Used motor oil for bar oil??

I have a question for some of you folks who are far more knowledgeable than I am.

The other day I was talking to a friend of mine (an older gentleman) and I mentioned that I was on my way to buy some bar oil. He told me back in the day he ran used motor oil in his saw for bar oil.

I've never heard of this before but thought it might be a good idea and wanted to ask if anyone on here has done this. Would any of you recommend it, or perhaps it's a bad idea. Of course it should be quality used oil without water, metal shavings, or anything else that could be problematic. After all, bar oil isn't expensive, but used motor oil is free.

Thanks in advance

 

I've been told this too from my great grandfather who was an old farmer and also my dad when I was little who actually used to use it he'd run it into the empty jugs and use it.saws always seemed to run a bit hot, a bit stinky and wore out bars pretty fast. Personally I don't think it's a good thing because used oil is just that it's used up its lubricating properties not to mention being full of acids and metals and who knows what else.

 

It's full of contaminants,,it doesn't stick ..no lubricants..it's like that bean burrito you ate yesterday and blew into your toilet this morning,,

 

no way

 

Messy, poor lubrication leading to accelerated bar and chain wear, somewhat worse for the environment... It's better than nothing if you're in a bind, but for normal situations it's not worth it.

 

My father ran used oil in his old McCulloch and never had an issue. Personally I use the Stihl brand bar oil in all of my saws. Bars and chains are too expensive to ruin or prematurely wear. Plus, used oil is dirty and makes a mess of everything.

 

All I have ever used is the used synthetic oil drained from my Cummins diesel. No issues here, there are several threads about this also.
Oil does not break down, it becomes contaminated with other "chemicals , metals" that is the reason for changing it.
If you did actual oil sampling, you would find most oil is changed FAR before it is necessary.
3000 mile oil changes are the biggest waste of natural resources there is.

 

Like others have said, bar oil is formulated to be more "sticky" to stay on your chain as it's moving at xx feet per second. Engine oil isn't designed to do that so it can be flung off easier.

That being said, people have used engine oil for a long time and I've never heard of any catastrophic failures. It probably does wear down your chain and bar slightly faster, but on the flip side you aren't paying for bar oil. In the end I bet you net out about even.

And like ironpony said, your engine oil's life isn't a problem. And if you have metal shavings in your engine oil, you've got some serious issues you should be looking into!!!

 

It's nasty, it will stain stuff lack including the saw. it is not as tacky as bar oil, and it has some heavy metal contaminets in it that should not really purposefully put into the environment . Bar oil is realitively cheap. I don't cut as many cords as many of these guys but might cut between 3 and 5 a year and I will only use a few gallons a year. If I am totally out of bar oil and dont want to run to town, I usually will use clean motor oil first and used oil as a last resort. Sometimes have used tractor transfer fluid .

But like said bars and chains are too expensive to risk slightly higher wear on them to save a small amount on bar oil.

 

Well I used to use a old craftsman saw with the thumb-button manual oiler.... I used to use used motor oil all the time, never had any major problems....

Now that I have nice saws I just use bar oil.... I buy the bar oil for $5.00 a gallon so it's fairly cheap....

 

I do the same watch TSC and catch it for like $5.99. meynards sells it for like $4.99 on sale

 

I tell ya I like the stuff at rural king it seems to be tacky and stay on the bar very well!!!!

For $5 I feel I can't go wrong, hell I usually buy 2-at a time

 

I use canola oil. Cheap, works as good as bar oil and safe for the environment. Win, win, win!

 

I go even further, mixing used canola oil with bar oil. Works fine.

 

If you are running 36 inch bars and chains or even 32 inch, the bars and chains for that matter are getting pricey. I personally just remember hating the mess that comes from it. By no means am I a tree hugger, but I also do some heavy blocking within 100 feet of my well. I do not want any of this getting into my well etc. Granted it would take a large volume, but having tipped over a gallon or two in my day...the bar oil flows a little slower....To each their own!!

 

Thanks for all your input. That's why I like this forum so much....so much knowledge being shared. Plus I like all the emojis

I doubt I'll ever find myself in such a bind where I'll need to resort to used motor oil, it had never even crossed my mind prior to my friend mentioning it the other day. The fact that motor oil has less sticking ability and looses it's lubrication properties is enough to not want to put it in my saw.

 

Except that it can turn rancid and cooking oils turn into a nasty sticky mess when they dry out

 

Well said, some just wont get your first point. I am not sure if there to ignorant to understand it or just refuse to acknowledge this fact?