Alternative methods of oiling chain

rasawing · October 12, 2020, 02:41:23 PM

I (like a lot of people) have trouble keeping my chain oiled.....and I was wondering: has anyone thought up a alternative? Maybe something external to the saw (that could be mounted on it)?

One thing I've thought about doing is having a bucket of chain oil (with a shallow level)......and sticking the tip in everytime things get dry.

Any ideas?

sawguy21 · October 12, 2020, 03:05:24 PM

The chain needs a constant supply of oi when cutting, it will overheat and stretch quickly without it. What is the make and model of your saw? What length of bar? Are you using quality brand name chain and oil? Auxillary lube systems are used on chainsaw mills but are not practical for a hand held.

rasawing · October 12, 2020, 03:54:47 PM

I have a variety of saws. THe main one I use however is the MS 660 (Stihl). 25" bar typically. And I use only Stihl bar oil.

People invent so many gizmos nowadays.....I just wanted to inquire as to what is out there.

barbender · October 12, 2020, 03:58:32 PM

That saw is designed to run, and oil, bars out to what 32"? Longer than that probably. If it won't oil a 25", I'd guess either the oiler is turned down all the way, the filter or screen in the tank is plugged (I don't know what Stihl uses), or there is something mechanically wrong with the boiler itself.

Old saw fixer · October 12, 2020, 04:02:48 PM

I have seen an oil squirt can clamped to the handle of an old school saw, pointed at the chain on a bow blade.
I don't think you want to go there....I wish that I had a pic, but it was prior to cell phones.

lxskllr · October 12, 2020, 05:09:29 PM

I'm at a loss thinking of anything that would be nice to use in a variety of circumstances(felling, bucking, limbing...). The best I could come up with is an external tank, with a thumb oiler like an old school saw, but it would suck having an external tank getting in the way, and weighing things down. I'm with barbender. If a 25" bar isn't getting oiled, there's something wrong. Stihl is a little stingy with oil, but it should still have a sheen on the bar.

rasawing · October 12, 2020, 05:39:18 PM

Yeah, any addition is extra weight to haul.

And it's not a big mystery why it keeps happening to me (or anyone else): the weep holes get backed up. But I was thinking for a way to bypass that. Thanks to all.

KEC · October 12, 2020, 08:46:46 PM

Chainsaws are one machine that needs frequent cleaning and maintenance. Keeping the bar, oil ports in the bar and the channel that the drive teeth run in cleaned goes a long way. The others who said maybe dirt in the oil tank and proper oiler adjustment should cover it. If you know all this, take no offense.

Real1shepherd · October 12, 2020, 10:47:42 PM

No gizmo needed unless you're milling lumber...then there's kits to gravity feed oil at the tip.

I run 36" bars and longer on big cc saws and have no issues except in long cuts, whereupon I use the manual oiler.

For your bar length, you should have plenty of oil for the task....something is wrong with you system. Could be something as simple as the bar oil holes don't line up perfectly with the saw's oiler or you're not keeping the bar rails clean enough etc.

Kevin

realzed · October 13, 2020, 04:42:08 AM

Quote from: rasawing on October 12, 2020, 02:41:23 PM
I (like a lot of people) have trouble keeping my chain oiled.....and I was wondering: has anyone thought up a alternative?
Any ideas?

I always found Stihl oil to be a bit too sticky - or a bit on the 'viscous' side even their 'light' grade of oil, and since their oilers are notoriously stingy with distribution I depending on the intended usage, often mix in some cheaper and sloppier TSC winter grade oil to help it loosen things up some!
Depending on the amount - and admittedly I mainly just go by guess, I feel I can make the bar oil pretty much flow any way I wish, to suit the wood or the outside temperatures, while still keeping a lot of the good known Stihl bar oil characteristics from what I can tell..
This may not be the ticket for extreme usage like milling or other
really oddball situations, but in regular hardwood firewood bucking and general use it seems to work out well for me - your results may vary!

DaveP · October 13, 2020, 08:42:53 AM

I put a high volume oiler on my 660 and use TS oil. Works great. Lots of oil on the bar and chain.

mike_belben · October 13, 2020, 08:44:51 AM

Dawn bottle full of old motor oil. Poor people have poor people ways.

