Waste motor oil as bar oil

[OM617YOTA]

That’s an interesting point about breathing the oil. I’m sure there’s all kinds of oil in the air when you run a bar and chain at speed Had not thought of that. And if half burned oil is unhealthy it might not be good to put it in the air.

But isn’t that what a 2 stroke does? Fill the air with burned and half burned oil?

Is the exhausted oil from a car engine worse than the exhaust oil from a 2 stroke?

Not trying to be a jerk. Serious question. Is car oil really that dirty/gross/dangerous?

Full disclosure so folks don’t think I’m just baiting the discussion. I gotta flush cut a bunch of stumps and I’ve rebuilt a $25 Poulan 2550 to take that beating. Don’t expect the chains or the bar to fare well at all. Saw may not survive either. There will be grit and dirt and mess. So I got to thinking that clean oil would not make much difference in all that dirt and then I got to wondering what difference it makes with really cheap bars and chains....hence the post.

Well, ain't none of it good, just degrees of how bad?

Burn oil and gasoline in your saw engine, it makes one trip through and it's gone. Yeah, you breathe some of it, which isn't good. This is also why I won't use leaded fuel, like some people do.

Now instead of running that oil and exhaust through the engine only once and breathing it, instead pull the contaminants out and start concentrating them into a fluid. Do that for thousands and thousands of miles, so you've got the contaminants from a few hundred gallons of gasoline concentrated into that fluid. Now take that fluid, aerosolize it, and breath it in. Ain't going to kill you, hell I've practically bathed in the stuff before, but it's definitely a whole different level of "isn't good". Why the hell would you ever do that on purpose?

Real bar oil is so cheap and so available, there's just zero reason to think this is a good idea. Pack your lunch instead of hitting the drive through window for one day, and you'll have the money to buy a gallon or two of bar oil.

I don't get why this keeps coming up.

 

[cookies]

from newer cars I worry about the heavy metals in the exhaust fumes the cats give off and asbestos/metal powders in used auto trans fluid and metal particles and gasoline additives trapped in engine oil.
In a pinch new 80+ weight gear oil mixed with new engine oil works fine but mostly I just grab gallons of supertec on grocery runs. Its pretty darn tacky and thick like 40 or 50w since its always hot as hades here..The stihl and husky stuff sold around here is literally 2x the price or higher. Used on the 40 dollar laminated roller tip bar+ 3 chains deals I grabbed earlier this year the bars tend to be worn down in front of the tip 1/16 half way into wearing out the second chain. My Tsumura bars show 0 wear after 2+ chains. The saw tends to slowly drip that tacky oil out of the cover after about a week since I tend to store them almost level with the bar tip slightly elevated. In our mild winter I will Dilute it 20% with whatever ATF I have leftover laying around from a service, their all about 5w.

 

[maowwg]

Let us know what you find out from your experiment.

Philbert

It will be a while. I have about 140 ash tree stumps of various heights and diameters.

 

[maowwg]

Well, ain't none of it good, just degrees of how bad?

Burn oil and gasoline in your saw engine, it makes one trip through and it's gone. Yeah, you breathe some of it, which isn't good. This is also why I won't use leaded fuel, like some people do.

Now instead of running that oil and exhaust through the engine only once and breathing it, instead pull the contaminants out and start concentrating them into a fluid. Do that for thousands and thousands of miles, so you've got the contaminants from a few hundred gallons of gasoline concentrated into that fluid. Now take that fluid, aerosolize it, and breath it in. Ain't going to kill you, hell I've practically bathed in the stuff before, but it's definitely a whole different level of "isn't good". Why the hell would you ever do that on purpose?

Real bar oil is so cheap and so available, there's just zero reason to think this is a good idea. Pack your lunch instead of hitting the drive through window for one day, and you'll have the money to buy a gallon or two of bar oil.

I don't get why this keeps coming up.

Good points. I can afford to avoid that

 

[bwalker]

I've used Walmart Supertech for years with no negative results. It's cheap too.
Use oil is dirty, a known human carcinogen, doesn't work all that well, and contains acidic by products which my cause problems.
Same thing with guys that use gear oil. That stuff stinks to high heaven and costs more than proper bar oil.

 

[Philbert]

Also, another reason why I don’t loan my chainsaws out to other people.

Philbert

 

[OM617YOTA]

Also, another reason why I don’t loan my chainsaws out to other people.

Philbert

You bet, got two saws I loan out to people, depending on their need. Here they are:

https://smile.amazon.com/Chainsaws-Powered-Chainsaw-Gasoline-Cutting/dp/B081WXQB66
https://www.homedepot.com/c/lawn_and_garden_equipment_rental#chainsaws

 

[sean donato]

You bet, got two saws I loan out to people, depending on their need. Here they are:

https://smile.amazon.com/Chainsaws-Powered-Chainsaw-Gasoline-Cutting/dp/B081WXQB66
https://www.homedepot.com/c/lawn_and_garden_equipment_rental#chainsaws

Yep, exhausted the yard sale poulans, so I tell people I'll come cut for them, or go and rent a saw.

 

[Mad Professor]

So at the risk of starting a war…

And just for fun....

I can buy an OEM replacement bar for between $25 and $30 and often much cheaper on Facebook Marketplace. That bar would guide an 18 inch 62 drive link low profile 3/8 inch chain. This would fit about every Poulan and some of the Echos (my400) and goodness knows what else and cut bunches of firewood. These saws use a ton of oil pumping it out all over the place and leaking when not in use. BTW, If I buy an imported bar from Walmart, I’m at roughly $13.

A gallon of bar oil is somewhere between $10 and $15 depending upon what you get.

So for the cost of 1 to 2 gallons of bar oil, you can replace a bar.

