Used (not engine) oil as bar lube

[J D]

I'm surprised they couldn't work it out... I clicked pretty much straight away & my intelligence is mostly artificial
Maybe its just a Kiwi thing

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Thanks.
I was getting that worked out using two different AI search engines, as a sensible answer didn't seem forthcoming from Bob.

It's amazing how few correct answers are available from ChatGPT. That one was clueless.

Made perfect sense to those concerned- thats all that mattered.
It makes no difference if I can tell you what transformer/transformers the oil came from- it is in the past and longer than 20 years ago. The only one that possibly knew it was ex transformer oil was he that was doing the buying at the time- what was done, was done- not like I can time travel and change it.
Maybe add it at the bottom of your signature that it is not safe to use- or is that too many lines?

 

[Mike Van]

I run used gear oil often in my saws. I have numerous old Farmalls so I like the smell lol. It smells like an old tractor.

I have a 5gal pail that I dump anything in I think I can run in my saw and love adding gear oil to it. It’s thick heavy stuff that seems to work well. I have two pails going and add 1gal of actual bar oil in first, then add until full and use it. I empty one before I start using the other one. Usually goo through a little less than two pails a year. Oilers turnt up and 3/4 full tanks of fuel seems to be the right ratio.

I’ve run all kinds of odd things through the saws. I ran a few gallons of new cutting fluid for a lathe a few years ago and it was great. Peanut oil works well and smells great. 120w cut with diesel works great. If it’s oily and clean I’d run it. It’s better than nothing and when it’s free it’s even better !!

I know what you mean about that smell - I've got an old [1962] Trojan loader, lots of summer days when I walk near it that old tractor smell is there - smells like roses to me.

 

[jblnut]

I agree. It’s a darn good smell !!

 

[Sidecarflip]

I have a much better use for used engine oil, gear oil, brake fluid and any other flammable substance related to automotive or farming fluids, I use all of it in my Kleen Burn waste oil furnace in the shop to offset the winter heating costs. The Kleen Burn gobbles up all of it and then some (take my neighbors fluids as well and the Kleen Burn has a built in centrifuge that eliminates any water that may be in it as well..

I usually make enough to last me a couple months so I need to hit my neighbors (farmers) for theirs as well.

 

[Sloughfoot]

Tractor Supply wants $15/gal for their County Line brand, $25/gal for Husqvarna brand. Of course, this is California where are petroleum products are off the wall...

STP is the cheapest bar and chain oil I've found in the Golden State.

 

[iowa_jim]

PCBs were used from the 1930s through the 70s. Their use was banned in 79, but PCB transformer oil in use didn't have to be replaced immediately, iirc.

 

[pdqdl]

It makes no difference if I can tell you what transformer/transformers the oil came from- it is in the past and longer than 20 years ago.

I didn't ask you about that either.

That chip on your shoulder must be getting awful heavy. Life will be better if you just discard it.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

I didn't ask you about that either.

That chip on your shoulder must be getting awful heavy. Life will be better if you just discard it.

My life is just fine thanks- despite being exposed to many types of used oil and inconsequential reading.

 

[farmer steve]

Made perfect sense to those concerned- thats all that mattered.
It makes no difference if I can tell you what transformer/transformers the oil came from- it is in the past and longer than 20 years ago. The only one that possibly knew it was ex transformer oil was he that was doing the buying at the time- what was done, was done- not like I can time travel and change it.
Maybe add it at the bottom of your signature that it is not safe to use- or is that too many lines?

Bob I had to give you a laughing like for you last sentence.

 

[Yukon Stihl]

I have a much better use for used engine oil, gear oil, brake fluid and any other flammable substance related to automotive or farming fluids, I use all of it in my Kleen Burn waste oil furnace in the shop to offset the winter heating costs. The Kleen Burn gobbles up all of it and then some (take my neighbors fluids as well and the Kleen Burn has a built in centrifuge that eliminates any water that may be in it as well..

I usually make enough to last me a couple months so I need to hit my neighbors (farmers) for theirs as well.

Mines a Reznor
Brake fluid is not flammable
I have close to 30,000 hrs on mine burns 1.7 gal per hour

 

[pdqdl]

Brake fluid is not flammable

Brake fluid does burn. The flash point of DOT 3 brake fluid is typically around 246°C (475°F) or lower.
I wouldn't advocate putting it in a waste oil burner as fuel though.

