Waste motor oil as bar oil

[46 Poulan]

say... i got me a 'just emptied' jug of Stihl bar lube... and as luck might have it..... i also just changed out the oil in one of my diesel tractors... thinking i might maybe could possibly... have some free bar oil! ???.... or maybe some emergency stuff. ???

View attachment 923253 View attachment 923254View attachment 923255

Diesel will make a real good mess---old cat man here

 

[WCarp]

It's best to use oil that is designed for the service intended. Bar oil is tacky so it tends to stay on the chain better and not flung off as easy as regular oil.

 

[Del_]

Are there not toxins in used motor oil that could be harmful to the operator?

 

[ChuckMI]

I can see why you might use an alternative (unused) oil than bar oil for cost reasons in a chainsaw. Particularly if you have a variable oiler, you can just turn up the flow and hope some of it makes it round the tip. I use any kind of oil in the auxilliary oiler in my chainsaw mill.

But why use stale used motor oil that has cycled millions of times through the engine and may contain tiny bits of metal (that will grind the bar, chain and sprocket) bits of rubber, water and all kinds of harmful chemicals?

The used motor oil, if you changed it at the recommended interval, was still good enough for a precision engine at the time you changed it. If it was good enough for the engine, it is good enough for a chain. The heavy metals and carcinogenic compounds in it are a different issue.

 

[Cantdog]

Exactly. I first learned of centrifuge oil cleaners on submarines... would you put it in a saw for bar lube ?

The short answer is yes if that was all I had. But oil treated in the afore mentioned manner can hardly be called waste oil......though it is used, 99.99% of the engine wear particles and by-products of internal combustion have been removed...essentially the same as a quart of engine oil you would buy at the parts store or wherever.

 

[muddy42]

The used motor oil, if you changed it at the recommended interval, was still good enough for a precision engine at the time you changed it. If it was good enough for the engine, it is good enough for a chain. The heavy metals and carcinogenic compounds in it are a different issue.

The way I see it engine oil collects and removes small parts of dirt and metal from a car engine. A chainsaw chain might go round the bar up to 90 times a second. Some of the engine is cast iron which is harder than steel, so the used oil is a type of grinding paste wearing away at everything - sprocket, bar, chain. Yes they are wear parts, but not cheap to replace. This dirty oil contains heavy metals and carcinogenic compounds, which get vaporized or burned by the bar heat and you breath it in.

Up to you or course.

 

[farmhard]

Diesel fuel emissions are a recognized human carcinogen . Actually were a recognized possible carcinogen back in 1988 . Route of entry , inhalation & lung cancer is the most prevalent , although Injestion & absorbtion & gastrointestinal inflammation & liver damage are recognized concerns of continuous exposure to diesel fumes & vapours today . Actually any exposure to any form of poly aromatic hydro carbon is a cause of concern !

I used to use the cheap yellow bucket hydraulic
Oil. You can get them under 50$ now so not a huge saving.

I switched to canola a while back. I’ve had good luck with it. I was a canola hater until I actually tried it.

This started when there was no bar oil around here (Covid times)

Regular oil had gotten stupid expensive

I’ve ran it up to 32” bar. No issues. Pure canola doesn’t gum saws up either. Or rot in the bar oil tank on the saw. I left mine in the saw tank over the summer Was in the 90s most of the summer. My fleet is all working good. I’ll stick with it as I’m not using buckets worth of bar oil these days.

 

[farmhard]

I would highly doubt the bar oil is NOT hazardous in some way. What it does have is viscosity control.
I would however suggest NOT using motor oil as it may be contaminated with gas which will affect your pickup hoses, and metal which will affect your filter. As far as wear on the bar and chain I do not see it as a problem, bars aren't that much and I make my own chain. I would say they die from improper use/ care more than oil contamination. We used to mix grease in to change the viscosity of the oil and thicken it.
I would however suggest talking to someone who does transmissions or hydraulics. I get ALL KINDS of clean tranny fluid out of Skyjacks and hydraulic oil which is filtered to 1-4 micron.
I suggest burning this in a Vevor heater over used oil depending on your oil source to rule out antifreeze and brake fluid.
Using a $70 Poulan? Hell yes use motor oil. For the users that can't sharpen a chain or mix fuel it won't really matter long term and I have seen a lot of potentially lethal people buying saws.

 

[Chuckshu]

I am unsure if it has been mentioned, but the oil is drained from the oil pan. If you have ever removed an oil pan, you will find the pan full of particles. Many of these drain out with the oil. It is not uncommon to find them in the pan you drained the oil into. My comment is only related to what is drained from an engine.

 

[farmhard]

I am unsure if it has been mentioned, but the oil is drained from the oil pan. If you have ever removed an oil pan, you will find the pan full of particles. Many of these drain out with the oil. It is not uncommon to find them in the pan you drained the oil into. My comment is only related to what is drained from an engine.

