Best Bar Oil?

[Donnie]

Used engine oil/gear oil. Get about 5-6 months out of a bar before it opens up on the rails. 
Good going I’d say. 

Edited April 3 by Donnie

[Conor Wright]

Fwiw I got tired of buying 20 ltr drums a good few years ago. There's a company a few villages over that import and mix oils of all types for nationwide distribution, they drop me a 200 ltr barrel every 18 months or so. 150 grade. Never had a problem with it. A few folk drop in saws for sharpening, sometimes they go home with a refill of chain oil too. Never had any complaints there either.

It works out at about €1.80 per litre. Last time I ordered one o checked the price of 1000lyrs in an ibc. 1.60 ltr. Thought about it, but wasn't worth the hassle of storing that much (barrels fit through door of small shed, ibc wouldn't).

Tried veggie oil once. It was shite. Ok in a topper maybe, but useless on longer bars.

If we have work on a site that requires bio oil I just bend over and get whatever is available locally at the time. 

[gand]

On 26/03/2025 at 20:14, Jackp01 said:

A shop local to me has iso 220 bar oil at £55 for 25 litres has anyone used thick oil like this before in their saws 

I've been using a 220 oil for years and never had a problem with the oiling, nothing wrong with oil that thick until winter and the only problem is it takes longer to pour in to the tank

[StoneFlowerLandscapes]

Here's a great video from a fellow Yank - it doesn't have our cheaper UK brands obviously, but it does compare the big names with interesting results, with only Oregon performing as good as the cheaper brands. Food for thought!

 

No point in going cheap on your oil and buying more bars/ chains/ brakes / more wear on your engine. 

 

https://youtu.be/CIlRBI2ccZE?si=sEbyWzA39-eF80Yx

[StoneFlowerLandscapes]

On 22/03/2025 at 09:27, manco said:

bar oil? or chain oil? 

id go with either whatever is recommended by the manufacturer or their own top oil.

since surely they have catered their oil to match their saws?

stihl chainsaw, with a stihl bar and stihl chain, id be running stihl chain oil. synth plus.

or bio oil if youve got a beard and drink beer with twigs in.

Hey now, I use bio oil and no beard.. my client supplied warm beer does indeed have twigs in it though, and lots of dust

[Muddy42]

On 31/03/2025 at 19:55, JonnoR said:

I buy the best bar oil for my lungs and skin.  Fck the saw

 

I'm the opposite, turn the oiler up to max and use the lightest oil possible!  Having to stop and clean out bar oil tanks and oil lines and replace prematurely worn bars is not fun.

[manco]

5 hours ago, StoneFlowerLandscapes said:

Hey now, I use bio oil and no beard.. my client supplied warm beer does indeed have twigs in it though, and lots of dust

whats wrong, cant grow a beard? 

[kram]

Just ordered some Midland Oil Group, Varol Varchain

150.

 

20 Litres for 34 pounds. Add to watch list, wait a day for ebay to send an offer. Go to checkout and use code SPECIAL8

Varchain 150 - 20L - Chainsaw Oil | eBay UK

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

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VARCHAIN 150 is suitable for applications that require a low fling lubricant.

 

I just finished a 25L tub of Rotatech. It did the job quite nicely however there was some residue/sludge at the bottom of the drum.

[Oldfeller]

6 hours ago, kram said:

Just ordered some Midland Oil Group, Varol Varchain

150.

 

20 Litres for 34 pounds. Add to watch list, wait a day for ebay to send an offer. Go to checkout and use code SPECIAL8

Varchain 150 - 20L - Chainsaw Oil | eBay UK

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

---

VARCHAIN 150 is suitable for applications that require a low fling lubricant.

 

I just finished a 25L tub of Rotatech. It did the job quite nicely however there was some residue/sludge at the bottom of the drum.

I did exactly the same, It seems pretty good oil, I also had a chainsaw given to me  that had been using some kind of biodegradable oil, but stored for some time , the chain was stuck to the bar like it was welded to it,reminded me of mod cosmoline that had been therefor decades, I soaked it in carb/brake cleaner but that evaporated before it did anything, so I boiled it in an old saucepan, that did the trick, its now on the varchain 150 and so far so good. 

Edited July 16 by Oldfeller

[AHPP]

6 hours ago, kram said:

Just ordered some Midland Oil Group, Varol Varchain

150.

 

20 Litres for 34 pounds. Add to watch list, wait a day for ebay to send an offer. Go to checkout and use code SPECIAL8

Varchain 150 - 20L - Chainsaw Oil | eBay UK

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

---

VARCHAIN 150 is suitable for applications that require a low fling lubricant.

 

I just finished a 25L tub of Rotatech. It did the job quite nicely however there was some residue/sludge at the bottom of the drum.

I miss Super Sexy. Used to have to turn the drum sideways so as not to look weird and lecherous to anyone in my driveway.