Al_Smith · October 13, 2020, 09:30:18 AM

:D Lots of ideas I must say .The first thing I would do is run about a half a tank full of plain old kerosene through the oiling system .Dust, crud of some sort can work it's way into the system over time and plug things up .About like eating prunes if you get plugged up .
Then some times it just depends on who made the bar because they are not all the same .Some have teeny weenie little oiling holes and it just does not allow as much oil to get in the bar groove in the first place .All the sudden they thought bar oil was about like the wreck of the Exxon Valdez when it broke up on the rocks .Nonsense .
As far as I'm concerned if that saw was rated for a 36" bar it should oil a 36" bar .If not it's the oiler not the oil .

Al_Smith · October 13, 2020, 02:05:34 PM

If I can get the picture to load this is what I was talking about regarding different bar configurations .In the picture the white bar is a Stihl,which has a small oil hole .The other two gray bars are McCulloch and Husqvarna which for all intents are interchangeable .Note one bar has small oil holes the other has a larger hole plus they both oil through the unused bar tightening hole on the Mac 10 series like an 850 .One bar which I think is Husqvarna the larger oil hole goes completely through the bar and if the outer bar plate does not seal it up just dribbles off the bar and never makes it to the chain .In that case you make a sort of a gasket which I use a piece of a beverage can to stop the out flow .Puts the oil where it is supposed to be .Having said all that you can enlarge the oil hole on a Stihl bar which should improve it . The white bar was the first I came across but I do have some Oregon Stihl mounts also which might be a little bit different .

rasawing · October 13, 2020, 02:53:27 PM

QuoteNo gizmo needed unless you're milling lumber...then there's kits to gravity feed oil at the tip.

I don't mill lumber.....but I'm all ears.....what "kit" are you referring to here? Are they part of the chainsaw mill itself?

sawguy21 · October 13, 2020, 03:38:13 PM

They are just a bottle and drip tube that is attached to the mill.

rasawing · October 13, 2020, 03:58:42 PM

Thanks. A lot of the mills I've looked at over the years didn't have that.

rasawing · October 14, 2020, 01:07:00 PM

Now that I look for it.....I can't find it. Can anyone recommend a mill that has such a oiler? Don't see one on line.

sawguy21 · October 14, 2020, 03:25:48 PM

It is an accessory, mills don't come equipped with them.

lxskllr · October 14, 2020, 03:57:00 PM

Granberg sells a kit for their mills, but you don't have to through that expense. My setup cost less than $10. I just threw some stuff together, and it hasn't all worked out, but I have a better idea how to set it up now. All you need is a container of some kind(I used a gear oil bottle), a way to mount it(I took the plastic plug out of an upright, stuck a couple stickers in the hole, and tied the bottle upside down with tiewire and bungie cords), a hose(I used the wrong kind of poly, and it got stiff), a valve(I used a plastic fuel shutoff, and a way to achor the hose above the bar(I used perforated strapping, and screwed it to a provided hole on the mill, and crimped around the hose.

All of which is to say you can do just about anything. Nothing's particularly critical. A container for oil, and a way to get it to the bar and regulate drip. You might already have the stuff in your garage.

Tacotodd · October 14, 2020, 04:19:33 PM

As far as a lubricant choice, I would think that as long as it's not going through the saws oil pump, even the wrong kind would be ok as long as there's PLENTY of it to protect the bar and chain. I'm not sure if a very large quantity would somehow be enough to overcome centrifugal force at the tip. Just thoughts.

lxskllr · October 14, 2020, 04:23:24 PM

I set it up to oil on the return around the nose. Whatever that's worth anyway. What really ends up happening is it pools on the bar and largely goes where it wants. I use canola for the auxiliary oiler.

Real1shepherd · October 15, 2020, 10:25:56 AM

Quote from: rasawing on October 14, 2020, 01:07:00 PM
Now that I look for it.....I can't find it. Can anyone recommend a mill that has such a oiler? Don't see one on line.

Yeah, it's not mill specific but an aftermarket accessory as stated. The one I looked at required you to drill a hole in the end of the bar. I don't mill, but was just curious about auxiliary oilers.

Go to YouTube and put in like 'chainsaw auxiliary oilers' and that should take you to some vids on this subject. That's all I did.

Kevin

Al_Smith · October 15, 2020, 02:08:06 PM

I suppose you could do like what they do for bike engine hot saws .Run a little piece of tubing from the exhaust to pressurize the oil tank .However it might be a better option just to repair the oiling system rather than Rube Goldberg it .BTW some small chainsaws actually had a system that used crankcase pressure to pressurize the oil tank .It worked just not real well usually .

sharp edge · October 22, 2020, 02:01:16 PM

I had to cut a tree down with the back of the blade, to save trees on the other side. The blade got a little hot and could use a little more oil..... the answer was easy, just stick it in the snow bank for a little while.

SE