I’ve read in about a dozen places how horrible it is to use free waste motor oil as bar oil. The idea being it’s not as sticky and therefore doesn’t lubricate as well. Ok I get th argument. Probably makes sense for pro saws with expensive bars.

Can someone convince me that it’s so much worse to use free waste oil that doing so would trash the bar before I hit the economic break even point?

When the consumable guide bar and a gallon of consumable bar oil cost so close to the same amount, everything’s disposable/consumable. Not that the Poulan isn’t also disposable, but what about the oil delivery system can possibly be harmed by motor oil? Can’t think of any issues there.

Use CCA pressure treat and rail ties for grilling too, saves money....

 

[Trailsawyer]

Use CCA pressure treat and rail ties for grilling too, saves money....

I've seen people camping in parks that were burning pressure treated posts and railings in their camp/cooking fires.....

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Use CCA pressure treat and rail ties for grilling too, saves money....

Knew a few guys that used to load and unload CCA pressure treatment plant tanks......... they are dead and buried now.

 

[GeorgiaVol]

I've seen people camping in parks that were burning pressure treated posts and railings in their camp/cooking fires.....

I have found that old tires burn for a really long time and pretty hot. Great for the old wood stove.

 

[Huskybill]

Tires start fires good with some gas on them, lol

 

[bwalker]

Knew a few guys that used to load and unload CCA pressure treatment plant tanks......... they are dead and buried now.

I've been exposed to enough carcinogens in my working career in mines, power plants and oil refineries. As a result I try to limit my exposure on my own time.

 

[miller755]

Sorry buddy I don't see the correlation here. Mystic is a well know oil supplier, of which I used on heavy equipment for years. If their bar oil is junk, so is the pennzoil you run in your truck. Engine oils have to meet API standards in the US. Bar oils are nearly all based off a 30 weight oil with a tackifier added in. I've seen zero evidence that a stihl labeled bottle protected a bar anybetter then a super tech brand. I'm not into paying for a name when it's getting drenched over the wood I'm cutting.

I like the mystik, it is what I would describe as medium weight, it has higher viscosity than Stihl winter grade, and lower viscosity than many standard bar oils. Alot of saws don't seem to pump the thicker oils very well. I find most saws oil well with the mystic. It is much cheaper than the Stihl oil.

 

[ammoaddict]

I have found that old tires burn for a really long time and pretty hot. Great for the old wood stove.

When I was young, we would go sledding and burn old tires to keep warm. We would be covered in black nasty soot. I can only imagine how much of that stuff we were breathing.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[blades]

if you want to mix something that is extremely sticky use machine way oil. 3 parts or 2 parts bar or 30 # oil to 1 part way oil. Way oil is for extreme pressure between sliding parts.I do not know what weight code it would be. This works well in very hot weather as all the various bar oils I have used get too dang thin in 80+ degee temps. Course working in cold weather requires going the other way a bit until the saw gets heated up. Atf is not a great choice as a lot of the time it does not mix well or settles back out when sitting for a fair bit of time. Never used Veggie oil- seen what happens when it dries out - like epoxy.( new diesels manuals even warn about biofuel use- really jams up the injectors.) I have used old motor and new in a pinch ,not because I am cheap, it's a 1+ hour trip to any supply store for me that would be open at those particular times , sometimes nothing is open.

 

[maowwg]

if you want to mix something that is extremely sticky use machine way oil. 3 parts or 2 parts bar or 30 # oil to 1 part way oil. Way oil is for extreme pressure between sliding parts.I do not know what weight code it would be. This works well in very hot weather as all the various bar oils I have used get too dang thin in 80+ degee temps. Course working in cold weather requires going the other way a bit until the saw gets heated up. Atf is not a great choice as a lot of the time it does not mix well or settles back out when sitting for a fair bit of time. Never used Veggie oil- seen what happens when it dries out - like epoxy.( new diesels manuals even warn about biofuel use- really jams up the injectors.) I have used old motor and new in a pinch ,not because I am cheap, it's a 1+ hour trip to any supply store for me that would be open at those particular times , sometimes nothing is open.

Mixing oil to save $10 / gallon ain’t my thing, but that’s awesome input.

 

[sean donato]

if you want to mix something that is extremely sticky use machine way oil. 3 parts or 2 parts bar or 30 # oil to 1 part way oil. Way oil is for extreme pressure between sliding parts.I do not know what weight code it would be. This works well in very hot weather as all the various bar oils I have used get too dang thin in 80+ degee temps. Course working in cold weather requires going the other way a bit until the saw gets heated up. Atf is not a great choice as a lot of the time it does not mix well or settles back out when sitting for a fair bit of time. Never used Veggie oil- seen what happens when it dries out - like epoxy.( new diesels manuals even warn about biofuel use- really jams up the injectors.) I have used old motor and new in a pinch ,not because I am cheap, it's a 1+ hour trip to any supply store for me that would be open at those particular times , sometimes nothing is open.

Last time I got some way oil it was close to $15.00 for 12oz bottle, I don't see how this is a good idea to run as bar oil. Even if your going for the protection aspect of it it's way more expensive then high end bar oil. Also it has an iso 68 weight grade. Beyond the cost, I would tend to agree it could make an excellent bar oil, very high in anti rust properties, tenaciously sticky and I don't think I've ever seen it gum up from sitting.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

The only time I can remember using "waste" oil in my own personal saws, was a "right place, right time" kind of situation.
I just happened to be onsite at a dairy processing plant when an 11KVA transformer was being drained of its cooling/insulating oil and it was being replaced.
Long story short, I went home with a 44 gallon drum of some kind of mineral oil that was suitable as bar oil- VERY cheaply. Cannot remember if it cost me one, or two 24 packs of beer.