Bio chain oil

[wyk]

Sounds more like someone decided to put olive oil in the mix.

[morten]

Damn stuff sticks oil pumps on, fills screw heads so you spend ages digging it out,just sticks up everthing, thanks for the advice but i dont think carb cleaner is the best stuff to spray the saw with.

 

Bio chain oil is generally produced from rapeseed oil, and to avoid the "gumming up" issues caused by oxidation, it generally has additives to prevent (slow down) the oxidation process, as well as additives to increase its viscosity to prevent it from being flung off the chain as easily.

 

If you use plain rapeseed oil, straight from the supermarket shelf, you are likely to experience lubrication problems (due to low viscosity) as well as "gumming up" problems, especially if you leave your equipment inactive for prolonged periods.

 

Some bio chain oil manufacturers may be doing a better job of preventing oxidation (and increasing viscosity), so I advice getting bio oils from a reputable brand (e.g. Stihl, Oregon). In any case, if you experience problems, change the brand.

 

For information: Several countries (e.g. Australia) have completely banned the use of mineral based chain oils.

 

You can read more about oxidation here: http://tribolab.mas.bg.ac.rs/radovi/2008_05.pdf

 

3.2 Oxidation Stability

One of the very important properties of lubricating oils is their oxidation stability.

Oils with low values of oxidation stability will oxidize even more rapidly in the

presence of water and at elevated temperatures. When oil oxidizes it will undergo

a complex chemical reaction that will produce acid and sludge. Sludge may settle

in critical areas of the equipment and interfere with the lubrication and cooling

functions of the fluid. The oxidized oil will also corrode the equipment.

To improve the oxidation stability of vegetable oil products a research on formulating

a proper mixture of base oil with a suitable additive package must be done.

For mineral oil formulations small amounts of antioxidants (0.1 – 0.2 %) are

effective. Vegetable oils, however, may require large amounts (1 – 5 %) of antioxidants

to prevent oxidative destruction [5].

Edited November 9, 2014 by morten

[morten]

Damn stuff sticks oil pumps on, fills screw heads so you spend ages digging it out,just sticks up everthing, thanks for the advice but i dont think carb cleaner is the best stuff to spray the saw with.

 

Bio chain oil is generally produced from rapeseed oil, and to avoid the "gumming up" issues caused by oxidation, it has additives to prevent (slow down) the oxidation process, as well as additives to increase its viscosity to prevent it from being flung off the chain as easily.

 

If you use plain rapeseed oil, straight from the supermarket shelf, you are likely to experience lubrication problems (due to low viscosity) as well as "gumming up" problems, especially if you leave your equipment inactive for prolonged periods.

 

Some bio chain oil manufacturers may be doing a better job of preventing oxidation (and increasing viscosity), so I advice getting bio oils from a reputable brand (e.g. Stihl, Oregon). In any case, if you experience problems, change the brand.

 

For information: Several countries (e.g. Australia) have completely banned the use of mineral based chain oils.

[Goaty]

Ive used it for 5+ years not had any bother. The last few months been running on makro's rapeseed oil with no issues.

 

Have you tried using diesel to soak and clean. Its not approved to use as such, so wear gloves etc as needed. Or spray it on and leave it for a bit then try removing gunk.

[Treespotter]

If you use plain rapeseed oil, straight from the supermarket shelf, you are likely to experience lubrication problems (due to low viscosity) as well as "gumming up" problems, especially if you leave your equipment inactive for prolonged periods.

Sorry Morten, but after almost twenty years of plain supermarket shelf rapeseed oil use I can say that the above is nonsense!

The gumming of my saws was in the "bio chain oil" era more of an issue in my saws than the last years while using pure rapeseed oil. My saws stay way cleaner now too.

[forest tink]

not keen on the bio oil,use the Oregon stuff but prefer the non bio,only use it as its supplied,sometimes get the non bio due to my moaning

[wyk]

Sorry Morten, but after almost twenty years of plain supermarket shelf rapeseed oil use I can say that the above is nonsense!

The gumming of my saws was in the "bio chain oil" era more of an issue in my saws than the last years while using pure rapeseed oil. My saws stay way cleaner now too.

 

5 years of rapeseed here - never a problem. And nearly all of it in ported chainsaws with long bars. In fact, I have to turn down the oiler on the 25" bar VS the 30.

 

VEGETABLE OIL FOR LUBRICATING CHAIN SAWS

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp89METduwE

 

Edited November 9, 2014 by wyk

[adw]

I obviously need to start asking the owners what oil they are using

[morten]

Sorry Morten, but after almost twenty years of plain supermarket shelf rapeseed oil use I can say that the above is nonsense!

The gumming of my saws was in the "bio chain oil" era more of an issue in my saws than the last years while using pure rapeseed oil. My saws stay way cleaner now too.

 

Thanks for letting me know that it is nonsense. However, please let me know why you think that bio chain oil manufacturers are going to such lengths to reduce oxidation by adding expensive additives to their oil, as well as to increase the viscosity to improve lubrication properties.

 

While you may believe that your chains are being well lubricated using rapeseed oil straight from the supermarket shelf, it may be that your chains and bars are being worn out quicker that they would be if you were to use oil with higher viscosity.

 

I am in no way discounting your personal experience using straight rapeseed oil, but do you honestly believe that your one observation is more valid than many oil manufacturers' research (including the research paper I linked to)?

[GardenKit]

I obviously need to start asking the owners what oil they are using

I get many saws in just the same condition ADW, it drives me crazy.

 

I spend longer cleaning the saw than repairing the flipping thing, so stick an extra half hour on the bill to cover some of the cost.

 

Have found aerosol Jizer to be very effective at softening it up sufficiently to blast it off with the airline.

 

Then an extra 15 minutes in the shower getting the stuff out of my hair and ears.

Then an extra 10 minutes cleaning out the washing machine after washing my work clothes.

Then an extra 5 minutes cleaning the workbench and floor.

 

How I hate the stuff, but just like you I do not know which brands are worse.