Gear oil by mistake

[DaveGunter]

I'm pretty sure I filled my saw with 80W hypoid gear oil, that goes in my bikes tranny and final drive, instead of the regular chain oil and ran a tank of gas. The gear oil and chain oil containers are the same size, so I must have grabbed the wrong one, don't know why I didn't smell it when I was pouring it in, or notice the viscosity, but the last bit of oil in the reservoir sure smells like gear oil to me. Guess I'll just dump out as much as I can, refill and carry on. I can't imagine it did any harm?

 

[maple1]

I wouldn't bother dumping out what's left - I'd just re-fill with the right stuff & carry on.

 

[BobUrban]

No harm done - many use all sorts of different chain lube from dirty engine oil to vegi oil. I prefer the "chain stuff" because it is cheap enough when calculated in use and has tackiness to keep it on the chain but in a pinch I would not hesitate to use whatever was at hand for a tank of gas. I wouldn't bother trying to empty it either - just add more oil and go.

 

[Bioburner]

No harm done. Gear oil has a higher sulfur content and won't help your chain from getting rusty. Just fill with your chain lube and continue. None the worse for wear.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Isn't it nice when you screw up but it turns out okay?!

 

[clemsonfor]

Won't hurt. Many use old motor oil. I have used universal tractor hydraulic fluid when I was out of chain lube

 

[Ashful]

Won't hurt. Many use old motor oil. I have used universal tractor hydraulic fluid when I was out of chain lube

Not sure what you meant by "old", but just to clarify... motor oil that has not been run thru a motor is fine to use. Not the best stuff for the job, but no harm done. However, don't use used motor oil. It's full of heavy metal contaminants and particulates, none of which are good for your saw or your earth.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I wouldn't bother dumping out what's left - I'd just re-fill with the right stuff & carry on.

This

 

[clemsonfor]

joful, i mean Used or "burnt" as some say. I see you changed your icon to the new 880 in the box!

 

[fossil]

...I can't imagine it did any harm...

I can't either. (Better than in the gas tank! )

 

[Ashful]

I see you changed your icon to the new 880 in the box!

Can't slip anything by you!

I also used to occasionally use burnt/used motor oil in my old saw, until the good folks here educated me on how bad that really is. Used motor oil contains heavy metals and some very bad / caustic stuff, which you don't want on you or your property.

 

[clemsonfor]

Can't slip anything by you!

I also used to occasionally use burnt/used motor oil in my old saw, until the good folks here educated me on how bad that really is. Used motor oil contains heavy metals and some very bad / caustic stuff, which you don't want on you or your property.

That and the fact that your putting it in your $500 saw !! more if you bought it new!! But yea i dont really want burt oil slung all over my property.

I always laughed at some of the enviro wackos that i had either worked with in some capacity in the past.

Sure you have read that i am a forester. When i first started after college, i worked on a military base. Army specifically. We had an enviromental engineer that went way beyond her job scope...I always brought up about the bar oil in saws, i said there strewing gallons of it in the woods, a week!! Those buck saws on loaders go through gallons every few days i think. Then our old paint, could not just "dispose of it in the woods" but it was hazmat stuff???? I said really? I personally use about 2-2.5 gallons a day sprayed all over the place some on the trees but a good amount of over spray. ANd most of the paint falls off before the tree leaves the site. THis was not the old lead paint either. Then there is the fuel spill??? really!! I mean fuel spilled on the ground is a big deal? The same fuel that we use as "TOURCH FUEL" in the drip tourches when we burn all of which does not cumbust as you never get 100% burn. We would use upwards of 150 gallons of the stuff in a day maybe more on a big burn day. Then i said what about deisel fuel in herbicides we use them in herbicide???

I always got ...well those are approved uses.???
Beleive me i dont want the stuff in my water either nor more than necessary, but if you accidentially, serious here, spill a half gallon i really dont think we need a spill team out there. And no i dont pour burn oil on ground i recycle it. But sometimes people could put more energy into something else and be more effective.


OK rant and story time over.