Chainsaw bar oil ?

mmcmdl

H-M Supporter - Diamond Member
Staff member
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Messages
11,523
It's pretty expensive these days . Are there alternatives out there to use ? :dunno:Vegetable oil ? Motor oil ? A mix of others ?
 
Bar oil has tackifiers, the same as way oil. So other oils may not stay on the chain as well, but its being pumped on continuously. I know some people use, used hydraulic oil. With the price now its probably cheaper to replace the bar more often than buy the right oil.

Greg
 
Chainsaw oil has got the sticky stuff in it, and logically, would not have detergents in it to work with filters in circulation systems like motor oils. In other words, it's pretty close to way oil. I never thought chain oil would ever be regarded as the "expensive" option. Some folk have used chain oil in place of way oil, though I am sure there will be opinion here on why that is not really a great thing to be doing.

When we say "vegetable oil", we mean, I guess, like cooking oil, or derived from cooking oil. If it lubricates, and does not have to handle extreme pressure (like in a differential axle), nor temperatures high enough to make it cook into carbon, then why not?

Originally, before we started cracking petroleum mineral oil into alkylate gasoline, we had "vegetable oils", and "mineral oils". Maybe we still do? My Dad used to buy a brand called "William Penn", and also "Duck" brand oil, and he told me they were oils of a vegetable nature. There is also, of course, the famous "Castrol R", as used for racing, and in aero engines. It came from caster oil, and it had that familiar aroma. I always thought the smell was much more pleasant than the stink of regular BP oil. My Dad told me that regardless the nicer smell, the rings on my car might be kaput, or maybe the valve guides. :)

Sure you can use vegetable oils to lube a chainsaw, but you might want to discover a substance to give it that "tacky" quality.
 
So I just checked some prices . Wally Mart has this and it's a third of what I paid for the Husky oil . I'll just go with this if they have it in stock . :)

 
Thats half the price we pay up here.

Greg
 
Tell me about it . As much as I dislike Wally Mart , 2 gallons saves me $35 .
 
Last time I bought bar oil I paid about $8. It appeared to be recycled and smelled like 90 wt. gear oil. Since then I received multiple gallons of reclaimed CNC way oil. Hopefully it will last as long as I do.
 
2 gallons at $13.94 per gallon . Not too bad , but a buck more than advertised . Still cheap .
 
Back
Top