bio chain oil

[conkers]

I was told some years ago when working on the shore of Coniston Lake that using traditional chain oil damages the environment and stays in the locality for some time.

With this in mind I went to my local saw dealer and bought Bio chain oil.

After crying into my brew about the cost I was told that sunflower oil or Veg oil will do. That was in 2001 and have been using asdas own brand since then. [Cheap as chips]

 

Saw dealers have told me the error of my ways but the ms200t or the 066 don't seem to mind. Not a hitch!

Is it a con or Have all the above oils got environment drawbacks?

[christreeroot]

First of all well done for caring and making the effort, most people say bugger it when they see the cost in using bio oil..... It all comes down to the viscosity of the oil - during winter when its colder i know many that use veg oil etc, but during the wamer season veg and sunflower oil are not thick enough to last in the tank for any period of time and therefore offer enough lubrication (hope that makes sense)....

 

We have an environmental policy that states we only use bio oils etc, i think and get feedback from clients that this is considered more and more:icon14:

[conkers]

I thought most people had switched to bio or other!

See what you are saying about summer in theory, but really never had a problem so far in practice.

Perhaps I am causing wear to the saw without realising the damage, but my chain and bar bills have not gone up.

 

Trad chain oil does look nasty when sitting on still water, otherwise I don't think people notice.

We do make a point of informing customers with wildlife gardens.

[Chris Sheppard]

We use Bio oil at work and IMO I much prefer the old non bio stuff for it's lubrication properties.

 

Oregon and Husky were the ones I always liked, didn't get on with the stihl one and the odd samples of bio I tried in my own saws weren't great - chains always seemed to stretch real quickly and bars got slack.

 

Did anyone else ever see that stuff Oregon were trying to sell where you mixed a small amount of it with water and that was your chain "oil" ?

 

Got given a sample bottle, used it for 10 minutes and decided it was complete S*%t.

[Leyburn Lad]

We use Bio oil at work and IMO I much prefer the old non bio stuff for it's lubrication properties.

 

Oregon and Husky were the ones I always liked, didn't get on with the stihl one and the odd samples of bio I tried in my own saws weren't great - chains always seemed to stretch real quickly and bars got slack.

 

Did anyone else ever see that stuff Oregon were trying to sell where you mixed a small amount of it with water and that was your chain "oil" ?

 

Got given a sample bottle, used it for 10 minutes and decided it was complete S*%t.

 

agee there and saw wrecker if you got a strong frost overnight with the saws in the back of the truck:icon14:

[Chris Sheppard]

agee there and saw wrecker if you got a strong frost overnight with the saws in the back of the truck:icon14:

 

Had never thought of that Best place for it is the bin

[dave K]

Found bio oil ok in 200t's but it just burnt off anything bigger so mix it with standard oil as compromise ? Unless working next to water and in grave yards(folk get very funny about you staining grannies grave stone !) then use bio only.

[Charlieh]

I run stihl bio plus in everything now as cant be bothered to swap about oils (you need to be wary about different types of oil emmulsifying when mixed). I buy it in a 25l container at a time, so its a bit cheaper that per 5l,

 

I have it in everything from my 192t up to my 084 for milling, and havent really noticed that much difference since moving from stihls normal chain oil. Used some thames stuff for a bit, buying in bulk to run in the baler over summer and that was really nasty!

 

although i must admit i do normally have the adjustable oilers open a bit higher than recommended, so i dont know if this is compensating for the difference in oils?

[MattyF]

I use husky bio oil as its cheaper than stihls!

the main reasaon is a health one,enviromental is a benifit, all that mineral oil vapour cant be good for you....you can see a mist coming off the bar in to the air on a bright day.

My only experience of using sunflower oil was when i mixed it with half a tank of normal chain oil it turned in to a hard mess and destroyed the oil pump! i Know people who run it and have done for years and they swear by it only problem i can see is it doesnt have the tacking agent chain oils have so bar and sprocket wear is quicker and it smells like frying chips

[Chris Sheppard]

and it smells like frying chips

 

 

Yum - could think of worse things :wave: