Auxiliary oiler question?

[Bushbow]

I have a new MS 661c. Added a Max Flow air filter and getting my Granberg set up to handle a 36” bar. I have the auxiliary oiler but there is no hole in my bar? Can I just use zip ties and let oil drip on the bar or do I need to drill a hole in my bar? If I need to drill where do I drill it?

Thank you for any input

Bob

 

[Coralillo Lo Pro]

I have a new MS 661c. Added a Max Flow air filter and getting my Granberg set up to handle a 36” bar. I have the auxiliary oiler but there is no hole in my bar? Can I just use zip ties and let oil drip on the bar or do I need to drill a hole in my bar? If I need to drill where do I drill it?

You can zip tie and drip. Drip right where the chain straightens out coming around the nose sprocket on the bottom side of the bar.

 

[sean donato]

You shouldn't need the auxiliary oiler with a 36" bar. You'll at best be using about 32"ish worth of it and the saws oiler is more then capable of keeping it oiled.

 

[Shiftit1]

Just FYI incase you may want to check this out and verify. I was at my local dealer a couple weeks ago and he was telling me and another guy that guys are burning up 661's milling with them. Idk why exactly but he claims the rep told him something with the mtronic running the saw to lean to mill with.
. Idk if there is any truth to this, and seems a bit odd to me. But I figured I would share since it came from a dealer. Maybe something you could check into, or someone on here has more info.

 

[muddy42]

I mill with a stihl MS088 (120 cc) with a 36 inch bar and having tried without and with an aux oiler, I think the oiler is beneficial. The cuts are much quicker and the bar and chain doesn't seem to get as hot. Bars and saws are expensive, so why not use more oil. I use a cheap oiler that simply dribbles onto the bar. I have added an extra tap, so I use one tap to control the flow and one as a shut-off. I use proper bar oil in the saw and unused engine oil in the aux oiler (the auxiliary oil doesn't need to travel round the tip, so you can be less fussy about the type of oil). However avoid used dirty engine oil.

 

[sean donato]

Do most my milling with a 394xp with a 40" bar on a 36" Alaskan and never needed an auxiliary oiler on it. Even running the 084av in the mill I never felt I needed it, never wore the bars out or had excessively hot bars/chains. I'm all into keeping stuff well maintained, and working properly but I also don't spend money on something I don't needs. Small mills don't need them imo.

 

[Lightning Performance]

Do most my milling with a 394xp with a 40" bar on a 36" Alaskan and never needed an auxiliary oiler on it. Even running the 084av in the mill I never felt I needed it, never wore the bars out or had excessively hot bars/chains. I'm all into keeping stuff well maintained, and working properly but I also don't spend money on something I don't needs. Small mills don't need them imo.

You just name two of the top ten oiling outputs on chainsaws. The 660 R pump runs my 36 050 es or the 40 404 063. Regular pump was lacking. Most people don't push in the pin on a stingy 661 oil pump. Most also forget to increase the thin slot oil hole on newer mounts.

 

[Lightning Performance]

I mill with a stihl MS088 (120 cc) with a 36 inch bar and having tried without and with an aux oiler, I think the oiler is beneficial. The cuts are much quicker and the bar and chain doesn't seem to get as hot. Bars and saws are expensive, so why not use more oil. I use a cheap oiler that simply dribbles onto the bar. I have added an extra tap, so I use one tap to control the flow and one as a shut-off. I use proper bar oil in the saw and unused engine oil in the aux oiler (the auxiliary oil doesn't need to travel round the tip, so you can be less fussy about the type of oil). However avoid used dirty engine oil.

Always the best option especially for beginners or dry logs.
More oil is better.
Switch to virgin canola oil it's cheaper in gallons.

 

[Lightning Performance]

I have a new MS 661c. Added a Max Flow air filter and getting my Granberg set up to handle a 36” bar. I have the auxiliary oiler but there is no hole in my bar? Can I just use zip ties and let oil drip on the bar or do I need to drill a hole in my bar? If I need to drill where do I drill it?

Thank you for any input

Bob

Remove the muffler screen and retune it if you have Mtron 3

 

[muddy42]

Agree, more oil is almost always better. Milling is seriously hard work for any saw/bar/chain and you might aswell give your equipment the best chance of survival. Also the saws oiler mechanisms or the holes on the bar can get blocked, so you can think of the auxiliary as a backup. The auxiliary oil doesn't need to travel round the tip, so you can be less fussy about the type of oil - anything can work veg oil, unused engine oil etc. Its helpful to have some flow adjustment if you are dribbling onto the bar. I have my oiler mechanism permanently attached the the mill so its no problem to use it with the 54 inch bar or the 36 inch bar.

