Stihl Bio Plus oil?

[slowcar281]

I picked up 2 gallons of this stuff discounted from a hardware store that was going out of business recently.

Does it still have issues gumming up in saws? I don’t use mine that frequently. I’ve searched and found conflicting opinions… some say it glues the chain to the bar, some say the newer stuff doesn’t do that.

I opened up one of the jugs and poured some out into a clean container and noticed a few things. It seems very thin compared to regular oil. Nothing had appeared to settled in the bottom of the jug either. The oil is from 2021 so it’s about 3.5 years old.

If it’s as bad as some people say I’ll just recycle it at work. The 19 dollars I spent on the oil isn’t worth trashing an oil pump or bar and chain.

 

[HumBurner]

I can't say to the rest of your post, but the few times I used it, it was incredibly thin and not tacky at all.

Had a client that insisted I use it (she supplied it, of course) whenever I worked at her place. Was thin like a non-concentranted dish-soap.

 

[Mad Professor]

I had it sit for a year on a saw I use for milling. This was quite a while back, never touched that stuff again. Not sure if they have fixed/stabilized it ?

The chain was froze on the bar had to pry chain with a screwdriver to get it off the bar, and bar sprocket locked up too. No solvents seemed to be able to free up the bar sprocket or chain. Had to tap on the teeth with a piece of brass to get the sprocket to turn, finally freed up.

Chain was stiff as a sailor on shore leave, links would not pivot. Soaking in solvents had no effect. By repeatedly bending the links it freed up so you could put it back on the bar. I never ran that chain again.

The sawdust inside the clutch cover and on the case also hardened. To get it loose, it took a lot of paint with it.

Never again for me........

 

[slowcar281]

I had it sit for a year on a saw I use for milling. This was quite a while back, never touched that stuff again. Not sure if they have fixed/stabilized it ?

The chain was froze on the bar had to pry chain with a screwdriver to get it off the bar, and bar sprocket locked up too. No solvents seemed to be able to free up the bar sprocket or chain. Had to tap on the teeth with a piece of brass to get the sprocket to turn, finally freed up.

Chain was stiff as a sailor on shore leave, links would not pivot. Soaking in solvents had no effect. By repeatedly bending the links it freed up so you could put it back on the bar. I never ran that chain again.

The sawdust inside the clutch cover and on the case also hardened. To get it loose, it took a lot of paint with it.

Never again for me........

I read where you wrote that in a previous post a while back and it instantly made me leery of using it at all. I emailed Stihl and asked if it was ok to store a saw with that stuff in it, I’m curious to see what they say

 

[Mad Professor]

I read where you wrote that in a previous post a while back and it instantly made me leery of using it at all. I emailed Stihl and asked if it was ok to store a saw with that stuff in it, I’m curious to see what they say

I can still take that chain, that soaked for days in different solvents, hold it out straight in front of me, and it will stay straight as my arm. If I'm in the basement with my phone soon, I'll take a picture of it.

The stuff seems to polymerize. The only stuff I didn't try on it was highly chlorinated solvents like dichloromethane/methylene chloride/DCM or tertrachloroethane. I just found a product that is 70% DCM, might buy a can to see if it has an effect?

Edit: If I used the stuff again, I'd run the oil dry and refill/flush with dino oil. Then clean all residue under the chain cover and probably clutch cover to, most likely with some diesel then soapy water. Bar/chain with diesel too.

 

[Jeffkrib]

I run my saws in winter then generally store them for 10 months some saws go 2 years without use.
I used the Stihl Bio a few years ago and had topped up one of the saws with mineral oil. It ended up having gel blobs in the tank. If you use your saws all the the time I'm sure it's fine.
I for one won't be using it again unless Stihl comes up with a new formula and guarantees no issues.

 

[slowcar281]

sounds like it’s a no go for me then. Saws are a hobby for me and I could go months at a time without using them.

I had no idea that bio oil was that finicky… I should have done some research before buying it. just thought it was a great price considering it’s like 40 bucks a gallon list price.

Hopefully Stihl will get back to me on their stance about storing saws with the bio oil.

 

[esean]

Plain old canola oil is only about $6/gallon. I use it throughout the winter with no gumming issues as long as it doesn't sit for too long. No problem going well over a month. Even if it does harden up, spraying with WD40, etc. loosens it up. Once spring hits I switch to regular bar oil since the saws sit mostly unused over the summer.