This Post is about Chainsaw Oil, and as usual I know people on FHC will have there own opinion about this subject, and that is alright. I just wanted to add some facts to this, and the myths about a variety of oil available for the 2 Cycle Oil on today’s market. Any name brand oil should do just fine. When people start talking best and worse, nobody has really taken saws, run them for 2000 hours on various mix oils, and then torn them down and compared them. So to say one top quality oil is better than another is tough. I like either Stihl Ultra or Amsoil Saber Pro at 50:1 premium 10% ETOH. Both are full synthetic and I have not noticed a difference between the two at my shop. The ultra is easier to use as it comes premeasured in shots but it is expensive and not all Sthil shops carry it. Saber you can get by the quart at your local NAPA dealer and it is cheaper. I also like Husky XP oil. It is a semi synthetic. Works great in chainsaws but my 4-mixers did not like it. Max Power is another great Oil it also is fully synthetic. Sthil ultra is a readily available oil. there are some "exotic" oils that claim to be superior to everthing, including gravity. but lots of people run the ultra without lubricity, fouling, or carbon problems. I have never had a problem with the echo power blend. I usually run Sthil ultra (blue-green), I have run stihl regular (red), I could tell the difference straightaway there seemed to be a lot more smoke coming out with the red than ultra Stihl ( blue-green). "HP Ultra is a fully synthetic 2-cycle engine oil specially suited for high performance chain saws and power tools. This oil has outstanding engine cleaning characteristics, plus “ultra” superior lubricating qualities in comparison to other 2-Cycle engine oils. Oil is one component of running a saw that people overthink WAY too much. I used to run Castrol TTS which here is a relatively expensive air cooled 2 stroke oil. It goes for about USD$26 per litre. I have used Jakmax 2 stroke full synthetic (made by ALCO in the US) which is nearly 1/3rd the price and I cannot notice the difference except in my wallet and nostrils (TTS has a very acrid smell after combustion). I've pulled a few saws down and they've all been well lubed internally at 50:1. All I'd recommend is a good quality synthetic oil although I've run AGIP semi synthetic a fair bit and that's a good oil. What ever oil you use run it at 40:1 or 32:1 this is my personal choice. With Ethanol content on the rise, I'm betting some oil manufacture are going to tweak their formulations so they mix better with ethanol, as I know some oils don't like more than 10% Ethanol. Some of these oils are biodegradable meaning they have what is known as shelf life. Oil threads are similar to religion threads as I quoted at the beginning of this Post. It’s a touchy subject to say the least because ther are so many oils available and they claim to do all the same things. Baileys sells all kinds of synthetic oils but as we all know Baileys is a bit pricey you can buy Sthil ultra at the dealer probley cheaper then you can at Bailys . Amazon sells oil of various manufacturers. MaxPower is in my opinion a great choice and can be purchased through Amazon. Whatever you pay for oil I would stick with a quality, name brand 2-cycle oil manufactured for chainsaws. Cheap stuff is not worth it in the long run. Remember it’s your choice of the Oil you use and it’s your saw that you’re trying to maintain to last the longest, so you can cut more of the time without scoring the piston and premature wear on the cylinder due to a bad choice of oil. I know I will get a lot of mixed feelings on this subject but I just wanted people to think about the things that are going on in your saw that you can’t see, that’s the piston and cylinder and of course your needle bearings, that is the heart of your saw. In closing I think oils made up of vegetable oil is one of the worst choices because it doesn’t have anti fouling ingredients it also lacks in carbon build up. Have a nice day. Stumper
Thank you for your addition to my Post bogydave I love the picture of AMS Oil Saber this is. damm good Oil. Again thank you for your input bogydave!!! This is a great way to explain Saber Oil... Thanks for reading my Post... Stumper
I use echo red armor, Dolmar synthetic and amsoil saber. I run a 45(ish) :1 and tune accordingly. I will be trying the Husqvarna xp some day lol.
I like the Lucas semi synthetic oil. It is the best performing oil out of what I have tested. It leaves a nice film on the inside of the engine. It is also $8.99 a quart.
