My first mill work (with my own equipment that is).

[Kicker_92]

It's hard to pour bar oil directly out of a standard oil jug when a saw is mounted to an Alaskan. I ALWAYS spill a bunch. I'll add a no-spill oil jug to my wish list.

Especially to top up while the saw is running mid cut. We allways end up spilling some onto the exhaust. The big problem with running Canola oil is the craving for french fries everytime you spill... opcorn:

 

[Brmorgan]

$16-$20 USD/gal is a tad spendy for me... I buy my bar oil bulk in 5 gallon buckets for ~$40-$50 CDN depending on where I get it from. Since I've been running the Alaskan on the side the last three summers, I've been averaging about a pail and a half per year. Before that I could get by on less than two gallons for just cutting firewood, so I never had the need to buy bulk.

Kicker, do you really use Canola for bar oil? I'd think it would be a bit on the thin side, more like Winter bar oil.

 

[BobL]

Kicker, do you really use Canola for bar oil? I'd think it would be a bit on the thin side, more like Winter bar oil.

I use canola in the aux oiler and premium stihl bar oil in the powerhead.

 

[Kicker_92]

Actually, I've been mixing about 1/3rd Stihl Medium bar oil with 2/3rds Canola. Has been working well for the summer, we'll see how it goes in the winter.

With it being thinner, the oiler pumps out more but it's still so much cheaper. With having to fill the 880 three to four times per cut on the longer logs, I've been going through a lot of oil!

Haven't noticed much extra wear, just replaced my 30" Oregon with a new 30" Cannon bar, so those hardenned rails should hold up well even with a bit less lubrication.

 

[BobL]

One thing I've noticed is the further I go up the chain sharpening curve and the more often I sharpened the less bar wear I get.

 

[WoodChuck'r]

I do a little mixin' with the canola....

I don't see any difference at all. She stays good-n-lubed just as she should!!

 

[the westspartan]

I have been using bailey's motion lotion biodegradable oil and mixing it 1:1 with canola oil. I have seen no extra wear, the bar stays cool, the saw stays cleaner, and when I quit working I am in the mood for fried food. Best of all I am not spraying dino oil all over my woods.

 

[Brmorgan]

Where exactly do you guys get Canola in sufficient quantities and at competitive prices? Not that I've ever really gone looking for it, but I've NEVER heard of bulk Canola being available for industrial/commercial use other than for deep-frying at restaurants. To buy the stuff at the grocery store I'd be looking at ~$4/L or more. And I know for a fact that it's not available from industrial & automotive supply stores that I usually get chain oil from.

By all means though, please keep on using the Canola, guys! Every gallon sold means more money for Canada. CANOLA = Canadian Oil with Low Acidity, more commonly known as Rapeseed oil worldwide, but that product title is a bit harder to market! About 40 years ago our government began a program to breed a high-food-grade Rapeseed variety (through selection, not genetic engineering), which has since turned into one of our most valuable commercial crops.

 

[Kicker_92]

Where exactly do you guys get Canola in sufficient quantities and at competitive prices? To buy the stuff at the grocery store I'd be looking at ~$4/L or more.

My wife's been buying ours at Superstore / Extra Foods. It's I think a 20L container in a cardboard box. Goes for I think about $19. so ~$1/L.

Didn't mean to sidetrack this thread, sorry.

 

[Brmorgan]

My wife's been buying ours at Superstore / Extra Foods. It's I think a 20L container in a cardboard box. Goes for I think about $19. so ~$1/L.

Didn't mean to sidetrack this thread, sorry.

Thanks. And threads fray from time to time anyway, LOL. They aren't called Rails! At least we're all learning something.

 

[WoodChuck'r]

Best of all I am not spraying dino oil all over my woods.

:greenchainsaw: