Bar oil compatibility

[JoeCanuck]

I have to do quite a bit of shoreline work up at the lake this summer and want to use biodegradable bar oil. The commercial stuff has been back ordered for weeks at my Husky dealer so I'm looking at using canola oil.

My question is: Are canola and conventional oils compatible enough to just change back and forth or do you have to rinse out the tank each time you change? (Of course I would remove the canola before any long term storage)

Thanks
Joe

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Yeah, that's fine.......as far as I know.....

 

[tree_beard]

bar oil is bar oil, bio or non your saw doesnt mind. you should have no issues mixing it in your tank, or anyhwere else.

Ive known some people to mix canola oil with synthetic bar oil, because they like the idea of using bio oil, but dont really trust it... but then ive known some stupid people

 

[Elmore]

bio-bar oil

It is suggested/recommended, in the handbook that came with my saw, that if you use bio-bar oil to run petroleum bar oil through the saw prior to any lengthy shutdown or storage. I run some petroleum bar oil in mine on occasion but when running canola I turn the adjustment screw in halfway as canola flows so well. I like Wesson oil. My bar and chain seem to run cooler and a lot cleaner.

 

[sloth9669]

wesson

so you just dump in cooking oil from the supermarket ? first ive heard of that....i know they have bio bar oil just no place has it...i would pay the extra to stop dropping all that oil on the ground.....these days being green is also a sales point but i do hate to see and think of all the oil my saw as thrown out in the woods...

 

[huskydave]

If you do a quick search you will find a tonne of info on here about canola oil and a lot of good/bad feedback mostly good from what I have read I would try it if I was in a sensitive area. You could read for hours about it on this site enjoy.

 

[buzz sawyer]

bar oil is bar oil, bio or non your saw doesnt mind. you should have no issues mixing it in your tank, or anyhwere else.

Except the frying pan. I got some bar oil mixed with the canola last week and the wife is still fuming. Guess it's just an aquired taste.lol

 

[Elmore]

so you just dump in cooking oil from the supermarket ? first ive heard of that....i know they have bio bar oil just no place has it...i would pay the extra to stop dropping all that oil on the ground.....these days being green is also a sales point but i do hate to see and think of all the oil my saw as thrown out in the woods...

yep...got my last 5 qts. from Sam's Club for $5.11 plus tax. Relatively cheap and performs better than the dino.
Note : readjust your oil output to compensate for the improved flowability of canola oil.

 

[SRT-Tech]

turn the oiler down???? dont you mean turn it UP??? cuz every time i tried canola oil i got overheated bar and chain, until i turned up the oiler to full max. With regular bar oil i can turn it down to minimum setting and have zero probs.

 

[Elmore]

turn the oiler down???? dont you mean turn it UP??? cuz every time i tried canola oil i got overheated bar and chain, until i turned up the oiler to full max. With regular bar oil i can turn it down to minimum setting and have zero probs.

"dont you mean turn it UP???"
No...typically you should reduce the output by about half. Canola flows more freely than typical bar oil.
In my experience with canola it seems to keep the bar cooler and cleaner.
You may need to sharpen your chain.

 

[tree_beard]

over-tensioned chain would also cause bar/chain overheating...

 

[Pilsnaman]

As most have already said, there are no problems with going back and forth. I just wanted to stress the importance of removing the vegy oil and running some dino oil through it extended down time. The stuff will cake up and clog things, I made this mistake a few years back. BTW, thanks for using the vegy oil around water. It takes very little dino oil to make a big slick, which I have also found from experience.

 

[mjbilbo]

I had a neighbor who was a commercial firewood cutter for some 60 years. On bar oil he always said to use regular 30w motor oil. He said oil is oil. You can spend more money on bar oil but he would rather use the extra money for beer.
I am sure there are a lot of opinions on this. Any feedback?

 

[Austin1]

I had a neighbor who was a commercial firewood cutter for some 60 years. On bar oil he always said to use regular 30w motor oil. He said oil is oil. You can spend more money on bar oil but he would rather use the extra money for beer.
I am sure there are a lot of opinions on this. Any feedback?

He might be right! I use only canola but it is dirt cheap here and find it way better than bar oil! To me it works great friendly to the environment and good to my saw. I really believe that since I switched I get much less chain stretch.But to be honest I think as long the chain is getting some oil it will be happy!

 

[SRT-Tech]

"dont you mean turn it UP???"
No...typically you should reduce the output by about half. Canola flows more freely than typical bar oil.
In my experience with canola it seems to keep the bar cooler and cleaner.
You may need to sharpen your chain.

my chain is sharp, that is not the issue. :monkey: nor is the chain tension too tight. It has just been my (own) experience that running canola make sthe bar hotter, and the chain hotter. I still use it around fish ponds but 99% of the time i'll run my tried and true Lordco all Season bar oil.