What's wrong with used motor oil?

[lesorubcheek]

Just speaking in terms of the effect on the saw, I recently restored a P40 that obvously had reclaimed motor oil put in it for bar lube. The oil reservoir, gas tank and crankcase are all one cast magnesium housing. There were spots of above average corrosion in the oil reservoir and deposits of some crusted up black sediment. Surprisingly the oil pump did not show signs of abnormal wear (thank goodness the filter was intact!). I guess if you're skimming form the top of a 55 gallon drum it might be OK, but after seeing this, I swore never to try to use old engine oil. We use old engine oil all of the time to lube chains on farm equipment and it seems to work fine for this, but I think I'll stick with bar oil for the saws.

Dan

 

[Mingara]

Okay Okay I'm sold

you will be pleased to know that from now on I will be using nothing else but bar oil on my chainsaw bar due to the argument put forward by most of you. This discussion has altered my practice and that was the purpose of my thread - not the financial savings that some have indicated. Still, it is good to see that a lot of people could discuss this topic with all types of differing views. It stired more interest than I thought it would but all the information was welcome.

Thanks all for the feedback of interesting and useful information.

Cheers

JimD

 

[2Coilinveins]

It stired more interest than I thought it would but all the information was welcome.

We all live on this planet. Glad you're gonna switch.

 

[Roxy]

Anyone use BioBuzz bar oil?

We use BioBuzz because it's 100% biodegradable, and costs a little less than the Stihl grapeseed extract. We've been using that in our saws for four years, winter summer, all good. Smells like deep frying zucchini while you cut! That would be great for someone doing firewood cutting for smoker wood or for anyone cutting in a small woodlot or along a river lake ocean or in a watershed area, or near a city street where runoff goes into the sewers and then into a lake,etc. Guess that's most of us, isn't it? R

 

[powelllake]

Everything, unless you are a recycler. Not good for spraying on the forest or for your saw chain and sprocket or for your clothes and?

Mark

 

[GASoline71]

Why are you bothering with this guy? I'd rate his writing at about a 3rd grade level. Shouldn't we use our efforts on those actually able to benefit from them?

I am actually gonna agree with you on this one mule!opcorn: opcorn: opcorn:

If someone wants to use the crap in their saw... go for it. Just don't go askin' how to clean the crud off of your saw, or why doesn't my oil pump work later on.

Gary

 

[Lakeside53]

Gas - check the dates...

And you'd change your mind pretty quick if you ever had to work on one that's been using old oil... I do.. but I'm very very slow, and deliberate.. at $60 shop rate..

 

[mini kahuna]

I'll just repeat what everybody else is saying,plugged oil tank filters,faster wear on chains,sprockets,bars and oilers.
also flipping carcinogens everywhere,used motor oil is considered hazardous waste.
imagine the EPA getting wind of this,they would hammer the offender,I wonder what that would cost?

 

[GASoline71]

Gas - check the dates...

Boy I got suckered on that one... Thanks Andy! HA! :biggrinbounce2:

I wasn't tryin' to condone usin' crappy oil. Just don't understand why some people still do. I got an 041 off of ebay once that had used oil or 90wt gear oil all over it, and in it. What a PITA. Oil pump was shot too.

My point was... if you want to use crap oil in your expensive saws, go for it. It's your hard earned money.:bang:

Gary

 

[pbtree]

Why are you bothering with this guy? I'd rate his writing at about a 3rd grade level. Shouldn't we use our efforts on those actually able to benefit from them?

Amen...

 

[SRT-Tech]

while i do like using canola oil for bar lube, it is JUST AS TOXIC to human health as used motor oil:

"Optimal
Breathing"

CANOLA OIL - Danger !!!???

Olive oil comes from olives, peanut oil from peanuts, sunflower oil from sunflowers; but what is a canola?

Canola is not the name of a natural plant but a made-up word, from the words "Canada" and "oil". Canola is a genetically engineered plant developed in Canada from the Rapeseed Plant, which is part of the mustard family of plants. According to AgriAlternatives, The Online Innovation, and Technology Magazine for Farmers, "By nature, these rapeseed oils, which have long been used to produce oils for industrial purposes, are... toxic to humans and other animals".

Rapeseed oil is poisonous to living things and is an excellent insect repellent. I have been using it (in very diluted form, as per instructions) to kill the aphids on my roses for the last two years. It works very well; it suffocates them. Ask for it at your nursery. Rape is an oil that is used as a lubricant, fuel, soap and synthetic rubber base and as a illuminate for color pages in magazines. It is an industrial oil.

It is not a food.

Rape oil is strongly related to symptoms of emphysema, respiratory distress, anemia, constipation, irritability, and blindness in animals and humans. Rape oil was widely used in animal feeds in England and Europe between 1986 and 1991, when it was discontinued .
A few relevant facts

It is genetically engineered rapeseed.

Canada paid the FDA the sum of $50 million to have rape registered and recognized as "safe". (Source: Young Again and others)

Rapeseed is a lubricating oil used by small industry. It has never been meant for human consumption.

It is derived from the mustard family and is considered a toxic and poisonous weed, which when processed, becomes rancid very quickly.

It has been shown to cause lung cancer (Wall Street Journal: 6/7/95)

It is very inexpensive to grow and harvest. Insects won't eat it.

