cost of stihl chain oil is $19.20

I was at my local Stihl Dealer and bought a gallon of chain oil and it was $19.20, I think that is crazy. Bad enough I checked the last bottle I bought about a year of so ago and it was $13. I notice Husqvarna oil is only $12, which still sounds high but a lot less. On occassion I use recycled oil that I filter with coffee filters. I prefer to use the good stuff but the cost does seem to be unreasonable. I cut a lot and probably go through a couple of gallons a year.

When we are really busy, I go through almost a gallon per weekend, sometimes. I found it at TSC for around 11-ish per gallon, and there was an "Itasca" brand oil at a local, family-owned surplus store for 13 and change per gallon. Works just as good as the Stihl stuff, half the price. Winter time I mix 30 weight oil with it, and that saves even more money.......

I think I am bit on the finicky side when it come to oil. I use fuel synthetic in my truck. I use Stihl full synthetic premix for my fuel in my saws. I buy generic bar oil on sale from Tractor Supply or Northern Tool..

Stihl oil is always high, bar or premix. I never use either unless I find it at a garage sale fo cheap. I use a local brand specifically made for bar oil with tackifier in it. Or Poulan or Husky of they are on sale at the local Farm and Tractor Supply places.

Never use used crancase oil in a chainsaw! That stuff is full of blowby crap and it is highly toxic, and is also has tiny metal fragments in it. Also it lacks a tackifier in it to keep the oil on your bar. Never never never use that stuff, filtered or otherwise, or you will prematurely run your chains to death and leave a lot of toxic crap out there in the woods.... gives loggers a bad name... not good for the environment... bad for you and your saw... and all that.

Use bar oil, intended or chainsaws. If you really wanna go green, use canola oil with a tackifier in it. That has the least impact, and your saw will not suffer.

What dealer did you go to. I think I paid $14 for a gallon in february.

Oil (and gas) prices have climbed sharply since February...

Try some Canola Oil, works for me. I think Smokin still runs his saws with it.

zap

Just saw a TSC ad today, $7. It is 30w, which I have never seen there before. I'll have to stock up for winter.

Yup its good stuff.Store-brand at Wal Mart is around $7.50 now for a gallon jug if I remember.Was less than $6 just a few months ago.

When you buy canola oil I hear you do not want to leave that stuff in the tank as it can go rancid, or is this oil specifically for chainsaws? I always have oil left in the tank when the gas runs out, they design them that way. I would hate to have to dump the remaining oil when I am not sure the next time I am using the saw since I have several to choose from.

gawn, I leave it in my saws, so far everything is good. I've been running canola oil in the saws just over one year.

zap

Scotty, when I am milling I go through gas and oil at a fast clip. The 660 is very thirsty when you leave the throttle open.and you need extra oil on the tip of the bar. I go through a tank of gas and oil about once every board and a 1/2.

Stihl has built a great marketing name....people will pay whatever they ask because they think it is better.

I use the TSC stuff in the summer and some thinner crap called "Bar and chain oil" in the winter. Never had a bar oil related problem.....ever.

If I know I wont be using either of my 2 biggest saws for more than 4 weeks (which is rare lately) I'd dump the oil back in the jug.The wee Echo only gets used a few times a year,might be 2-3 months between uses for it.I drain all fluids in that then refill the same day it gets used again.

I especially like the canola oil in cold temps,flows easier from the jug.Once the overnight temps drop below 35,I keep the oil jug in semi heated garage/shop instead of cold shed 50 ft from the house..That helps too.

Interesting zap, I was reading in one of the other threads that somebody said they would never use it again because it went rancid. I think I will try it, especially when I am milling and going through it like crazy. It is ashame you should not use used motor oil since it gives you a way to recycle some oil.

Here is a good read.
http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/pubs/html/98511316/98511316.html
zap

I remember reading that canola can act as a binder and cake up with the sawdust if you don't use the saw for a while and aren't diligent about cleaning. Any thoughts?

I've been wanting to try it, purely from an environmental standpoint. I cringe every time I cut near water and see the rainbow on the surface. Don't know if it is any better for the environment, but I would like to think that.

Last winter I had gallon of canola oil and a gallon of veggie oil in the garage (not heated) it was about 10 degrees outside, the veggie oil thicken right up, the canola oil never thickened up...I took the canola oil then went back in for the day to do some cutting.

zap

Grab a small bottle just to try, smokin had me use it when I was milling at first. I never had a problem yet with it, I've been running Wesson Canola Oil in all the saws.

zap

I buy the good stuff for my gas mix, must be ISO-L-EGD and JASO-FD. I buy bar oil at Wal-mart or whoever's cheapest. Bar oil doesn't need to last millions of cycles or withstand high temps. One pass thru and that's it. As long as it sticks and lubes, it's good.

I will at some point. Did you have to adjust your oiler at all?

When I mill the oiler is on max, when cutting firewood I'll turn it down.

zap

Not to mention it makes the saw look like sh*t! Not hard to pick out what saws get used oil run through 'em.

It's less like recycling and more like dumping a quart of used engine oil out in the woods. Sombody once argued with me that it was ok because it was so spread out that it wouldn't affect anything.

Looks and also smells like shyte, and takes a while to clean it all out. I bought an 026 once that the guy had run used crankcase oil in. That was a mistake I will not make again. The bar and chain were shot. I cleaned it up, modified the engine with a light port job, put a newer bar and chain on it and flipped it.

Yah, that is not recycling. That is toxic waste dumping. Seriously, used crankcase oil is bad stuff. It washes into the rivers and makes things a lot worse. People, please take used crankcase oil to the recycle centers so that it can be recycled properly (metals removed, blowby carbon removed, gasoline removed). It is bad enough with clean new bar oil. I have seen lots of sudsing in lots of rivers downstream from logging operations, as well as oil slick rainbow reflections on top of the water. Add blowby and heavy metals and that is not good at all. My father had a passion for reusing crankcase 'drippings' as he called them. He dumped it on his driveway and filtered it and used it for lubrication. I think it is one of the reasons he died at an early age from cancer. Seriously... not good stuff. If you are chainsaw milling you are loading up a small area with bar oil that you have to live in. Better to use canola oil in those situations.

Thanks for the great info...is the cheap bar oil really as good as Stihl's ?The Tractor Supply brand seems so thick compared to Stihl's. If TSC's is just as good, I could save a lot of $ this fall!