Summer vs Winter Bar Oil

I find it better to not change the summer and winter shutter. Never experienced carb icing and I’d probably leave it in winter mode cutting in the summer.

 

I appreciate all the responses! Good to see some other perspectives. I think I'll stick to the regular stuff and just keep my saw inside before I go out to cut. If I don't see any oil coming off the tip I'll consider cutting the oil with a little fuel or just not cutting in those temps! Thanks guys.

 

As temps close in on zero winter oil starts to shine and as it gets in the -20 to -40 range standard oil will slug/molasses up the chain and it won’t spin. I run winter oil and it will still pour at -40, sling off the chain. Chain and bars are to expensive to cheap out now. What extra pressure are you putting on the motor and drive if it’s working extra hard to spin the chain? Not sure what CTF is using -when I get my oil I buy 5 cases and get it at the same as summer oil. So it’s not worth the time to mix. One of my logger buddies mix summer and #2 diesel 50/50. But does complain on wearing out bars quickly.

 

What it makes a difference to mix 50/50 all season and winter oil or are you really just defeating the purpose
Right now winter oil is almost 20 a gallon at tractor supply

 

I don’t have experience mixing and have no insight. I buy 5 cases of winter just to get it at $19 a jug. I use 2-3 gallons a week. Regular price summer is $21 and winter $26.

How much a week do you use? Are you seeing any wear on your drivers? How long is a chain lasting before it’s filed down past usefulness?

I cut skidder dragged logs and sharpen every time I fill the tank. A good loop last a month at best. I now use round semi chisel full comp and sharpen with a cordless dremmel and Oregon 7/16 stone. Sharpening takes about a minute and is faster than replacing the loop. I prefer square grind but frozen dirt/rock/debris wrecks the chain so fast.

 

This makes sense to me. I have never cut anywhere close to 0F and have not seen a need for winter bar oil. I used to cut down to 15-20F and always with standard oil and it still flowed. I think your temp ranges are spot on!

 

I go by the if the oil is at ambient temp and it will pour it’s fine rule. Man made things start acting up at zero and the colder it gets the more weird it acts. Once -30 comes it gets real.

 

0 or -30 I am not trying to do anything everything including me will be frozen

 

I usually don’t cut during winter but I am figuring I am going to have to start
At what temp would you recommend someone switch to winter oil
You made a point about everything working harder in the cold like the oil pump

 

Leave the jug outside and see if it pours. As long as it does use it. When it pours slower than honey swap.

 

It start pouring like honey around I want to say 40 or so
Thank you

 

Sounds like below 40 needs winter.

 

I swap to winter around -15C or so.

 

You missed a -

 

Ah

 

Cold fat fingers do that.

 

Be a sad day when the Imperial System finally succumbs. Using 'odd' measurements is part of my identity as a red blooded American.

 

Im totally fine with metric for length measurements, fasteners and the like. If anything else were to be adopted, I won't know how cold it is, how fast I'm going, how fat I'm getting, how much gas I put in the car ect.

 

Nobody has meters on the bottom of their legs. They have feet. Coincidentally...a foot is going to be close to a foot in length, on average. Horses were measured in hands (4 inches). An inch is roughly the width of a thumb. Imperial allows estimation based on common reference rather than some little lines on a measure. Imperial is the common man's measurement. I like it. Don't get me started on liters. lol Not many know what 473 millileters is. Most well know what a pint is though.

My beef with metric fasteners lay in 12mm specifically. *4 thread pitches. Really?