Bar Oil ????

[caveman]

Good morning chainsaw gurus.   Would gear oil be an acceptable substitute for bar oil or should we use a less viscous oil? We recently were given quite a bit of new oil which is in leaky containers.
Thanks,
Kyle

[DelawhereJoe]

That gear oil will probably be 3x thicker when what is needed, if the hurricane comes your way you could probably make a mint selling CaveMan brand bar oil to ckean up all the trees. Try the Holmen tree canola oil to cut it with and make semi-green bar oil. Just repack it in the gallon canola oil jugs slap your label on it sell out of your product and simply go out of business afterwards .

[gspren]

 New gear oil is much more expensive than bar oil. I'd put the gear oil in better containers and find someone that needs gear oil then buy some cheaper bar oil.

[HolmenTree]

If you don't mind the odor of gear oil I don't see why you can't use it on above freezing temps.
Now on the subject of canola oil I never had a problem with it. But I never put it in my saws that I don't frequently use, I always put regular petroleum bar oil in those saws.
Just my go to saws that I use every day I run canola.
When storage off season comes I run regular oil through the saws to clean out the canola.

[Al_Smith]

Gear oil smells to high heavens .I don't think fermented skunk rectums would be any worse .Phew . :D

[HolmenTree]

Haha :D Al, I think it stinks bad too especially when heated up.
I just didn't want to offend anyone  on here if they actually liked the smell of it. ;D

[caveman]

hypoid does stink.  We were probably given 40 gallons or so of various oils and with the storm that is heading our way I suspect finding bar oil will be challenging.  I have a half gallon on hand but was looking for an alternative.  The ground is saturated and if we get the big wind lots of trees will come down.

After reading about the bar oils being the low quality oils with an additive to make it tacky I figured gear oil or motor oil might be a reasonable substitute.

Thank you for all of the suggestions.  Best case scenario-I will not need to use any bar oil in the next four or five days.

[PNWRusty]

Now on the subject of canola oil I never had a problem with it. But I never put it in my saws that I don't frequently use, I always put regular petroleum bar oil in those saws.
Just my go to saws that I use every day I run canola.

That's strange. You have Canadian made saws? I've always heard the US made Stihls like corn oil. And if you happen upon an Italian saw like an Oleo-Mac, remember, nothing but pure virgin olive oil! 

[nativewolf]

If you don't mind the odor of gear oil I don't see why you can't use it on above freezing temps.
Now on the subject of canola oil I never had a problem with it. But I never put it in my saws that I don't frequently use, I always put regular petroleum bar oil in those saws.
Just my go to saws that I use every day I run canola.
When storage off season comes I run regular oil through the saws to clean out the canola.

Ok, you've been a wealth of info.  Tell me more about canola oil, that sounds great.  Is it the right viscosity?  I mean will it still feed through at a ratio that empties my fuel and oil at the same time?  Looks to be economical.

[HolmenTree]

Canola takes heat better then petroleum oil and was used for years in machine shops as a lubricant when it was called rapeseed oil.
As pretty well every saw built today has it's oiltank getting heat transfer from the crankcase it is equal in viscosity or thicker then petroleum bar oil.
Tacktifiers in bar oil only stick when the bar/chain is cold.
Biggest reason I use canola is after 40 plus years running saws I'm giving my lungs a rest from all the carcinogens of petroleum bar oil mist.

[dustyhat]

I would hang on to it ,i hope you dont, but you are more than likely gona be needing it. every body else is probably going to clean the shelves of the bar oil .

[HolmenTree]

Caveman, stay safe down there in Florida.
My prayers go to you, your family and all other Floridians.

[Al_Smith]

I have no idea why gear oil is so rotten .Other high tack oils such as machine way oil don't stink .Thread cutting oil is another stinky oil .
Since we are discussing oil ,grease is just oil with a thickening  agent .The type of same just depends on the application .

[caveman]

Thank you Holmentree.  The European hurricane prediction model has the center of circulation predicted to pass to our east by about 75 miles, which is bad for Florida's Atlantic coast but it is a better scenario for us if it indeed follows the prediction.  The east side of these storms are typically the "dirty sides".  We will be watching updates attentively until Sunday afternoon when it is due here.

After all of the hurricanes we had in 2004, our church formed a chainsaw team to help with storm damage following these weather events.  I suppose I will call today and see if they still have me on the list of volunteers.

My son in law is a lineman.  I asked him last night if he was ready to go to work. The company he works for is a sub contractor for Tampa Electric Co. so they will likely keep his crew local until they determine the threat to its service area has passed.

[Savannahdan]

My SIL is shopping for a chainsaw to help with cleanup.  He knows as much about them as a turnip and he's reluctant to listen to advice.  I've referred him to a repairman that I've used and the guy sell some nice used Stihl saws.  Getting the SIL to wear protection will be another issue.  Some of the predictions have Savannah down to a 1 starting this Sunday evening.  Had an Alexa call with family members here in Savannah to discuss evacuations.  Atlanta area will get a few and Augusta will get a few.  Those of us staying will be hunkered down on high ground near Hunter Army Airfield.  Fortunately my home is on a ridgeline from Hunter and is some of the highest ground in Chatham County/Savannah.  Some of the neighbors just down the street from me may have some problems because the City of Savannah did some ditch leaning and messed up some culverts which has already caused some overflow problems.  Emergency Management folks will most likely announce evacuation orders today.

[Stoneyacrefarm]

Good luck Dan and stay safe.

[Savannahdan]

Thank you.  The latest projection has the storm moving West of us.  We'll still get significant winds, rains and storm surge.  Fortunately I'm on a high ridge so flooding isn't a big issue for me unless we were to get a 4 or 5 category storm.  I really feel for WDH, CustomSawyer and others West of us.  They evacuated some college students today and were taking them to Columbus, GA.  Hope that was a safe decision.  I picked up an additional jug of bar oil and scored on getting a small electric chainsaw from Home Depot rental.  Didn't really need it but it'll come in handy for work around the house.