Bar/chain oil very thick

[Stelcom66]

Today I needed to add oil to the chainsaw, it was in the teens outside and the oil poured very slowly. It was almost like maple syrup. There was even a continuous line of oil from the funnel after I moved it away from the saw. I assume after about a minute of running the saw would be warm enough to compensate for it, but I wonder if it would be better to store the oil indoors when it's this cold, even just so there wouldn't be such a mess.

 

[johneh]

You may have the wrong oil for winter
Up here in the Grate White North we have 3 types 1) Winter very thin
2 ) fall and spring and 3 ) Summer quit thick
Check your oil bottle label may say summer oil

 

[firefighterjake]

I try to run the winter blend in the colder months, but I suspect once the saw it up and running it will heat the oil enough to start lubricating the chain and saw parts.

 

[Stelcom66]

Didn't realize bar/chain oil came in viscosities for different seasons! I must have a winter blend.

 

[firefighterjake]

Winter blend will pour out much easier than the summer blend.

 

[Stelcom66]

Winter blend will pour out much easier than the summer blend.

Good to know - what a mess, also a thick line of oil on the container itself after pouring it. The main concern was any effect it had on the saw, but I let it run a minute before cutting.

 

[Sean McGillicuddy]

Tractor supply
(broken link removed)

 

[Sawset]

A lot of guys comment on leaving saw and oil inside a warm area till ready to use. Once the saw is running, the oil will be hot also.

 

[Tar12]

The oil rides in the floor board of my old wood cutting truck when its real cold out...even if running winter grade oil. If cutting at the house I leave it inside until ready to use.

 

[Stelcom66]

I saw the winter weight oil at Tractor Supply. I keep the chainsaw in the house - not likely to get stolen from the garage but maybe it's better especially when it's this cold, below 0 last night. Would be easy enough to bring in the oil I have for now, going forward will keep the winter weight in mind.

 

[jetsam]

It's 5 degrees here. My bar oil is pretty thick, but canola oil (which I use in my little limbing saw) is still nice and flowy.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

It's a pain to pour but will warm up once the saw warms up. If you can let your saw warm up for 5-10 minutes before cutting, I've never had a reason to use winter bar oil.

This is taking into consideration that I live in Central Virginia and the coldest weather I cut in is 0-20F.

 

[Dobish]

this happened to me yesterday too. it was 45 out, so I didn't think it would be that bad, but it was stored in a shed, so it stayed cold. after a little bit, it warmed up and was fine. I must have a leak somewhere in my oil reservoir, because I continuously have a pool of oil in the case. I didn't want to walk back up the hill to get the winter oil, so I just used what was still in the case and felt like I was playing with goop.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

this happened to me yesterday too. it was 45 out, so I didn't think it would be that bad, but it was stored in a shed, so it stayed cold. after a little bit, it warmed up and was fine. I must have a leak somewhere in my oil reservoir, because I continuously have a pool of oil in the case. I didn't want to walk back up the hill to get the winter oil, so I just used what was still in the case and felt like I was playing with goop.

Yeah, the old Husky oil leak. I've found this to be a pretty standard feature. It's a small price to pay for a saw that really works though.

 

[Dobish]

Yeah, the old Husky oil leak. I've found this to be a pretty standard feature. It's a small price to pay for a saw that really works though.

mine only works for me, nobody else. And i don't know what I do, but I cannot seem to get a chain to stay sharp for very long (like more that 1/2 hour)

 

[kenskip1]

With thicker oils this could be detrimental to the oil pump gears. Oil is thicker and hard on the gears in the oil pump. These are generally plastic.They may get stripped.So, may I recommend using a thinner oil .