Leave gas in unused chainsaw over the winter?

[realzed]

Thanks for the info realzed.
That $24 for a 6 pack sounds like dealer cost.
Out here in Manitoba I was charged double that.....must either be a supply and demand thing or our dealers out here have a "sucker" button on their cash register just for me.
[/quote]

I didn't consider it all that cheap - I misquoted.. believe it was $24 plus tax (brain fart again - see what you have to expect and look forward to in 10 more years!). Maybe the salesgirl was overwhelmed by my presence and screwed up the pricing?? - Nah
I always liked and used the Ultra with the stabil cause I forget often... "ah - what was it I was talking about here".. Oh yea - to add it. I usually just dump the out old stuff in the Spring into an old outboard motor and refuel again anyway.
I am wondering what bar/chain oil is best?
Does Stihl have a comparable upgraded synthetic-type of oil for chains and bars? What do you use or finds works best for you?
Mostly it's 3 season use for me - hate Winters now and mostly just do nose-art on the windows until late April when you can start to smell the dog crap outside and the blackflies are swarming up..
Have you tried the Bio-stuff from them? The wife would probably prefer if I and my firewood had the essence of a pack of french-fries verses chainsaw oil, but I'm just guessing here...
Will I need to tweak up my oil pump Flow to the MAX for a 20"bar in your estimation?
Old feeble, yet still inquiring mind here with lots of ??'s obviously..
Thanks - Randy

[HolmenTree]

Haha you're doing pretty good for a 7 post new member Randy. Questions that is smiley_clapping
I'm down to a 3 season man too, very few winter days on the saw now.
I never saw synthetic bar oil before. For years red dyed bar oil was the rage but now Stihl and Husqvarna sell clear.
Which may be another eco friendly thing.
Bio oil I just use plain Canola oil from the supermarket. Low cost, odorless, takes heat better then regular Petro oil and safe for your lungs and the environment. You don't need tacktifier in bar oil. Tacktifiers only stick when the bar/chain is cold, stuff flings right off with the oil after warmed up.

Canola only is used in the saws I use the most. Saws that sit more then they work I leave the Stihl or Husky Petro oil in them.
Then when they sit for the winter I drain out all the canola and put regular bar oil in to prevent oxidation and build up.
Canola may seem thin out of the jug but it actually has more weight viscosity then regular bar oil when the bar/chain gets heated up.
For decades machinists used rapeseed oil as a superior lubricant  (now refined to canola).
Canola (Canadian oil low acid). Developed right here in Manitoba in the early 1970's.

[Andries]

Good to read some Manitoba strut goin' on!

[realzed]

Canola - right.. seriously? 
I can just see myself strutting into my local grocers chainsaw pants, suspenders, boots,  and all, in a huff - hurriedly browsing the isles for oil so I can go a'cuttin.. HA!   Priceless..
Good news is - they have longer hours now than any dealer in town so 'running out' wouldn't be as much of a problem as ever before..

[HolmenTree]

Just don't leave canola in a saw in the winter. It can freeze solid and the expansion will pop the filler cap off.

[HolmenTree]

Good to read some Manitoba strut goin' on!

Hello Andries! It's good to hear some another Manitobian.
I'm up north here in Thompson.  :new_year:

[realzed]

I lived and worked in Thompson @ the T1 offices in the exploration department for 3 years off and on in the late '60's..
Well - actually worked there - but lived mostly in the Burntwood and Thompson Inns, if you get my drift - HA!  Are either of them still standing?
Imagine lots of things have changed there by now - but probably unfortunately, many other things may have not..
Many great people and loads of memories of Thompson, Moak, Gillam, The Pas, Churchill, and places as close yet far away as Shamattawa, Fox Lake and others..
Small World I guess to a point..!

[FirewoodAl]

Thanks to everyone for this great information!  The things that really struck me to remember:
> Fuel may linger in your carb even when you try to run the saw dry.  This could gunk up.
> A totally dry carb may rust easier than one with fuel in it.
> Bad gas will not smell like gas.
> One member runs his saw every month whether he cuts with it or not.
> I'm not the only one who likes to take off from wood cutting duties after the snow flies and sticks.
> Enjoy your fireplaces!

[ZeroJunk]

Haha you're doing pretty good for a 7 post new member Randy. Questions that is smiley_clapping
I'm down to a 3 season man too, very few winter days on the saw now.
I never saw synthetic bar oil before. For years red dyed bar oil was the rage but now Stihl and Husqvarna sell clear.
Which may be another eco friendly thing.
Bio oil I just use plain Canola oil from the supermarket. Low cost, odorless, takes heat better then regular Petro oil and safe for your lungs and the environment. You don't need tacktifier in bar oil. Tacktifiers only stick when the bar/chain is cold, stuff flings right off with the oil after warmed up.

Canola only is used in the saws I use the most. Saws that sit more then they work I leave the Stihl or Husky Petro oil in them.
Then when they sit for the winter I drain out all the canola and put regular bar oil in to prevent oxidation and build up.
Canola may seem thin out of the jug but it actually has more weight viscosity then regular bar oil when the bar/chain gets heated up.
For decades machinists used rapeseed oil as a superior lubricant  (now refined to canola).
Canola (Canadian oil low acid). Developed right here in Manitoba in the early 1970's.

Funny. I make biscuits with it.

