# Ran out of bar/chain oil.....5w30 ok in a pinch?



## Davej_07 (Feb 11, 2009)

Yup, I ran out of bar oil. I didnt want to stop cutting as I was losing daylight so I used a little 5w-30. Any chance I could gum something up as a result?
Just curious, I had to improvise. MacGyver isnt my patron Saint for nothing.

Dave


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## freemind (Feb 11, 2009)

Davej_07 said:


> Yup, I ran out of bar oil. I didnt want to stop cutting as I was losing daylight so I used a little 5w-30. Any chance I could gum something up as a result?
> Just curious, I had to improvise. MacGyver isnt my patron Saint for nothing.
> 
> Dave




I have done the same.


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## thejdman04 (Feb 11, 2009)

I dont think youll gum anything up, but w/o the additives that make bar oil tacky, you could get lots of bar wear and rivit wear in your chain.


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## Rookie1 (Feb 11, 2009)

I dont see a problem with doing it. I knew a tree cutter that used 15w40 for bar oil. He never had any adverse problems with using it.


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## Moss Man (Feb 11, 2009)

Just a one time event, very unlikely anything bad will come out of it.


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## bore_pig (Feb 11, 2009)

You'll be fine. I used to run 80-90 because it flowed good and I had a lot of it.


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## carvinmark (Feb 11, 2009)

It will work, just wear the bar and chain faster. I don't belive it will gum anything up.


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## husky455rancher (Feb 11, 2009)

well the mighty poolie ion my sig has had used motor oil bar oil its entire life. its cut a good amount of wood in its time. it has no power anymore dunno why but that has nothing to do with it. the saw still has the original bar and its really not worn much at all honestly. 


i dont think motor oil is a "bad" bar lubricant its just messy. i mean i been using winter bar oil alot this winter and it as messy as using motor oil. 

i wouldnt hesitate using motor oil if you have to but on my big dollar saws i wouldnt make a habbit of it. on poolies and crap like that.....they get the used motor oil lol.


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## 371groundie (Feb 11, 2009)

i use it all the time, incliuding some special carbon additives found only in internal combustion engines!


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## Highclimber OR (Feb 11, 2009)

In a pinch? sure we all have done that a few times, I'm guessing.


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## KsWoodsMan (Feb 11, 2009)

Plenty of old saws called for S.A.E. 30w non-detergent motor oil. Any (clean) lube beats none at all.

I would never put USED motor oil in there though. If the saw is worth having, it is worth taking care of it. 

If I'm running low I will thin the bar lube with clean motor oil so it still has some of the tack additives to help it stay on the b/c longer. If I'm out, Rotella 15w-40 or Trop-Artic 10w-40 is the next jug behind the seat to get used to finish the day.


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## GrizzlyAdams86 (Feb 11, 2009)

In my Husky 137's manual it says "When proper bar and chain lubricant is not available, a good 30-weight motor oil is recommened until bar and chain oil can be obtianed" or something like that. One time I was mixing a 50-50 combo of motor oil and bar lube to get rid of unused motor oil "properly". I have heard of people using automatic transmission fluid in saws in the winter insted of winter grade lube, but I'm cheap so I got some of that Wally-Mart "Super Tech" 5w-30 cooking oil during our last cold snap.


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## Philbert (Feb 11, 2009)

I have heard that USED motor oil can cause oil pump problems due to impurities (part of the reason we change the motor oil). Assume that it will clog up the filter faster too.

(Anybody had any foaming from detergent motor oil used to lube a bar? Does it make your Wild Thing look like it has rabies? Might be cool!)

Philbert


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## willsaw4beer (Feb 12, 2009)

Any clean motor oil, h3ll, even canola or fryer oil will be better than nothing in a pinch. Probably better to not use anything other than bar oil if you can help it, although thinning regular bar oil with 30wt, kerosene/ diesel is possibly better in extreme cold. I'll admit I have used canola oil on one of my saws exclusively(used it to cut wood for bar b q 'in) and had absolutely no problems at all running over a gallon through it, although I run real bar oil in the saws I care about.


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## avalancher (Feb 12, 2009)

I have had to occasionally resort to some motor oil to finish out a day out in the woods, but as some have mentioned I wouldnt make a regular habit out of it.
As far as used motor oil goes, I wouldnt do it, but I have seen firsthand a guy that used nothing but used motor oil all his life.
My uncle who ended up being like a dad to me while growing up was a first class tightwad.Used only what ever stuff the neighbor was throwing out for bar oil, and NEVER bought a new bar for his old Mac. he still has that same saw today, and still cuts his winter wood with it some 30 years later.

The same guy was quite proud of the fact that he had a toyota pickup with almost 200,000 miles on it without a single oil change. By his reasoning, a simple oil filter change was all that was necessary done every 20,000 miles.The filter by his reckoning removed all the impurities, why change the oil?
I happened to borrow that truck one day to run get parts for my truck.It wandered all over the road, and when in town I popped the hood just to check out that oil dipstick.Oil was just like mud.
But, to his credit, he never changed the oil in that truck, and it died only when a woman ran a light and T-boned him.


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## J.W Younger (Feb 12, 2009)

If you ever run rear end (hypoid)oil don't put your saw in the cab of the truck. you will never get the smell out. ask me how I know.


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## KD57 (Feb 12, 2009)

I've run ATF, and motor oil in a pinch, and had a friend who ran it all the time. Frequent use will wear the chain and bar more quickly, but occaisional use won't hurt anything. Dealers don't carry the winter bar oil here, but when it gets really cold, I mix a little ATF in my summer blend to thin it so it will flow. There was an old timer that I knew who mixed diesel w/ his bar oil to thin it, he claimed it also kept things clean.


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## Raymond (Feb 12, 2009)

Works in a pinch sure. But did ya notice your pants or chaps got extra dirty. 
I've also done it in a pinch and noticed the extra oil on my clothes.


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## oharatree (Feb 12, 2009)

anything works in a pinch. Some guys think way too deep into it. Just throw in what you got and get some work finished.


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## BriGuy89 (Feb 12, 2009)

In the manuals for lots of (especially low-end) saws, you'll see that SAE 30W (or equivalent) oil is often listed as an acceptable substitute for bar and chain oil.

At this time of year, unless you're using the Winterized bar and chain oil, you're already probably needing to cut it with kerosene or gas anyway to improve viscosity in the cold weather. So dropping down from regular bar and chain oil to a 30W oil isn't a bad idea for really cold weather because you don't have to mess with cutting the bar and chain oil with fuel.

Obviously, that depends on the volume of cutting you have to do this time of year. If it's a little bit, you can get by with clean 30W oil; if it's a lot, you might as well do it right an mix your own fuel-cut bar and chain oil, or get the Winterized formula.

But for any "in-a-pinch" situation, any clean motor oil is OK to use as a substitute for bar and chain oil. You may not see it as easily as the dyed bar and chain oils, and you may use more (because it's less viscous), but your saw won't disintegrate in your hands either.


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