bar chain oil

[Richard]

picked me up a STIHL MS 290:smokin: any recommendations on brands of oil ? STIHL recommends STIHL BioPlus , and not every place carries it

[krb]

I just bought one last year,nice.
Anyway check out www.arboristsite.com.
Lots of info on chainsaws.

[JTRUCKJMC]

Bought the same saw a couple of years ago and love it. I have not used the biooil as it is just an environmental check in the box in case you are in a situation were you could cause ground contamination from the oil spraying or leaking into the ground or water. Have not had any issues using 30w or 10w-30. Biooil is not cheap.:smokin:

[cybergeek23851]

Bought the same saw a couple of years ago and love it. I have not used the biooil as it is just an environmental check in the box in case you are in a situation were you could cause ground contamination from the oil spraying or leaking into the ground or water. Have not had any issues using 30w or 10w-30. Biooil is not cheap.:smokin:


There is a reason for chain and bar lube...it has a tackifier added to it to keep it on the bar and chain.

I just bought one last year,nice.
Anyway check out www.arboristsite.com.
Lots of info on chainsaws.

Yes, Arboristsite is informitive, However as a member there, I found there to be too much drama(PBB chitchat x10) I go to the Treebuzz or the Treehouse.

On the oil, Richard, I use standard Stihl Chain and Bar Lube in all my saws.

[steveh]

When I bought my Stihl, the shop was out of Stihl brand bar oil, so I picked up a gallon of Husky. They said bar oil is bar oil, just use it!

So, I would ask the shop you bought the saw at what to use, since they will be doing the first service on it. If you bought it used, then find the closest Stihl dealer, and call them. The nice thing about Stihl, is they only sell through Power equipment dealers, so the support is top notch.

I have an MS 390 Pro. Love it!!! It cuts through oak like butter!!!

Maybe toyota_jim will chime in, he is the resident PBB Chain saw expert.

[Aces'n'8s]

I use Husky brand bar oil in my chainsaws. Its pretty much Mo-lasses in cold weather.

But when I worked for a tree service, we used 30 or 50 wt. NON DETERGENT motor oil. We kept 3 oiling stations on the equipment trailer and pumped the oil into Stihls, Echos, and Huskys when needed. We used so much oil that I would hate to have to think of the cost of specific bar oil. Also, the bar oil wouldn't travel throught our hand pumps.

We never had a problem.

[sothpaw]

I have been using TSC branded bar & chain oil in my 029 ever since I bought it with no issues.

[Richard]

ended up with the STIHL brand , $8.80 for a gal. versus $4.?? for a quart:eek:

[ironpig70]

i have huskies and use husky oil. and husky oil come in 2 varieties regular and cold weather:smokin: i

[MoonDog]

At the shop I work at we run several saws (Stihl) everyday, and just use cheapo 30wt motor oil. It's kinda depressing to think about how much oil gets dumped into the environment via the sawdust that gets swept up and sent out with the trash :(

I dunno if this is the best oil to use, the way we use the saws seems to eat bars and chains long before lack of proper lubrication would.

[Richard]

i have huskies and use husky oil. and husky oil come in 2 varieties regular and cold weather:smokin: i

the STIHL oil comes in winter and summer as well , and STIHL saws are better:flipoff2:

[thelbz]

Ive always used cheap motor oil on every saw never a problem. And the worries about the oil getting in the ground, isn't that where it came from?

[eschoendorff]

Ive always used cheap motor oil on every saw never a problem. And the worries about the oil getting in the ground, isn't that where it came from?

Not in it's refined and additive-riddled form, no.

Oh, btw- everything that Richard said is absolutely TRUE :smokin:

[jerseyzuks]

I have a drum that has a mix of motor oil and gear oil for recycling. I skim off a quart or so for the chainsaw. Been doing this for years with no ill effect

[unimog]

Also, if your cutting gummy wood like pine you can add about 20% ATF and it will keep your bar and chain from gumming. In cool weather pine pitch can stop a blade and sieze your roller tip solid. If this does happen just push the blade down on a tree and pull the chain around with the saw and it will loosen up.

[jdrocks]

stihl brand in gallon jugs by the case, just the regular weight. in cold weather, there's a gallon in the the cab of one of the trucks.

[ironpig70]

the STIHL oil comes in winter and summer as well , and STIHL saws are better:flipoff2:



its called stihl because every time you start it you say it STILL works:flipoff2:

[ProJunkRacing]

I do tree care and we use on Stihl Oil in are saw's. Keep a stockpile of it . Blue bottle winter stuff in winter , orange bottle rest of year. Use motor oil if we run out at a job . All in all I like the stihl oil seems to lube really well .