[HolmenTree]

Haha you're doing pretty good for a 7 post new member Randy. Questions that is smiley_clapping
I'm down to a 3 season man too, very few winter days on the saw now.
I never saw synthetic bar oil before. For years red dyed bar oil was the rage but now Stihl and Husqvarna sell clear.
Which may be another eco friendly thing.
Bio oil I just use plain Canola oil from the supermarket. Low cost, odorless, takes heat better then regular Petro oil and safe for your lungs and the environment. You don't need tacktifier in bar oil. Tacktifiers only stick when the bar/chain is cold, stuff flings right off with the oil after warmed up.

Canola only is used in the saws I use the most. Saws that sit more then they work I leave the Stihl or Husky Petro oil in them.
Then when they sit for the winter I drain out all the canola and put regular bar oil in to prevent oxidation and build up.
Canola may seem thin out of the jug but it actually has more weight viscosity then regular bar oil when the bar/chain gets heated up.
For decades machinists used rapeseed oil as a superior lubricant  (now refined to canola).
Canola (Canadian oil low acid). Developed right here in Manitoba in the early 1970's.

Funny. I make biscuits with it.

Be careful what you read about canola on the internet.
There's a couple of conspiracy blogs on the internet written mostly by some women.
They claim canola is very unhealthy and is a Canuck invention controlled by agrochemical giant Monsanto now owned by Bayer.
They sound pretty convinced but only trouble is they have no scientific reference sources  to back them up. :D

[ZeroJunk]

When I was kid it was lard, then Crisco in a can. Not sure there is any such thing as a healthy biscuit.

[petefrom bearswamp]

I know this is off subject but, Holy cow zero
Biscuits made with lard don't get any better than that.
Healthy at my age healthy don't  matter, excellent flavor matters.
Maybe lard in ethanol gas would work.
at least the exhaust would make your mouth water.

[starmac]

Don't forget pie crusts made with lard.  I do not pay a whole lot of attention to the health hype on most foods.

[John Mc]

Have you tried the Bio-stuff from them? The wife would probably prefer if I and my firewood had the essence of a pack of french-fries verses chainsaw oil, but I'm just guessing here...
Will I need to tweak up my oil pump Flow to the MAX for a 20"bar in your estimation?
Old feeble, yet still inquiring mind here with lots of ??'s obviously..
Thanks - Randy

I've used a couple of different brands of the bio/veggie-based bar oil, but now use the Stihl stuff because it's the only thing I can find around here without a lot of hassle. As I understand it, it's basically canola oil with a few additives. The original stuff I was using would harden up if you left it in a saw that sat too long, so like Holmen Tree, I would run a little petroleum oil through it if I was going to store the saw for a while.  The Stihl Bio bar oil doesn't seem to have that problem. It's not cheap, but the use of bio-bar oil is required on one of the properties where I regularly cut firewood, so I just end up using it all the time.

As far as lubricating properties, the reading I've done says it works better than petro-oil, so you can safely turn your oilers down a bit. I've turned the oiler down on my saws, and have not had any problems. So I certainly wouldn't be considering turning it up.

[Andries]

Good to read some Manitoba strut goin' on!

Hello Andries! It's good to hear some another Manitobian.
I'm up north here in Thompson.  :new_year:

Always good to pick up on your posts Holmen.
If you've got occasion to wander down to The 'Peg, let me know. I'll buy.  :D

On topic: My Stihl 034 and 660 stay working year-round.
Bio=oil in summer and light/medium in winter.

My son packs away his arborist saws for the winter (he is a climber) with tanks and carbs topped and run for a bit with Aspen fuel.

[Al_Smith]

I'm not so good about running them dry or using something like Stabil or fogging oil .I do however dump the old fuel before a start up if they sat long .
Probably not good but I've got a McCulloch and a Poulan S-25 that didn't need a carb rebuild to after about 35 years .On the other hand I've had and have some that might need a refresh after 5 .Might be the gas,might be the oil don't know .

[PA_Walnut]

I run Sunoco GT100 (unleaded race fuel) with synthetic premix in all my 2-strokes and straight GT100 in my 4 strokers. They ALL start right up with zero issues. It's the zero ethanol factor.

The canned mixed fuel I've seen is 95 octane, but I think they also use stabilizer. The per-gallon cost of it exceeds the GT100:oil mix.

[Novascotiamill]

In 1989 I went on a moosehunting trip to newfoundland. We got 5 moose over two days. The guides split the moose into halves with a chainsaw using vegetable oil on the bar,not sure if it was canole though.

[starmac]

I have heard of guys using chainsaws on moose here, these days cordless sawsalls are more popular.

[trapper]

local butcher shop  used to use the wright gas saw that had a bar going back and forth instead of a chain

[starmac]

Ha Trapper, I happen to know where one of those old wrights are, hadn't thought of a real use for it.

[thecfarm]

I eat enough "bad" food that I should of been dead 50 years ago.  :D   

[Al_Smith]

I guy I was with in the navy grew up in Rangely Maine,nearly on the Canadian border .They mistakenly shot a moose right over the line. Drug it into the bush and retrieved it after the sun set .They used a chainsaw to split it .

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 I do try to avoid it but I have left gas in the saws for a couple months at a time without problems, I do use ethanol free gas almost all the time and I believe the 2 stroke oils I use supposedly all have stabilizers in them. If I know I won't be running a saw for a long time I usually fill up the tank with some shelf stable premix fuel or add some stabil to the fuel.

[TreeJunkie]

I always leave gas but my Winters are mild and trees always come down, I run 93 E-free and used to use Opti-2 until I bought my firs new saw, a Stihl MS193t and got the 6pack of oil for extra warranty, probably won't need it but figured since it's good oil why not.