Non-toxic Chainsaw Bar Oil

I cut a lot of wood; I'll be cutting about two cords this week. Normal bar oil is toxic and slings petrochemicals into my yard so I don't use it. I've used straight grapeseed in the past and it works fine. My bars and chains wear normally. I picked up a gallon of grapeseed/canola/olive blend from COSTCO for about ten bucks and am planning on using it this time.

Anyone else have any experience with oils that work well?

I use waste oil, any waste motor oil will work, gear oil, ATF, bacon grease, whatever, on bar. I use waste oil because of the $10/gal cost is just not worth it to me. There is a fairly coarse strainer on the supply line in your saw, rinse out the bar oil tank seasonally. Most saws have an 'oil adjustment' that might come in handy from one type of oil to another. I always buy/use the fuel additive oil, it just gets too tricky for me trying to use other oils in the fuel mixture...but that is how the old timers did it, with rediculous amounts of unnecessary smoke I might say!

james beam

http://www.baileysonline.com/search.asp?SKW=bio&catID=9927

There area a bunch of products out there, but they are all pretty expensive. I've used vegetable oil to oil my tools before, and the only word of cation I would have is that it does "gum up" after awhile. And I'm sure you are probably aware that vegetable oils solidify in cold weather.

Maybe you should mix some of these additives or regular bar oil? Or maybe run a strait batch of commercial product through your saw every so often to flush it out.

Yeah, 18/gal is pretty steep compared to 8 for my grape/olive/canola mix.

We have used the same oil as you Greg. we have even used regular Veg. oil with no problems for years. I really don't think it's much of a cost realy as we buy a jug and it last at east 2 seasons and we go threw ALOT of wood.

Paul Staments has a bar oil that's inoculated with fungi spores

http://www.fungi.com/shop/products-for-mycorestoration.html

I found some vegan road kill (downed tree branch) on the way to the ranch today so I pulled over and cut it up and threw it in the trailer. I'm so glad that goo slung all over the leaves isn't toxic since my goats are eating it for dinner!

Thanks for the ideas and reassurance. The shitake inoculated oil could be interesting!

"I found some vegan road kill (downed tree branch) " - that is awesome! I'm going to have to use that sometime if you don't mind!


I use straight up canola oil and have for five years now with no problems. A friend who is a logger suggested it because he had heard that they were using it in Europe with success. Of course, I got a lot of funny looks from the guys who run the saw supply shops and now they sell overpriced bio bar oils...

Kind of an older topic but I'd love to know if someone has any other ideas for a non-toxic bar oil.

Sounds like the consensus at this point is that vegetable oil works just fine. Does anyone have a particular kind they like to use or am I just splitting hairs at this point?

Has anyone experienced troubles using vegetable oil as bar oil for your chainsaw?

I have used reclaimed deep fry grease with no ill effect. It was free. On my older saw, I will use pretty much any liquid that isn't too toxic. I have run out of oil while working at old houses and run liquid soaps, shampoos, conditioner and pancake syrup through the saw. Anything that former tenants have left behind is fair game. It's not going into the carburetor. Nothing really bad is going to happen if the bar oil isn't perfect. I have even pissed into the oil compartment of my old saw when it ran dry and I wanted to make a couple cuts before returning to the truck. If the oiler ever clogs, a little oil, thinned with gas, tends to clear it.

Bar wear might be a tiny problem, but the time and money saved so far, would buy me several bars.

two issues: gumming if it gets hot and gelling when it gets cold.

If it gets hot enough to gum, you are doing something wrong.

Cold is a seasonal problem, but you have to deal with it somehow. If you are planning it right, you shouldn't be cutting when it is cold enough to gel new oil (don't use coconut or that creamy hydrogenated junk). I use real bar oil in the winter because if I am cutting in the cold it is a downed tree and it needs to done NOW.

Fellows, I have used canola oil on garden tools and the tractor bucket for years. You're saying it's OK for bar oil too? I have heard of this when loggers are cutting in sensitive marshlands, etc. I never thought to try it day-in and day-out... I think I will serve up the trusty old Mac for a test.

R Scott wrote:
Cold is a seasonal problem, but you have to deal with it somehow. If you are planning it right, you shouldn't be cutting when it is cold enough to gel new oil (don't use coconut or that creamy hydrogenated junk). I use real bar oil in the winter because if I am cutting in the cold it is a downed tree and it needs to done NOW.

i agree.
during the summer, i have used light weight motor oil and waste oil. but before the seasons change, i add some non gelling bar oil, in case i have it use it during the cold months.

I've been using canola oil for over 10 years. I buy it in 16 litre jugs and use 3 or 4 jugs per year. I asked the Husqvarna rep for western Canada about any problems that might arise and he said there's no problem with using the canola oil as far as warranty is concerned as it has 40% better lubricating properties than mineral oil. He highly recommended using the canola oil.

I do a lot of cutting in winter and the canola oil will get very thick at -30 degrees if you leave it out overnight. If you start with the oil warm in the morning you won't have any problem with cutting all day. I bring my saws and oil into the shop overnight which I keep at +4 degrees and I have no problems. I also make sure to keep my saws cleaned up regularly, including cleaning out the bar rail groove as the oil will build up a gummy deposit eventually if you don't keep on top of it.