biodegradable bar oil

[OneWithWood]

I have switched to a biodegradable bar oil in an effort to limit my polluting habits.  The commercial stuff is very expensive at $8 / qt.  That is roughly four times the price for the petro based bar oil.
I need to find a cheaper alternative.  I have read accounts from aborists who claim that standard veggie oils are just as good and certainly less expensive.
Does anyone here have any experience running veggie oils?  I am running the following Stihl saws:  MS19T, 038 Magnum, MS440 Magnum and MS460 Magnum.  The MS440 is used at least weekly, the other saws see occasional use.  When I am actively felling the MS460 will see weekly use as well as the MS440.

I am also looking for a reasonable priced biodegradable 2 cycle oil if anyone has any suggestions.

[DanManofStihl]

I have heard alot of people using veggie oil but I have never used it personally. I tun poulan bar oil its only $2.83 a gallon.

[StihlDoc]

Do not run plain vegetable oil in chain saws. It's okay for fries but not for bars and chains. It has no tackifier additive to carry the oil around to the bottom side of the bar and looses lubricity with heat. It also has a bad tendency to gum up the rivets of a saw chain loop and lock up your oil pump when sitting for 2 or 3 months. STIHL BioPlus bar oil is biodegradeable but pricier than petroleum oils. It is available in larger size containers which helps reduce the cost.

[pallis]

Canola oil has good lubricity and heat resistance, and probably wouldn't cost much more than dino oil. 

[pallis]

But after reading StihlDoc's post, you might not want to try the Canola oil. 

[SawTroll]

I have been using Husky VegOil since last fall, and I am very satisfied vith it.
As it seems to flow a bit easier than ordinary bar oil, you may want to adjust the oiler on the saw a bit down.

It should be worth trying on saws with marginal oil output.

[OneWithWood]

Keep the replies coming

StihlDoc:  I find that I am educating my dealer every step of the way on this.  What are the larger sizes the oil is available in and what should I expect for pricing?  I am thinking 5gal pail or 2½ carboy.

Any leads on bio 2cycle gas mix?

[johncinquo]

I have been using veggie oil, from a 2.5 gallon bucket bought at sams club, for 2 years now.  My bars and chains still loook good, no excessive wear and tear, no goop plugging up the chain or rivets, or any of the other problems mentioned.  No trouble with oil lines or filtes plugging.  No hardened crud in the tank.  I dunno why other people seem to be having these problems, or if they just heard it from someone else and are passing it along that you will have all these troubles.  Mebbe Sam has some really good oil! 

I didnt jump into it without concern,  I used my ole mac 610 for awhile to try it out, then tried the makita, and then the stihl both 046 and 066.  No troubles.  I ran the 9010 milling and didnt have any problem.  That generates some serious heat and I figured if I was going to have a problem, it would be there. 

When its cold it wont flow well, but when its that cold I should be home anyway. 

I am in NO way a professional sawyer, logger or woodcutter.  I cut for myself and a few people and sell off some cords each year.  Even at that, I would expect to see problems within a reasonable amount of time. 

You do coming home smelling like 2 stroke and Mcdonalds mixed together though.

[Corley5]

To me the miniscule amount of oil that an oiler throws out isn't a big deal.  It's spread out so far that it'll break down on it's own.  Now hydraulic oil is a different story.  I cringe whenever I come across a pool of oil where a slasher has been set up.

[StihlDoc]

Keep the replies coming

StihlDoc:  I find that I am educating my dealer every step of the way on this.  What are the larger sizes the oil is available in and what should I expect for pricing?  I am thinking 5gal pail or 2½ carboy.

Any leads on bio 2cycle gas mix?

STIHL BioPlus is available in 1 liter, 5 liter, and 20 liter containers (http://www.stihlusa.com/accessories/barchainoil.html). Your dealer may not stock it but can order it. If you don't mind waiting, ask him if he would work with you and order it to be shipped with his next bulk order of products and help you save on the shipping costs.

You can find a few bio 2-stroke oils by using a search engine but to date nothing has been developed in a true "bio" mix oil that provides adequate piston scuff protection in chain saws. Development of biodegradable mix oils have not been pursued much since a large percentage of the mix oil is consumed in the combustion process and not a great eco hazard to the forest floor.

[SawTroll]

..... When its cold it wont flow well, but when its that cold I should be home anyway.  .....

???
That was surprizing to read, as the Husky VegOil I have been using seems to flow better than other bar oil when it is cold.....

[Oregon Engineer]

I have been using veggie oil, from a 2.5 gallon bucket bought at sams club, for 2 years now........
You do coming home smelling like 2 stroke and Mcdonalds mixed together though.

Several harvester operators, usually running larger quanities of the veg oil each day, have talked about coming to the job site in the morning only to find a bear washing their windows and cleaning the harvester head. Seems the smell of the veg oil is strong enough to get the bears interested enough to lick the machine clean.
So watch where you store the oil on the job site or a bear may pay it a visit in the night.  smiley_spider drop

[leweee]

Several harvester operators, usually running larger quanities of the veg oil each day, have talked about coming to the job site in the moring only to find a bear washing their windows and cleaning the harvester head. Seems the smell of the veg oil is strong enough to get the bears interested enough to lick the machine clean.
So watch where you store the oil on the job site or a bear may pay it a visit in the night.  smiley_spider drop

OE you talken about these guys

[Oregon Engineer]

You got it right leweee! A couple of tons of teeth, claws, muscle, and stomach just lining up for the slowest running logger at the job site.