Why adjust bar oil?

Hawkshoe · May 03, 2009, 12:42:29 PM

OK Gurus, I just got my first Stihl saw 8) and it is also the first saw I have had that has an adjustable oiler. My question is this, Why would you NOT want the maximum amount of oil on that bar?
Matt

Dave Shepard · May 03, 2009, 02:29:35 PM

It gets messy, and around here, Stihl bar oil is at least $16 a gallon. Stihls are reportedly cheap on oil, so you may want to turn it up anyway, but different bar lengths will want different amounts of oil, so I've been informed.

Rocky_J · May 03, 2009, 02:46:36 PM

Unless it's a MS200T, turn it all the way up because it won't oil enough anyway. The 200T is the only Stihl I've ever run that put out too much oil. The excess will catch sawdust and create globs of crud in the clutch cover.

chucker · May 03, 2009, 02:48:09 PM

? stihl bar oil ? does that some how affect the warrenty ? just dont run the saw out of bar oil and stihl have more then enough stihl gass left over or you might be buying a new stihl bar and chain!

Maineloggerkid · May 03, 2009, 03:12:48 PM

$16 a gallon for Stihl oil!?!?!? Up here it is only like $9, and the poulan stuff at Walmart is $5.

Dave Shepard · May 03, 2009, 04:32:43 PM

Husky oil is around $13, but I hate it, way too gooey. I've not been in a Wal-mart in years, and I plan to keep it that way.

chucker · May 03, 2009, 05:12:51 PM

when ever i find it to thick i cut it with fuel oil or tranny fluid (used), summer blend is usually cheaper then winter blend so i get it when its at the right price....

GASoline71 · May 03, 2009, 06:12:10 PM

Quote from: Rocky_J on May 03, 2009, 02:46:36 PM
Unless it's a MS200T, turn it all the way up because it won't oil enough anyway. The 200T is the only Stihl I've ever run that put out too much oil. The excess will catch sawdust and create globs of crud in the clutch cover.

That's a fact Brian... not much more I can add...

...except lets not turn this thread into a "bar oil price b1tchfest"... :D

Gary

chucker · May 03, 2009, 06:51:36 PM

? hey ! gas ,have you ever done any tradeing with casade or now what is woods logging supply in longview ,wash . thats where i first started out again after my time in the military .. good to see a few from the wet side !!

Rocky_J · May 03, 2009, 08:06:16 PM

Chucker, I can answer that one for Gary. An absolute definite YES on that. Gary has even helped expedite a few purchases on my behalf from Wood's Logging. Good people up there and only about 20 miles from Gary if I'm not mistaken.

Al_Smith · May 04, 2009, 05:56:54 AM

Stihl saws with the exception of the 200T are notorious for stingy oilers .Stihl affectionatos defend the almighty company with the way they work but users generally do not .

They use the excuse that the way their specific bars and chains are designed that they require less oil but my contention is they also are interested in selling bars and chains at escalated prices .

thecfarm · May 04, 2009, 07:21:47 AM

Mainelogger,if walmart still has it for $5 you better buy it.I have probably 30 gallons of it.I bought 2-3 every time I went in.Other places were selling oil for 7 or $8. Went in once and it was 7 or $8.I knew it wouldn't last at that price.

Maineloggerkid · May 04, 2009, 12:21:03 PM

Maybe it has been jumped up, it has been a while since I bought that kind.

Hawkshoe · May 04, 2009, 09:50:17 PM

Good info, Thanx! If I might plug here, TSC bar oil is about 8 bucks now. Couple years ago we sold it 2 fer $5, guess em days are gone! Never had any trbl with this stuff.

Al_Smith · May 05, 2009, 06:23:07 AM

Quote from: Hawkshoe on May 04, 2009, 09:50:17 PM
Good info, Thanx! If I might plug here, TSC bar oil is about 8 bucks now. Couple years ago we sold it 2 fer $5, guess em days are gone! Never had any trbl with this stuff.

I've ran TSC oil for years .The 2 for 5 was many years ago .Fact is about two years ago Stihl oil was the same price as TSC or at least so in this area .Then to add insult to injury they sold Husqvarna branded oil at 13 bucks a pop . Not to me they won't ,humbug .