 

[sean donato]

You just name two of the top ten oiling outputs on chainsaws. The 660 R pump runs my 36 050 es or the 40 404 063. Regular pump was lacking. Most people don't push in the pin on a stingy 661 oil pump. Most also forget to increase the thin slot oil hole on newer mounts.

Yeah, stihls always been a bit stingy with oil. Thinking about it, other then the 084av, the stihls I do have all had the high output oil pumps swapped in. Still, I wouldn't/wont/dont run an aux oiler on a 36" Alaskan.

 

[Bushbow]

Thank you all tons for the input. I have the oiler so I will use it. Can’t hurt. Already planning to use veggie oil. I’ll tap the bar and drill out the nut for better flow. This will be a dedicated setup at this point.

Btw. How much bar can I realistically use w the 661? My mill is a 36” so not upgrading anytime soon. Was just curious

 

[muddy42]

Thank you all tons for the input. I have the oiler so I will use it. Can’t hurt. Already planning to use veggie oil. I’ll tap the bar and drill out the nut for better flow. This will be a dedicated setup at this point.

Btw. How much bar can I realistically use w the 661? My mill is a 36” so not upgrading anytime soon. Was just curious

That's a tricky question to answer, shades of grey and all that. You CAN mill with smaller saws and big bars, but its slow and hard work for the saw, especially with Mtronic. The maximum compatible 3003 bar I'm aware of would be a 48 inch low pro bar. Personally I wouldn't want to go beyond this anyway.

Be aware that with a 36 inch bar, realistically the maximum width of wood you can tackle is about 30 inches (you lose some width in the mill and then you need a bit of wiggle room for bumps and bends in the wood.

 

[U&A]

You shouldn't need the auxiliary oiler with a 36" bar. You'll at best be using about 32"ish worth of it and the saws oiler is more then capable of keeping it oiled.

This

I dont know much about the oilers on a stihl but i can run a 48” mill and 56” china bar with no extra oiler. The 3210 does have the “el dump-o” mode for max oil tho

I can run my ported 385xp with a 42” bar with no extra oiler too. Does fine. Have not buried the bar on that tho. That bar and saw combo (spikes removed) can mill 36” diameter logs in my mill but i don’t push that saw milling beyond 30” logs.

Bottom line. You most likely will never need more oil with a 36” mill.

I think my 36” mill with 42” bar and the 3120 on it maxed out at 32” or so diameter logs. So a smaller saw might max at 33” or so

 

[muddy42]

No such thing as too much oil. My aux oiler is always connected to my mill and I always have all kinds of left over oils to use up (clean unused oils).

 

[sean donato]

Yes there is a such thing as too much oil, for one its just wasteful and two it could affect the finish of the wood. One of the reasons band saw mills use water as a blade lubricant.
You only need enough oil to keep the chain lubricated properly, this weird notion that every bar that's on a mill needs a dedicated second oiler, flooding the bar, particularly on shorter bars is just absurd.

 

[muddy42]

Yes there is a such thing as too much oil, for one its just wasteful and two it could affect the finish of the wood. One of the reasons band saw mills use water as a blade lubricant.
You only need enough oil to keep the chain lubricated properly, this weird notion that every bar that's on a mill needs a dedicated second oiler, flooding the bar, particularly on shorter bars is just absurd.

Interesting, I've never affected the finish of the wood, but I have worn out nose sprockets prematurely before I used my aux oiler which was frustratingly expensive. Of course its hard for me to prove that the aux oiler has stopped this (and I don't really want to risk an experiment) but subjectively I think it has helped. Cutting also feels smoother and faster. The english oak I cut is extremely hard and knotty. The aux oiler has also once saved me when the main oiling system on the chainsaw got blocked up by chips - so it also acts as a form of insurance.

 

[sean donato]

Unless your aux oiler is oiling the back side of the bar it doesn't help the sprocket much if at all. The chain is pulling the oil along the front side of the bar, away from the sprocket. Too many other factors amd variables with the chain alone to definitively say the extra oil makes the saw cut faster or smoother. Again, and I've said this before, I've seen zero difference in bars under 36" and under, chains still had residual oil on them, bars don't wear out prematurely. Im Still running the same 36" and 42" bars for 10+ years now, and the 36" is used for felling and bucking as well. Admittedly I don't mill nearly as much since my cousin got his band mill. (To the point i even sold the 084av and kept the 394xp) However, by all accounts I should have had many issues without the extra oil, and I just haven't.
I won't argue some saws need it, newer stills especially, but thats a separate issue from it being a mandatory item for every bar in every mill.

 

[muddy42]

Yes I agree, hard to definitely prove and some saws oil the bars better than others or leak oil before it hits the bar. Personally and subjectively, I think an aux oiler does help on my 36 inch bar .404 setup with crosscut chain.