310B, 310S, 310T, 421A apprentice, factory trained boom lift tech.
The oil may be contaminated with gas from either a rich carb setting, a leaking fuel injector or dead cylinder/ ignition issue and vacuum through pressure regulator leaks.
Diesel fuel may enter via same method less bad spark plug.
Antifreeze may enter via bad gasket, cylinder O rings, coolers and turbos.
Tranny fluid via cooler, vacuum modulator etc.

Yes oil goes into a pan. It is not pure oil.

My comment is regarding the purity of such and if one was to have oil given to them that was drained into a container that was just used to bleed brakes or even a 20L pail from a service centre the oil is contaminated and user beware.

 

[sean donato]

Maybe "newer saw" is the key here. I use 40-year-old metal saws.

Saw Oil pumps haven't changed since they were invented. Your 40 year olds saw pump isnt any better constructed then any modern pro saw. Actually none of your 40 year old saw is any better then a modern saw.
Its not about the filtration of the oil, its about all the bad shite thats contained in used oil. which is very well documented. you admit you don't care about. So it doesn't matter what anyone says you'll continue to use it, and the rest of us that recognize we dont need anything else going against us, let alone the disgusting pig mess it makes the saw will continue to buy bar oil. Which BTW the last bar oil I got was $7.00.gal at farm and fleet.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Saw Oil pumps haven't changed since they were invented. Your 40 year olds saw pump isnt any better constructed then any modern pro saw. Actually none of your 40 year old saw is any better then a modern saw.
Its not about the filtration of the oil, its about all the bad shite thats contained in used oil. which is very well documented. you admit you don't care about. So it doesn't matter what anyone says you'll continue to use it, and the rest of us that recognize we dont need anything else going against us, let alone the disgusting pig mess it makes the saw will continue to buy bar oil. Which BTW the last bar oil I got was $7.00.gal at farm and fleet.

There is a rather good Mark Twain quote that fits this thread quite nicely.

 

[Cantdog]

 

[mojo jojo]

Our old Stihl 08s never saw anything else but waste tractor motor and hydraulic oil. And it is still working fine...even a bar is stil original and OK.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

View attachment 1056735

Wasnt the one I was thinking of- but it works.

 

[Farmer_Nate]

I have never replaced an oil pump. Oil still comes off the chain in little droplets at high revs.
Enjoy that nice clean bar oil.

 

[North by Northwest]

Not sure what hydraulic & canola oil for bars has any relevance with Diesel fuel usage & associated fumes or vapour health hazards ?

 

[farmhard]

My first Craftsman/ Poulan saw called for 30w OIL for the bar in 1970s. Bar Oil was unheard of, not available. Cottonseed/ Canola and others were not used. My engine oil was filtered during its entire use, and I would have had no engine fears for extra 500, 1000, 2000+ Miles, had I NOT been unable to change. I have zero confidence that today's BAR OIL at $13-$30/gal is any better than the $7/gal I bought (x6) at TSC a few years ago, that now sells for $15..... nor any better than the gallons of used oil I have stored. I recently change OP/VC gaskets on my 3.8 w/ 134k miles and found ZERO GRIT/ GRIME in heads, or amazed, in OIL PAN, and I ran my hand/fingers thru it to see... I was truly AMAZED. OILS are so much, much better today (and 5k-6k miles on that oil above)

You also have fuel injection and the oil is not flooded with gas. It also likely has cam phasers or vct and no distributor to pound the top sides of the rod bearings. Yes the oil would be cleaner.

 

[bwalker]

I would highly doubt the bar oil is NOT hazardous in some way. What it does have is viscosity control.
I would however suggest NOT using motor oil as it may be contaminated with gas which will affect your pickup hoses, and metal which will affect your filter. As far as wear on the bar and chain I do not see it as a problem, bars aren't that much and I make my own chain. I would say they die from improper use/ care more than oil contamination. We used to mix grease in to change the viscosity of the oil and thicken it.
I would however suggest talking to someone who does transmissions or hydraulics. I get ALL KINDS of clean tranny fluid out of Skyjacks and hydraulic oil which is filtered to 1-4 micron.
I suggest burning this in a Vevor heater over used oil depending on your oil source to rule out antifreeze and brake fluid.
Using a $70 Poulan? Hell yes use motor oil. For the reusers that can't sharpen a chain or mix fuel it won't really matter long term and I have seen a lot of potentially lethal people buying saws.

No need to guess. You can look up the MSDS for bar oil.
Regardless bar oil is much less toxic than drain oil contaminated with heavy metals and PAC's.
Keep in mind that you are breathing aerosolised bar oil when you run a saw. Less with tacky bar oil and more.with thinner fluids like waste oil.

 

[bwalker]

You also have fuel injection and the oil is not flooded with gas. It also likely has cam phasers or vct and no distributor to pound the top sides of the rod bearings. Yes the oil would be cleaner.

This is one of the reasons car engines last much longer today. It's also a good reason not to run a saw blubbering rich like some do.