any old oil

hi all,i can lay my hands on cheap quality 2 stroke oil of a mate of a mate. but the oil is for out board motors they both say should be ok . my saw is a346 xp. i just cut logs to feed the burner; the oil is rock oil.semi synthetic. is this ok to use many thanks

Outboard motor oil is designed to lubricate water cooled engines which run much cooler than our high speed, air cooled arb and horti engines.

The oil therefore does its work at a lower temperature. If used in a saw it will burn off before it can lubricate.

Rock, as well as all other reputable manufacturers make specific oils for specific use, they do this for good reason.

I know people who have got away with using outboard oil, and I have seen the results from those who have not been so lucky.

Why risk your saw just to save buying some proper oil?

the stihl oil shots are about £15 for 10, which will do you 50l of oil, thats hardly expensive.

the cost of the petrol is huge lol to the cost of 2 stroke oil for 1liter of petrol its only less than 13p at most lol if you buy it by the liter its far cheeper than single shot things

thought this might be the case that oil aint oil. just at 10 quid a gallon seems good. oh well any one got a boat.

thought this might be the case that oil aint oil. just at 10 quid a gallon seems good. oh well any one got a boat.

Yup, I got one but its four stroke:thumbdown:

To say one is for 2 stroke chainsaws and one is for 2 stroke outboards etc..... it all wrong. It's the ratings you need to look at. Stilhl Ultra is. I believe, JASO FB rated. An oil of that or higher spec will be fine. Makita recommend JASO FC and higher, my KTM motorcycle require JASO FC and higher. The oil I use for both, and for my all my Stihl gear, is Motul Spec Di Jet 2T, which is API TC, JASO FC, ISO-L-EGD rated. The good thing about the ISO-L-EGD means it's very very low smoke and smell, which when the exhaust is in my face is pretty important to me. It's also very clean burning, over 80% biodegradable and the dye is really easy to see in the mix. Also, I get it from Opieoils for not much more than £30 for 4 litres (incl discount) and I fill my own small 100ml bottles, so works out about £0.75 per shot as opposed to the overpriced Stihl one-shots. It really is beautiful stuff.

Pedroski, you are quite right to say that ratings are important, but wrong to say that there are no differences between outboard motor oil and chainsaw oil.

Outboard motor oils conform to the NMMA TC-W3 classification for marine 2 strokes.

Horti air cooled oils conform, as you say, to JASO specs with FD being the highest spec, but FC being perfectly adequate for our use.

They are formulated differently to take into account temperature, bearing loadings, WOT speeds, corrosion resistance etc.

In fairness some of the better blends of each are close. You MAY get away with marine oil in your saw.

If you use your air cooled oil in your outboard you will almost certainly have problems due to oil fouling on the plugs and oil deposits on the piston crown.

Why risk using anything other than the reccomended oil.

I have always kept different oils for my wet and dry machines.

Gardenkit, the oil I use conforms to both, that's why I said to check the ratings. Obviously, one shouldn't go and but an oil only to NMMA specs, but all you need do is check the spec exceeds what's required. So my saw requires JASO FB minimum, the oil I use is JASO FC, ISO-L-EGD and API TC, and it's biodegradable, safer for use near water, and less expensive than Stihl HP. It's common sense. All my machines are clean and wear free, and don't smoke. KM100R and FS85 units get thrashed every single day, and neither has had to have any work for the years I've had them.

Look at Stihl HP Ultra.... it's over £20/litre, and is lower spec and twice the cost of the Motul Di Spec. Stihl HP Ultra is JASO FB, ISO-L-EGB, more than 80% biodegradable, whereas the Motul Spec Di is JASO FC, ISO-L-EGD and again, more than 80% biodegradable (82% actually). It's a mickey take, really.