Bar oil $7.49 @ TSC

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
PF bar oil test isn't applicable to chainsaw bar oils because the extreme pressure element in his test isn't present in a chainsaw bar/chain...or at least if the operator knows how to run a saw it isnt... This is going by memory of his methodology.
When I logged I ran the cheapest bar oil I could find, which was usually Walmart super tech. I never had any issues with it and put more hours than most casual users would in 5 years or more.
Couple points for thought. The chain is several points softer than the bar rail. The only thing that needs lube is the sprocket and the chain links. Thin, less tacky bar oil is more apt to reach the links.
Years ago on this sight in the golden era there was a Windsor engineer that was a member. He stated that thin hydro oil was a great bar and chain oil for the reasons I mentioned above.

I typicaly buy the absolute cheapest bar oil I can find. I have tried some of the premium stuff like Stihl platinum, Durex, BelRay, etc but I just don't notice any difference.
I get it that must have OCD in regards to lubricants, but this is one case where it just doesn't matter for a casual user.
You need to watch his test again. He also evaluated bar oils by examining new chain with high magnification and then running the saws by cutting a fixed amount of time in the same kinds of wood and then comparing the wear on the chain bottom. The wear was clearly greater on the high-priced oils than on the Harvest King. One topic I have not seen on this forum, but which is related to this one, is what to do with a bar that has worn unevenly or has wallowed out the slot so that cutting results are poor. I suspect most just get a new bar. But I found a machine shop that also sells chainsaws and garden equipment that will swage and grind a bar for about half the price of a new bar. The swaged and ground bar performs as well as a new bar. This procedure can be done 2-3 times before the groove is too shallow to keep the drive links from bottoming out.
 
You need to watch his test again. He also evaluated bar oils by examining new chain with high magnification and then running the saws by cutting a fixed amount of time in the same kinds of wood and then comparing the wear on the chain bottom. The wear was clearly greater on the high-priced oils than on the Harvest King. One topic I have not seen on this forum, but which is related to this one, is what to do with a bar that has worn unevenly or has wallowed out the slot so that cutting results are poor. I suspect most just get a new bar. But I found a machine shop that also sells chainsaws and garden equipment that will swage and grind a bar for about half the price of a new bar. The swaged and ground bar performs as well as a new bar. This procedure can be done 2-3 times before the groove is too shallow to keep the drive links from bottoming out.
Variance in chain hardness could well explain what he noted. Or perhaps variance in the wood itself or his technique, which is very painful to watch. The bottom of the links wearing really doesn't matter. It's the pins that matter as it pertains to chain "stretching ".
As for bar maintenance. There is more than one way to skin a cat. I used a disk sander with a 90 degree table for dressing. It's all part of the game when your running a saw alot.
Also starting out with .050 gauge chain gives you some leeway to jump up to. 058 or .063 when the rail groove opens up or you can us a roller bar rail closer to tighten it up.
 
I just watched the PF test in it's entirety...
So one thing that stuck out to me is that Harvest king is most certainly based on or is a motor oil. I say this based on the zinc, calcium, and phosphorus content, which are not used in bar oils.
 
...That also confirmed my suspicions that the chain does not actually "stretch" much; what we call stretching is probably just wear on the underside of the chain or possibly in the rivets, making the chain longer. But it would take a lot of force to actually stretch the chain itself.
This is a persistent error in the bicycle world as well. Chains don't stretch. The tolerance between the pins and rollers widens as they wear, which makes the chain effectively longer.
 
$12.99 at TSC here. Their house Universal Tractor Gear Oil is a very good price though. Bought some for my 2166 Cub shaft drive.
As for that logo/pride thingy don't get too hot and bothered. TSC is like one of the grocery chains wife works at. Pride sticker on doors, diversity blah blah but everyone ignores it. HR dropped a bunch of Pride Month hats off for everyone. Most sitting on the desk as even the gay employees don't care. Corporate wants to show they "care" as a "stay off our backs" game plan
 
$12.99 at TSC here. Their house Universal Tractor Gear Oil is a very good price though. Bought some for my 2166 Cub shaft drive.
As for that logo/pride thingy don't get too hot and bothered. TSC is like one of the grocery chains wife works at. Pride sticker on doors, diversity blah blah but everyone ignores it. HR dropped a bunch of Pride Month hats off for everyone. Most sitting on the desk as even the gay employees don't care. Corporate wants to show they "care" as a "stay off our backs" game plan
Voting with your dollars really does work, as we saw from the Bud Lite fiasco. I'm not suggesting your wife lose her job over a few hats in the breakroom but as consumers we can simply spend our money elsewhere.

eta: Simply saying, "aww, it's not that big a deal" is frog in the boiling water talk.
 
$12.99 at TSC here. Their house Universal Tractor Gear Oil is a very good price though. Bought some for my 2166 Cub shaft drive.
As for that logo/pride thingy don't get too hot and bothered. TSC is like one of the grocery chains wife works at. Pride sticker on doors, diversity blah blah but everyone ignores it. HR dropped a bunch of Pride Month hats off for everyone. Most sitting on the desk as even the gay employees don't care. Corporate wants to show they "care" as a "stay off our backs" game plan
I would like to know who is behind all that?
 
I think the O Ring chains lasted the longest.
Yea, they do.
This will make the oil guys cringe but I would buy the best Xring chain I could get. Take it home and wipe it down with solvent to remove any grease and then install and run with no lube. The sand in the area I road in would kill chains that where lubed constantly.
 
Voting with your dollars really does work, as we saw from the Bud Lite fiasco. I'm not suggesting your wife lose her job over a few hats in the breakroom but as consumers we can simply spend our money elsewhere.

eta: Simply saying, "aww, it's not that big a deal" is frog in the boiling water talk.
I'm with you. Haven't bought Levi's in years and Target is off the menu but there is a difference I think between being all in and doing just enough to keep the pink mafia off your back. Who is pushing it where she is at? Corporate based in Europe. Let's just say the locations in the States are, shall we say, doing just enough to not lose their jobs. The point is that even though some are pushing hard by the time it gets down to the warehouse and shipping even the gay employees are tapping out. They just want to work the shift and go home. They consider equity and equal rights working the same hours as everyone else and getting paid the same as everyone
 
Yea, they do.
This will make the oil guys cringe but I would buy the best Xring chain I could get. Take it home and wipe it down with solvent to remove any grease and then install and run with no lube. The sand in the area I road in would kill chains that where lubed constantly.
Did you ever compare the dry wax like chain lube? I switched to that on a mountain bike and it solved all the gunk problems
 

Latest posts

Back
Top