Fellin Feller
ArboristSite Member
I've used several different kinds of bar oil, Stihl, Poulan, even canola oil. Is there any oil that is not recommended? I bought a jug of this stuff today at Lowes.
Cheap Bar Oil?
- Thread starter Fellin Feller
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homemade
Certified Chainsaw Tester
Any chainsaw bar oil works. Don’t use oil that is not bar oil. It doesn’t have the right viscosity or tackyness to stick to the chain.
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Bango Skank
ArboristSite Operative
Best price I’ve found was Tractor Supply’s house brand. They got a winter blend too. I’m not sure what it costs now, but was on sale 2 years ago for 8$ or 9$ a gallon I think.
That is a myth. No oil including bar oil will stay on a chain that is rotating at the speeds that chainsaws do. Any oil is gonna sling off no mater how thick and tacky it is. Most of the oil is dragged off by the chips and the wood and the rest is slung off. Just crank the oiler up to full and use what ever oil you want.
Many people use canola oil and it's about as thin an oil you can get and people still use it with no issues.
I use plane ol used motor oil thats not completely black. I don't use diesel oil as it's always blacker then coal. The color of the oil is not the issue it's just that the real black oil is kinda messy.
Canyon Angler
Addicted to ArboristSite
I use boiled linseed oil mixed with tung oil. It's organic®.
When I can't find that, I use epoxy. It stays on the chain almost as well.
I got the same oil on sale for 4.99 a gallon. I bought them out a few years ago and blains farm and fleet has the same prices
Sent while firmly grasping my Redline lubed Ram [emoji231]
banjobart
ArboristSite Operative
Home Depot also has cheap bar oil.
kentuckyguy
ArboristSite Lurker
My local rural king usually has something around $7-8 a gallon. The brands seem to change but price stays close to the same.
I use the cheapest bar oil I can find. Have used new clean motor oil, transmission fluid, and vegetable oil. Makes no difference as far as I can tell, all the same. Whatever is cheap.
You had me up until the used engine oil. I agree with everything but that.
I usually use Canadian tire bar oil and it works fine, although it's not really much of a bargain. Can't recommend the Oregon stuff, it looks, acts and stinks like 70 weight gear oil. And definitely not used motor oil, though brand new motor oil is fine.
One thing nice about motor oil is the different viscosity ratings you can choose depending on ambient temperature and flow characteristics of your saw. Sometimes I mix 5-20 with bar oil to get the stingy oiling saws flowing better. In really cold weather, just 5-20 or ATF if I absolutely have to go out and do some cutting.
One thing nice about motor oil is the different viscosity ratings you can choose depending on ambient temperature and flow characteristics of your saw. Sometimes I mix 5-20 with bar oil to get the stingy oiling saws flowing better. In really cold weather, just 5-20 or ATF if I absolutely have to go out and do some cutting.
Three of four seasons out of the year Tractor Supply's brand "Country Line" bar oil works really well. No idea who's product they have used buy it hangs onto the bar and chain as good as any chain oil I've seen. For the winter even their "Winter" blend is too thick so I have to run the Husqvarna "Cold Temperature" bar oils.
Huskybill
Addicted to ArboristSite
I use the cheapest bar oil I can find. Some bar oils run from $25 to $50 a gallon. Mystik b&c oil was $7 a gallon. Why is some bar oil $100.
In the machine shop we used Mobil vactra way oil. It’s very tacky and the saws loved it.
In the machine shop we used Mobil vactra way oil. It’s very tacky and the saws loved it.
Me too. Cheapest you’ll find. I have no pre mature bar wear whatsoever. Bar oil oils the drivers and rivets from below. That’s all it does. Cheapest oil you can find. No need to overthink it
While I'll use pretty much any bar & chain oil. I also find that in the grand scheme I use little enough that the price isn't a real driver for me. Now, I'm only cutting 3-4 cords a year for myself not in the tree business or firewood business so I might see it differently if I was running saws all day every day. With the price of gas running around to chase a couple bucks off doesn't make sense to me.
nygrappler
ArboristSite Lurker
Country Line bar oil from Tractor Supply. I stock up when I see it’s on sale. I go through about 10 gallons a year. I run the same stuff year round and keep my oiler adjusted to max.
Have you ever tried using, used motor oil? Take one saw and only use, used motor oil and see what happens. The worst that can happen is you burn up a bar and chain. Many will try and argue that used oil is some how harmful to the environment. But they don't stop and realize how much motor oil is leaked out of cars and dripped on the roads every day.
I have bought saws that have used nothing but used motor oil according to the owner and the bar and chain were decent. So how many gallons of oil to pay for a bar? Not many. When we were cutting every day we bought whatever was on sale and never wore a chain out before the cutters were gone, Bar wear was never a issue unless we got a poorly hardened bar. May try hydraulic oil as I get it for free and only use 10 gallons or so a year anymore. When I was young a older gent to me something I always remember "any oil is better than no oil" CJ
