & chain oil sells for $7.49 a gallon!

I currently use the Husky oil @ $3.99 & bought 2 jugs last fall on sale for $2.99.

Poulan oil is normally available for $2.99 in my area, for those of you who are not color sensitive & can handle the bright lime green jug.

Seems like a marketing scheme at Sears - some of the margin lost on discounted sale items is made up in accessories!
 
"Poulan oil is normally available for $2.99 in my area, for those of you who are not color sensitive & can handle the bright lime green jug."

This is what I use in our Stihl. 1 gallon is $2.99 ... 1 quart is $1.99 at Walmart. The SuperTech bar & chain oil is even cheaper.

Then Dad goes to the Stihl dealer and pays $3.95 for one quart of Stihl brand chain & bar oil.
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--- Bror Jace
 
I run the Amsoil B&C oil,which is a semisynthetic, tackified, EP gear lube. It works great in cold weather and you will never gum up the auto oiler. I run the same screen on the pickup tube season after season and the bars/chains last a long time. I can even cut hickory/oak using my Stihl 029 without increasing the flow rate of the auto oiler.

Cheap B&C oil contains lots of wax and flows terribly in cold weather. You can leave this semisynthetic lube outside overnight in the winter and still pour it into the saw the next morning. Don't ask me how I know that!
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www.amsoil.com/products/abc.html

[ January 07, 2004, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: TooSlick ]
 
Wal Mart supertech serves me well. I used about 10 gallons this fall as I log and cut firewood part time. I get it for 2.99 a gallon if remember right. During that time I have not had to replace a bar and I put more hours on a saw in a couple months than most people do in several years.
 
ill second that supertech. we went through lots of it because of all the hurricanes down here. lots and lots of trees to cut into handsize pieces.
 
quote:

Originally posted by ZmOz:
Today or tomarrow I'm going to need to use my chainsaw, but I don't have any bar and chain oil. Problem is, I'm snowed in, stuck with a crappy rental car after my accident. My saw has an automatic oiler. Can I use something that I already have? 10w30 oil? 2 cycle oil? ATF?

I use old crankcase oil that I have drained out of my engines. Waste not, want not.
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I think Husky says to use a EP90 gear oil if you cannot find bar oil. I usually use cheap bar oil in summer and have found that the Amsoil Semi syn works great in the winter. I did find the Amsoil went through the saw much too quick in warm weather to be cost efficient. If i was stuck I would go for something in the SAE30 or thicker range.
 
Since bar and chain oiling systems are total loss systems, the oil gets used once and then it is thrown off or whatever. Seems to me that since the bar and chain are always getting a supply of fresh oil, any decent oil of the proper thickness should work good enough.

I have a gallon jug of Poulan bar oil, and when that's gone, I'm just going to use Wally's World stuff. Whatever is cheap and decent.

I also have about a quart still of the Homelite brand 2-stroke mix oil, and when that's gone, I'm going to use M1 MX2T or whatever it's called. I want the little POS to last as long as possible.
 
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