• The calorific value of DOT 3 brake fluid is approximately 6,000-7,000 kilocalories per kilogram (kcal/kg).
• The calorific value of used motor oil is typically in the range of 9,000-10,500 kcal/kg.
• Typical calorific values for DOT 5 are in the range of 5,000-6,000 kilocalories per kilogram (kcal/kg). So even a worse fuel than DOT3, and it has a higher flash point, too.

I'm taking exception to your statement, mostly on account of an incident I had many years ago. By some means that I don't recall, the brake lines near my master cylinder got shorted against the positive cable on the battery. I noticed the smoke, and raised the hood, only to be alarmed at seeing my brake line glowing cherry-red! I quickly put on a thick glove, and gave it a yank to free it from the electric current. That part worked out well, but the finish was a bit exciting.

While yanking the brake line off the battery cable, I also ripped the brake line in half, and the hot brake fluid under pressure became a flame-thrower spewing burning brake fluid all over the firewall of my nearly new pickup truck. A blaze ensued!

Fortunately, I had pulled up to an event where my buddies were drinking beer. Observing the inferno, one of them jokingly asked me if I wanted a beer. I thought he was nuts, and couldn't see my dilemna.
Scornfully, cried out to him with an emphatic NO! . ...Then YES! BEER! Please give me a beer. MORE BEER, NOW!

And so the day was saved with a couple of cans of Budweiser.
No harm, no foul, but I didn't get to drive it home that evening.

 

[Yukon Stihl]

Hmm that’s wierd as it absorbs water.
Learn something new every day

 

[dbell54]

Hmm that’s wierd as it absorbs water.
Learn something new every day

Alcohol absorbs water and burns. That's why we don't like E10 fuel in our 2-cycle engines.

 

[bwalker]

Guys over estimate what it takes to lube a chainsaw bar and chain. It's not much and just about any oil will "work". I have used two cycle oil, motor oil, hydrogen fluid in a punch and would again if I had to. For daily use cheap bar oil is what I stick to for a variety of reasons. One of which is it's lack of toxic additives. Another is the lack of toxic combustion by products like used motor oil has.

 

[buzz sawyer]

Guys over estimate what it takes to lube a chainsaw bar and chain. It's not much and just about any oil will "work". I have used two cycle oil, motor oil, hydrogen fluid in a punch and would again if I had to. For daily use cheap bar oil is what I stick to for a variety of reasons. One of which is it's lack of toxic additives. Another is the lack of toxic combustion by products like used motor oil has.

I used to use clean motor oil drained from cans. I wondered why my chains always seemed to loosen up while cutting, then I switched to real bar oil and no more loose chains.

 

[jblnut]

I used to use clean motor oil drained from cans. I wondered why my chains always seemed to loosen up while cutting, then I switched to real bar oil and no more loose chains.

Just need something a little thick like gear oil or a different heavy weight oil. I don’t have stretching issues and run all kinds of oily stuff in my saw. I usually have around 20% either gear oil or actual bar oil in the mix.

 

[bwalker]

I used to use clean motor oil drained from cans. I wondered why my chains always seemed to loosen up while cutting, then I switched to real bar oil and no more loose chains.

Sounds like a chain sharpness issue. I say this because I have cut with stuff as light as two cycle oil with difference in the amount of tensioning required.

 

[bwalker]

Just need something a little thick like gear oil or a different heavy weight oil. I don’t have stretching issues and run all kinds of oily stuff in my saw. I usually have around 20% either gear oil or actual bar oil in the mix.

Gear oil isn't thick. 75W90 is about the same viscosity as 10w30 motor oil, which is about the same viscosity as many bar oils.

 

[HarleyT]

It STINKS is a good one, especially for milling slabs.
Then you can get into the greeblies you are not meant to be exposed to etc.

I used used electrical transformer oil for a couple of years as it was the bar oil supplied by the employer- before the days of machine harvesting. Didn't hurt the oiling systems of the saw- worked okay running non max length bars and oilers turned up full on standing live Pine.
Didn't kill me at the time, but who knows what is on the insides- might have to wait till I can no longer saw and my remains are donated to science to find out.

My dad was an electrical engineer that specialized in transformers. He came up with material to put in the oil to conserve oil in the 1970s, during the oil crisis.