Chainsaw oil

[ARWadsworth]

All they all the same.

Or is there a bod standard oil I can use instead?

[dennis]

Chainsaw oil is non toxic when its breathed in. Like air tool oil is. They both get sprayed around in the air.

You could use old engine oil but you probably won't be posting here for long if you do. Is air tool oil cheaper? It might work.

[The Natural Philosopher]

the better ones are biodegradeable.

[John Rumm]

The chainsaw oils are anti "fling", non toxic and some are bio degradable (the latter you need to remember not to leave in the tank over the winter since they can gum up).

I have been using Ernest Doe's own brand Q8 oil lately - reasonable price of about £9 for 4L. That seems to work ok in the chainsaw proper (i.e. with oil pump) and in the Ryobi pruner attachement which probably does not have a pump. Alas I am not sure if Earnest Doe have branches up your way - I think they are mainly in the SE....

[ARWadsworth]

toolstation.

[andrew]

There are different types, the basic is just straight sae 30 with an anti fling additive, for occasional use a cheap engine oil is a good substitute but it's wasteful of the additives, a look at the COSSH sheet confirms this. The oiler may need turning up because of the lack of anti fling.

Otheres are emulsions of biodegradeble oils, these tend to be expensive.

Others still are just vegetable oil.

A chap I knew decided pulp cutting was no job for old men so he became a mature student at Bangor and did his thesis on vegetable oil for chainsaw lubrication. He went on to work for tha Forestry Commision and last I heard some 15 years ago he took a position with an oil company. What he found was that because of the different charges on vege oil it is attracted to metal, so you use less. Also at the boundary of lubrication it actually forms a compound with the metal surface which prevents wear.

Before he worked for the oil company he advised straigh OSR from a supermarket. I used it until I stopped cutting 3 years ago. I suspect there is slightly more bar wear and it needs regular use otherwise the saw becomes all green and furry. I use mineral oil before storage.

Many sites (SSSIs and sensitive water areas) mandate the use of biodegradable oils.

AJH

[Andy Dingley]

No, certainly not.

Visciosity matters, because otherwise it leaks out of most cheap saws when stored.

Stickiness is useful, to avoid flinging - the oily chain has to go round a whole bar length and nose pulley before getting anywhere useful. Flinging thin oil around (why diesel and especially ATF are a bad idea) also tends to dump it into your face.

I buy the good stuff. It's cheap enough - certainly compared to petrol and time! If you're really stuck, or you run out, cooking oil is probably one of the better substitutes. Most oil lubricates, but posh modern oils continue to lubricate after 100k miles in a hot engine. Chainsaws are single use total loss, so you just don't have this as an issue,

[Weatherlawyer]

I often put dishwashing detergent on my bike chain, then after a few shopping trips, rinse it under the hose. I like having a nice clean chain. So far it works fine.

Anti fling is OK if you remember the stuff is immediately replaced anyway. You are only making a small saving having the slow flow through. I'd prefer to know I was getting a wet runner and maybe some oil flung onto the chain.

But even if I wasn't using diesel I'd only use car engine oil, event the cheapo rock oil variety if it still available.

All oil is bio degradeable. Remember how little damage was done in the Gulf of Mexico last year when some yanks fecked up the drill site and blamed their customer?

[The Natural Philosopher]

er no.. that oil was emulsified with detergent.

real mineral or synthetic oil can hang around for years...as can plastics made from it.

[John Williamson]

They've also found a lot of the water soluble stuff (Methane, and some short chain aromatic stuff) in a layer about halfway up the water column. They were wondering what had happened to it....

[dennis]

Unlikely, detergent is a worse pollutant than the oil. They may have used some to clean the beeches but the yanks are a bit silly.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Oh dear oh dear. Yet more ignorance from 'Our Dennis'

[dennis]

As it shows they did not use detergents on the oil slicks. You really should read what you link to.

>

[John Williamson]

As should you:-

"The way in which the oil was released was compared to the ejection of liquid from an aerosol can, and the group speculated that this, together with the injection of dispersants at the well-head (more below)......."

And:- "1.84 million gallons of dispersant were used in the Gulf of Mexico to address the DH leak. Of this, *the majority (>1 million gallons) was applied at the surface* (JIC-DHUC 2010). Fluorescence studies suggest that oil in the top 30 feet is being affected by surface application of dispersant (Coastal Response Research Center 2010). As described above, the deep-water oil plumes that have been observed in the Gulf of Mexico are thought to be comprised of microparticles released under great pressure from the well site. The large deep-sea application of dispersant is unprecedented. It is likely that the under water application of dispersant has greatly contributed to the formation of micro-droplets, as the dispersant also acts to stabilize particles or droplets suspended in water."

My emphasis......

The dispersants may not all have been sprayed on the slick, but *were* added to the waterborne stream. They were also used on the affected shoreline and wildlife.

[The Natural Philosopher]

So now we know dennis cant read, either ;-)

[dennis]

I never read links *you* post, they are always wrong.

[John Williamson]

Do make your mind up. You claimed that the link proves TNP wrong, which implies that you have at least skimmed through it. Now you claim that you never read anything he links to, which I would believe, given your total lack of understanding of the content of the link.

I think we should be told which it is. Did you read it and misunderstand, or were you just talking out of your @rs3?

Or do you have some other source of first hand knowledge on this subject, in which case, feel free to share.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Bur dennis, that was a link I posted.

[dennis]

Which bit of never do you fail to understand?

[The Natural Philosopher]

The bit that clearly says you never read links I post, and the quotation from a link I posted.

You don't fool anyone except yourself, Dennis.