Kind of seems funny ,the price of gasoline came down but oil products have not .

Heywood · May 05, 2009, 08:46:11 AM

I guess I'm as cheap as they come but for years, I made do with used diesel motor oil in at least three saws and only once, replaced a bar, (bent) and never had trouble with feed to the bars. I did that not because of price, but because I liked to see it splat the dark oil on the wood I was cutting and somehow I liked visual confirmation that oil was getting to the chain and bar. Since my last two saw purchases, I went hi class and started buying TSC. I don't get to see it splatter on the wood, but still never have bar or oil trouble. (I've since been told that in Canada, the bar oil comes colored so you can see it while cutting?)
BTW, I see two references to Walmart. I wouldn't go into a Walmart if they were selling ten dollar bar oil with a twenty dollar rebate. Reason? Check them out on google for "Walmart litigation". We've had personal experience with them along that line.

Sprucegum · May 05, 2009, 02:17:03 PM

(I've since been told that in Canada, the bar oil comes colored so you can see it while cutting?)

Yep, it's the same color as fresh blood on the snow ???

Al_Smith · May 05, 2009, 04:13:33 PM

I've heard they did a study on bar lubricants and surprisingly used crankcase oil faired pretty well .
I would not use it myself but whatever anybody runs in their saws is their business .

I save my oil in 55 gallon drums and give it to two friends who have commercial waste oil burners to heat their shops .Used oil does real well for that purpose .

John Mc · May 05, 2009, 10:58:54 PM

Anyone have a good source for veggie-based bar oil? Most of what I have seen is based on canola oil.

I have a couple of properties where I cut that require it. It's pretty expensive from local sources.

John Mc

chucker · May 05, 2009, 11:11:21 PM

? ARE YOU SERIOUS?

this is the first time i have ever heard of veggie based bar oil!! or anyone requiring it to be used ? must be a danged tree hugger...... not doubting you , just never heard of a thing....but then again nothing suprises me anymore!!!

John Mc · May 05, 2009, 11:48:07 PM

Quote from: chucker on May 05, 2009, 11:11:21 PM
? ARE YOU SERIOUS? this is the first time i have ever heard of veggie based bar oil!! or anyone requiring it to be used ? must be a danged tree hugger...... not doubting you , just never heard of a thing....but then again nothing suprises me anymore!!!

I won't say it's a common requirement around here, but it's not unheard of... especially when working in an area where they are concerned about contaminating a watershed (I believe the forest surrounding the Quabbin reservoir in Massachusetts requires it.) It doesn't take much petroleum to mess up an awful lot of drinking water.

From what I've heard and read, some of the veggie-based oils actually offer superior lubrication to the petroleum based stuff.

Since I have to use it in some places, I run it in all my saws, all the time now.

When my son was about a year old, he managed to get into my first jug of the stuff. I found him siting in a puddle of it, splashing around. He had it smeared all over his face, and had obviously been putting his oil covered hands in his mouth. In a panic, I called the number on the jug to find out poison control info. Their answer? "No big deal. It's the same as if he'd gotten into your cooking oil. It's not certified as food grade, but it's not going to hurt him." It was quite a job cleaning him up before my wife got home...

John Mc

chucker · May 05, 2009, 11:57:58 PM

lol thats good news!! and probably not all that bad either... just different..........

GASoline71 · May 05, 2009, 11:58:54 PM

Quote from: chucker on May 03, 2009, 06:51:36 PM
? hey ! gas ,have you ever done any tradeing with casade or now what is woods logging supply in longview ,wash . thats where i first started out again after my time in the military .. good to see a few from the wet side !!

Quote from: Rocky_J on May 03, 2009, 08:06:16 PM
Chucker, I can answer that one for Gary. An absolute definite YES on that. Gary has even helped expedite a few purchases on my behalf from Wood's Logging. Good people up there and only about 20 miles from Gary if I'm not mistaken.

I am 25 miles from the Sedro Woolley shop... I have only been to the Longview shop once or twice to buy cable. Either way... Brian is right, the Wood's guys are the best dang shop on the planet to deal with.

Gary