[glfredrick]

I'm a Stihl fan myself -- after owning over 20 of them in the past 35 years, most spent as a pro in the firewood business. I've cut over a million face cord of firewood in my days...

Running regular motor oil is not a good thing for longevity of the bar and/or chain. It is far too thin, even in winter, and it doesn't stick to the chain or bar. What happens is the oil pumps out at a rate faster than the gas mix, and the chain runs dry for about half the tank of fuel. remember, the oil is heated in the saw by the engine being in close proximity, so thick out of the bottle isn't a big deal once the saw warms up -- but starting with thin oil, then heating it up = no protection.

A person that is only cutting up a few limbs at home may never notice the difference, but if you get into running a saw for 8-10 hours a day, you will buy a new bar and chains on a weekly basis with the wrong oil. That makes for big expense over time.

One other thing that I often find people making mistakes about...

Adding extra oil to the fuel mix in order to better lubricate their engine. That doesn't work very well at all, for what it actually does is reduce the amount of gasoline in the mix, which effectively leans out the mix. This causes scuffed pistons and blown rings. Costly stuff on a pro-type saw. Run the mix the factory recommends... I also generally run Stihl oil for the mix.

Any bar and chain oil is fine -- the bio oil is a good idea -- but in the big scheme of things, not that much oil ends up in the environment, unless you are running the saws at a yard somewhere for lengthy periods of time -- like with wood processor equipment like that made by La Font, etc.

[ChiScouter]

I just sold a worn out Homelite saw that I bought in 1985. It just didn't have any power to cut logs anymore. Since the day it was new I always used premium 2 stroke synthetic oil in the gas mix, and mobil 1 oil drained from the car for the bar. I had 2 bars, a 16 and a 24 and 8 chains. All were original from when I purchased the saw, and all were in better shape than the saw, and very servicable. I don't think it makes much difference what oil you use in the bar based on my experience

[Richard]

I did some more reading , motor oil does not have the clinging ability like Bar chain oil , it does not stick to the chain or bar and provides little lubrication , I will spend the extra and get either STIHL or Husky bar oil , plus it also helps to keep the chain and gears from gumming up with pitch and saw dust .

[cybergeek23851]

I did some more reading , motor oil does not have the clinging ability like Bar chain oil , it does not stick to the chain or bar and provides little lubrication , I will spend the extra and get either STIHL or Husky bar oil , plus it also helps to keep the chain and gears from gumming up with pitch and saw dust .

Richard, refer to my post above... I answered that question about motor oil vs chain and bar lube way earlier in the thread ;)

[TOAdisco311]

Richard, refer to my post above... I answered that question about motor oil vs chain and bar lube way earlier in the thread ;)

Whats you screen name over on treebuzz? I lurk over there pretty often and I didn't know there were any pirates over there.

[cybergeek23851]

Whats you screen name over on treebuzz? I lurk over there pretty often and I didn't know there were any pirates over there.

I mostly lurk over there as well, even though I am a member. I use the same name there.

[Richard]

Richard, refer to my post above... I answered that question about motor oil vs chain and bar lube way earlier in the thread ;)

sorry I missed that one:emb2:

[Cork]

stihl mix, we buy it a skid at a time, just the regular blend. for winter we just put a dollop of saw gas in it and mix it up. Piss on setting it in the floor board, gets the floor oily.

[Aces'n'8s]

When I worked for a tree service and used ^ ND motor oil, I never let my oil reservoir become empty. My boss was a hard-line businessman and if you ruined a piece of his equipment because of neglect....you bought it. As for it not sticking to the bar or chain, I guess all that oil and residue was floating off the chain into the atmosphere, onto the wood, and all over my chaps.

Also, concerning buying new bars and chains "on a weekly basis" my experience hasn't illustrated that contention to me. It's possible that other's productivity may have been higher than mine when I worked for a tree service...but when a straight line wind storm blew through Memphis in 2003, I could only have hoped for 8-10 hour days running a saw. Our bars and chains neither burned up nor did the sprockets ever seize up.

IMO, the big threat to a chainsaw bar (besides stupidity, sticking into the ground, or a dull chain) is a poor initial setup.

Unless I planned to undercut the majority of the time, I set up a bar as follows: Got the chain and sprockets in sync. I checked chain teeth resistance (pull the chain up etc.). Then, I pulled the bar upwards to simulate the load of a down cut, while still pulling up on the bar, I tightened the bar nuts.

*edit* I know many of you will disagree and bring up the "motor oil vs. bar oil" debate, but I'm just sharing my personal experiences.