Vegetable oils for bar lube? Is there really a need for bar specific oil?

[bvaught]

Smiley

Smileys? I havent taken the time to go to advanced mode until now. Yeah, I was trying to make a funny. But I didnt do near as well as the Bacon Grease post .

Its a free country, run what you want. If I ever buy a Poulan at a yardsale for $10, I will plan on running old McDonalds french fry oil, since its my favorite. On second thought I really like olives too...

 

[bvaught]

Lobo,

I would like to share a beer or 10 with you someday. If you got that I was an engineer from my profile that is only partially true. I am really more of a project manager with a project engineer title. I get to find the mistakes the engineers make, point them out, suggest a solution, and then do it their way!

BTW are you still using that training wheel, crapo, old man RM2 chain? Im sure that chain would work lots better with bacon grease. Keep the cheap shots coming!

 

[2Coilinveins]

Used crankcase oil? No thanks. There's some *nasty* stuff in used crankcase oil. Rather not have that flung around me, on my clothes, skin, etc.

 

[Lobo]

Used crankcase oil? No thanks. There's some *nasty* stuff in used crankcase oil. Rather not have that flung around me, on my clothes, skin, etc.

Actually used engine oil has been proven to be a cancer causing agent. Not really something that should be used in a saw as it is full of particles of vatious metals and crap of all kinds, surely can not be good for the pump.

As the old saying goes '' You can pay me now or pay me later ''.

 

[Pioneer]

Canola as crankcase oil- that's pretty funny! Or is it? Check out this link guys.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1999/v4-247.html

 

[geofore]

Actually used engine oil has been proven to be a cancer causing agent. Not really something that should be used in a saw as it is full of particles of vatious metals and crap of all kinds, surely can not be good for the pump.

Think about this, the pump in your car pumps that same oil around for a couple hundred of hours before you change it. It goes through your saw ONCE! Why doesn't your car's pump quit? And how many gallons of that used oil did you have to drink before you got cancer?

 

[Crofter]

I remember working around a saw that my father was using old motor oil in. It sure stinks you up worse than new bar oil.
Crankcase drainings have a lot of grit particles that collect on the bottom of the pan. What goes through the engine will have been screened by the pickup and filtered by the oil filter. I think most saws will have some kind of an inlet filter, but it wont remove the acidic properties of used oil or tramp gummy glycol drippings. I wouldn't try to save money that way.

 

[Lobo]

Actually used engine oil has been proven to be a cancer causing agent. Not really something that should be used in a saw as it is full of particles of vatious metals and crap of all kinds, surely can not be good for the pump.

Think about this, the pump in your car pumps that same oil around for a couple hundred of hours before you change it. It goes through your saw ONCE! Why doesn't your car's pump quit? And how many gallons of that used oil did you have to drink before you got cancer?

What materials are a motor vehicle oil pump made of and what materials are a chainsaw oil pump made of, which was designed to run with used oil in it for a minimum of 100+ hours between drainage/refill and this for anywhere up to 6-7-8 thousands hours of operation.

When you drain motor oil a lot of the particles that adhered are normally drained out with the oil, the rest is easy enough to understand.

To each his own but I sure as heck will not do it.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

BAck when I did use motor oil it was drained into a barrel. The pickup tube on the transfer pump was well off the bottom. All of this mythical "grit", if there ever were any would have settled to the bottom. If there were any "grit" in suspension the oil filter would have taken care of that in the engine or it would have trashed the close tolerance assemblies long before it ended up in the chainsaw.

Now, I can maybe see some issues with the acidity or other things in the oil. But, I'll maintain that I never saw any increased problems with any of my saws. Just the stink and mess got to be too much.

 

[Molecule]

lemon scented ...

CRYSTAL WHITE, by Octagon

as a chaser to the MacDonalds and Greasy Spoon bacon grease, try lemon scented octagon detergent - it's the best and cheapest you can get. Cleans as it lubricates!

Plus at the end of the day, your wife will say, "Gee honey, you smell like you've been cuttin' lemons all day long." And if any of your friends try "sniffin' out" you chainsaw, they'll say, "Hmmm, smells like a lemon to me--better leave that thing alone." (If it smells like bacon grease on the other hand, no tellin' what they might do.)