Thank you for your additional picture of Saber oil by the way I use this oil. Thanks again...Stumper This Post is about Chainsaw Oil, and as usual I know people on FHC will have there own opinion about this subject, and that is alright. I just wanted to add some facts to this, and the myths about a variety of oil available for the 2 Cycle Oil on today’s market. Any name brand oil should do just fine. When people start talking best and worse, nobody has really taken saws, run them for 2000 hours on various mix oils, and then torn them down and compared them. So to say one top quality oil is better than another is tough. I like either Stihl Ultra or Amsoil Saber Pro at 50:1 premium 10% ETOH. Both are full synthetic and I have not noticed a difference between the two at my shop. The ultra is easier to use as it comes premeasured in shots but it is expensive and not all Sthil shops carry it. Saber you can get by the quart at your local NAPA dealer and it is cheaper. I also like Husky XP oil. It is a semi synthetic. Works great in chainsaws but my 4-mixers did not like it. Max Power is another great Oil it also is fully synthetic. Sthil ultra is a readily available oil. there are some "exotic" oils that claim to be superior to everthing, including gravity. but lots of people run the ultra without lubricity, fouling, or carbon problems. I have never had a problem with the echo power blend. I usually run Sthil ultra (blue-green), I have run stihl regular (red), I could tell the difference straightaway there seemed to be a lot more smoke coming out with the red than ultra Stihl ( blue-green). "HP Ultra is a fully synthetic 2-cycle engine oil specially suited for high performance chain saws and power tools. This oil has outstanding engine cleaning characteristics, plus “ultra” superior lubricating qualities in comparison to other 2-Cycle engine oils. Oil is one component of running a saw that people overthink WAY too much. I used to run Castrol TTS which here is a relatively expensive air cooled 2 stroke oil. It goes for about USD$26 per litre. I have used Jakmax 2 stroke full synthetic (made by ALCO in the US) which is nearly 1/3rd the price and I cannot notice the difference except in my wallet and nostrils (TTS has a very acrid smell after combustion). I've pulled a few saws down and they've all been well lubed internally at 50:1. All I'd recommend is a good quality synthetic oil although I've run AGIP semi synthetic a fair bit and that's a good oil. What ever oil you use run it at 40:1 or 32:1 this is my personal choice. With Ethanol content on the rise, I'm betting some oil manufacture are going to tweak their formulations so they mix better with ethanol, as I know some oils don't like more than 10% Ethanol. Some of these oils are biodegradable meaning they have what is known as shelf life. Oil threads are similar to religion threads as I quoted at the beginning of this Post. It’s a touchy subject to say the least because ther are so many oils available and they claim to do all the same things. Baileys sells all kinds of synthetic oils but as we all know Baileys is a bit pricey you can buy Sthil ultra at the dealer probley cheaper then you can at Bailys . Amazon sells oil of various manufacturers. MaxPower is in my opinion a great choice and can be purchased through Amazon. Whatever you pay for oil I would stick with a quality, name brand 2-cycle oil manufactured for chainsaws. Cheap stuff is not worth it in the long run. Remember it’s your choice of the Oil you use and it’s your saw that you’re trying to maintain to last the longest, so you can cut more of the time without scoring the piston and premature wear on the cylinder due to a bad choice of oil. I know I will get a lot of mixed feelings on this subject but I just wanted people to think about the things that are going on in your saw that you can’t see, that’s the piston and cylinder and of course your needle bearings, that is the heart of your saw. In closing I think oils made up of vegetable oil is one of the worst choices because it doesn’t have anti fouling ingredients it also lacks in carbon build up. Have a nice day. Stumper[
I appreciated your post, while I don't have the option of seeing lots of saws coming through a shop. Hearing from a shop about quality oil helps soften the $$$ at the register. Personally I have run the Stihl oil forever it seems. I moved to the synthetics as they came to market. I recently tore an 036 down that had only had Stihl oil in her. She is an older unit with forged internals, everything was in good condition. She got fresh rebuild. Looking forward to see how the Ultra takes care of new her.
Pennzoil 2 cycle for Air Cooled engines mixed in ethanol free gas is all I run. I flew a CGS Hawk in the 90's and have several friends who did/do as well. I ran Pennzoil in my plane as did most people I knew. We put 100+ hours on our engines each yr. I took mine to Green Sky Adventures every 50 hours for service and he was always amazed how tight and well lubed everything was inside. I mixed 3oz/gallon and used 100ll Avgas so ethanol wasn't an issue.
I just bought a quart of Lucas to try and I have gone thru a gal of premix so far. Seems to smoke more than I'm used to but I usually use full-syn. I have a source for Redline full-syn racing oil at a good price and I have a gallon on the bench that I may try in a saw.