Some typical and possible side effects include loss of vision, disruption of the central nervous system, respiratory illness, anemia, constipation, increased incidence of heart disease and cancer, low birth weights in infants and irritability.

Generally rapeseed has a cumulative effect, taking almost 10 years before symptoms begin to manifest. It has a tendency to inhibit proper metabolism of foods and prohibits normal enzyme function. Canola is a Trans Fatty Acid, which has shown to have a direct link to cancer. These Trans Fatty acids are labeled as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Avoid all of them!

According to John Thomas' book, Young Again, 12 years ago in England and Europe, rape seed was fed to cows, pigs and sheep who later went blind and began attacking people. There were no further attacks after the rape seed was eliminated from their diet.
Source: David Dancu, N.D.

Apparently peanut oil is being replaced with rape oil. You'll find it in an alarming number of processed foods. Rapeseed oil was the source of the chemical warfare agent mustard gas, which was banned after blistering the lungs and skins of hundred of thousands of soldiers and civilians during W.W.I. Recent French reports indicate that it was again in use during the Gulf War.

Check products for ingredients. If the label says, "may contain the following" and lists canola oil, you know it contains canola oil because it is the cheapest oil and the Canadian government subsidizes it to industries involved in food processing.

Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a rare fatal degenerative disease caused by in a build up long-chain fatty acids (c22 to c28) which destroys the myelin (protective sheath) of the nerves. Canola oil is a very long chain fatty acid oil (c22). Those who will defend canola oil say that the Chinese and Indians have used it for centuries with no effect, however it was in an unrefined form.*


Rape seed oil used for stir-frying in China found to emit cancer-causing chemicals. (Rapeseed oil smoke causes lung cancer.) Amal Kumar Maj. The Wall Street Journal, June 7, 1995 pB6(W) pB6 (E) col 1(11 col in). Compiled by Darleen Bradley.

 

[SRT-Tech]

in other words, it does'nt really matter WHAT OIL we use, the health risks from the oil mist, be it canola, used motor oil, bar oil, etc, are ALL health hazards!

we just cant win can we.

 

[trimmmed]

Hmmmm...not everyone seems to feel the same about canola oil

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blcanola3.htm

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp

 

[musch]

Carcinogen? Whatever.

enjoy yer tumor. :bang:

 

[rustyb]

in other words, it does'nt really matter WHAT OIL we use, the health risks from the oil mist, be it canola, used motor oil, bar oil, etc, are ALL health hazards! we just cant win can we.

I'm not sure about "winning" but people CAN minimize their risks in almost every thing they do....if they care enough to educate themselves. Breathing vegi oil mist IS safer than petro mist.....at least according to OSHA.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthguidelines/vegetableoilmist/recognition.html
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthguidelines/oilmist/recognition.html

Go vegi oil! Fill your saw with it. Then, when you're done sawing, pour some on your hands for a great degreaser....rub a little on those dry arms while you're at it then go home and cook some stir fry.......all out of the same bottle. Don't try that with your standard ol' "bar/chain lube"!!

 

[GASoline71]

I dunno... you ever tried french fries deep fried in Stihl bar oil??? YUMMY!!! HA!

Gary

 

[musch]

If what you guys say is true,that used motor oil causes cancer. Then are the 10`s of thousands of people working with it many times a day every day getting cancer above the normal rate?

Have you heard of the mortality rate in the third world vs. here?
They burn tires, pour used oil down the drain, burn wood indoors, smoke like fiends, and spray pesticides wherever they want. Kinda like the 50s in America.
There ya go.

 

[Marc1]

Wow this is a long thread...I confess I did not read it all, about half.
To the question is it OK to use sump oil for bar oil, the general consensus seems to be no. However the reason given are not very convincing.
Damage to the saw, contamination of the ecosystem and carcinogenic properties.
Damage to the saw...I would not use sump oil straight from the sump, but keeping it for a few weeks in a container ideally a long narrow one, should decant most of bigger size solids. The lighter particles of carbon will stay in suspension but those are not abrasive.
Contamination...What is the difference between new oil and used oil? Both are just as bad for the ecosystem.
Cancer...If you think that by using new oil you are OK, I have bad news. Both new and used oil are petrolates and therefore considered carcinogenic.

Sump oil can be recycled and used again as bar oil quite safely if you know someone that has a centrifuge like this http://www.separationequipment.com/pdfs/emmiePD.pdf
Of course buying it will not be a good idea since you can buy bar oil for many years for all the members of this forum for the price.
Sump oil if put through a centrifuge can be also used as fuel for diesel engines up to 20 % mix with normal diesel.

As for the earlier post that states you can run a car on waste vegetable oil mixed with methanol, I am afraid there are a few inaccuracies in it.
You can run a diesel engine on straight WVO but it requires a few modifications, heaters for the oil and a system to switch from diesel to WVO and back before stopping the engine. Also in colder climates it is a bit of a problem.
As far as the addition of methanol, no, do not try that at home. WVO is converted to BioDiesel by adding a mixture of methanol and potassium hydroxide, that later needs to be washed out to get pure biodiesel. Plenty of info on the net.
To run a 2 stroke engine on WVO plus methanol? That must be a joke I suppose...unless there is a diesel chainsaw engine I don't know bout?