Now --- That's environmentally friendly!!

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Pioneer,

Thanks for the link. Here are a couple of things from that study:

The oil when tested for marine toxicity was found to be over 210,000 times less toxic than its petroleum counterpart. Additional ICP analysis of used automotive oil show no significant metals in either the new or used canola-based motor oil. Heavy metals are an integral part of petroleum-based lubricants but are not added to the vegetable-based oil. No metal contaminants, with the exception of iron, were accumulated by the canola-based oil.

A canola-based motor oil was found to be a feasible alternative to conventional and synthetic petroleum motor oils.

 

[SawTroll]

First impression report on Veg-Oil

I tried veggie bar oil (Husky Veg-Oil) for the first time some days ago. What I noted immidiately was that the oiler on the saw (Husky 353) seemed to oil a lot better, than with regular bar oil. I adjusted the oiler to minimum, and it still seemed to oil nicely. Temperature was about 0 degrees celsius.

Too early to draw any conclutions of course, but potensial benefits could be oiling in cold weater, and use with oilers that has low or marginal output, and it is easily washable if you spill it.

 

[rustyb]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Question for bvaught though. In regards to the below statement of yours, can you explain why and how you know this?

Thanks,
r

"But make no mistake bar oil is better for your bar and chain".

 

[jimbo1490]

I have never heard it metioned but has there ever been any research or testing done with one of the new 'miracle' cutting lubes for use with cutting chain? I've been using this one for several years, now:

http://www.lenoxsaw.com/protool_lube.htm

I use it whenever using any hand saw or drill, but I never thought of using it in a chainsaw until I read this thread. If any of you on this site frequently fabricate things by cutting and drilling, you really ought to give this stuff a try, I promise you will be amazed at the difference it makes. It seems to work equally well on metal and wood cutting applications. Doubles and triples the life of Sawzall blades. More than doubles cutting speed and dramatically reduces temperatures.

Just makes me wonder if it will wake up a chainsaw the way it does every other saw it touches.

Jimbo

 

[bwalker]

With bar oil selling for under $3 per gallon at Walmart I think I will stick with that.
Using used drain oils isnt smart from an environmental or health standpoint, but that doesnt stop the idiots from using it. If you like to inhale alot of zinc, phosphorus, cadmium by all means go for it.

 

[rustyb]

Ben, I agree w/ your point on used motor oil.

However, when you say "from an environmental or health standpoint", couldn't a similar comparison be made between a petroleum based "bar oil" and a vegi oil? From those stand points alone, don't you think the vegi oil wins?

Thanks,
r

 

[bwalker]

Dino bar oil from a environmental stand point isnt that bad, because it deosnt have all the mettalic aditives and nasty chemicals that motor oil has. It might take slightly longer to biodegrade than vegi oil, but I think in general its pretty harmless.
As far as vegi oil goes. I dont know if it would work well or not. I do know the saw companies sell it and in order for them to get it to work acceptably it cost an arm and a leg. I have my doubts about pure vegi oil and percieve very little to no benifit of its use over purpose made bar oil.

 

[Crofter]

Environmental impact is not easy to appraise. It would appear veggie oil should be a no brainer, but the amount of petroleum product used to produce it thru the whole chain of events could well be higher than the product it replaces. If it is times more expensive, you have to burn up a lot more energy to earn the money to buy it. It is easy to get caught up in making an emotional decision.

 

[bwalker]

Very true, Frank. I also wouldnt make the assumption that just because the oil is veggi based that it bio degrades any faster.

 

[rustyb]

Ben, I'm no expert by any means.

But, I have always been under the impression, from everything I have read, that petroleum based oils were hard on the eco-system......bugs, aquatic life, delicate plants, etc. No?

Also, I know there's a fine mist of oil being created around the operator that no doubt gets into the body whether through skin absorption or inhalation. That's inevitable so it seems to me creating a mist from something thats suitable to digest (ie, vegi oil) would be better for the operator, particularly long term.

What do you think?

And lastly, just curious what you mean by "to work acceptably"? I have been keeping a close eye on my chains/bars and as far as I can tell, there's oil all the way around. What more would a bar/chain need?

Not trying to be argumentative here. Just trying to learn.