Chainsaw LUBRICAN'T

[Pedrx]

Hello. Not sure if thirty or so mature hardwood trees along the drive count as a small woodland but as there’s no forum for 'Linear Spinney Owners' perhaps you folk can help.

Various questions but to start with: I bought 5ltr of Stihl SynthPlus chainsaw oil from Ebay - about £20 inc delivery - believing Stihl to have a good name.

It has the consistency of thin engine oil, no apparent anti-fling properties and, presumably as a result, is consumed at 2 to 3 times the rate of, say, Makita oil and hence, perhaps it’s fair to say, cost 40 to £60 per 5 litres.

The machine, if it matters, is a Makita 1800 watt – light, adequate for my needs and doesn’t keep the neighbours awake. Do petrol machines have a variable feed pump perhaps, to compensate for oil consistency? Even so I wonder if this stuff is gluey enough to avoid being flung off by centrifugal force before doing a complete circuit and satisfactorily lubricating the full chain bar.

The vendor says they have had no complaints and Stihl, apart from confirming the barcode is recognized and they don’t endorse internet sales will pursue the matter no further.

If anyone here is familiar with Stihl SynthPlus perhaps they will tell me if their oil is like thin engine oil or like viscous gear oil. Thanks.

[Hobby]

Hi Pedrx

I think you have purchased the same product from the same source as I have. ( Ebay)

All I can say is that having previously purchased the same product from a local country store, the only difference of note is that of the price, store charge around £35 and think mine from Ebay was around £20.

I usually use Exol chain lubricants and the consistency is very similar to the Stihl product .

Essentially the chain oil is used to cut down friction, overheating and excessive wear, the Stihl oil does that job as far as I'm concerned.

Rgds Hobby

[carlight]

hi , have never been happy with the fancy oils that i've tried - as you say , too thin . I use the standard , £10-£15 per 5 litre stuff . does tend to go very thick in extreme cold .

yes, 'normal' petrol saws have adjustable oilers.

[tracy]

I have nothing to say about chain oil, but welcome Linear Spinney Owner!

[Pedrx]

Hello and thanks for your reply, Hobby. Just a couple of questions if you don't mind me quizzing you.

I take it the Stihl oil you purchased is relatively thin as described above? Viscosity: kinematic at 40°C: > 22 mm²/s (ASTM D 7042)vis according to Stihl data sheet. If that means much to you. Doesn't to me.

I have read that thin oil causes the chain to wear and overheat more quickly for reasons described above. Clearly there must be more to it than this - if you agree the oil is thin. Any ideas? To put it another way how have you come to the conclusion that the Stihl oil 'cuts down overheating and excessive wear.'

And what about the consumption? This stuff is consumed far faster than Makita oil or eg 'Carlube' chainsaw oil bought from my local garage. Does this make sense: that we could be paying £60 a gallon for Stihl?

If the above questions sound rhetorical they're not intended to be. I still believe, having heard so many good reports about Stihl, that there could be something fundamentally wrong with my line of thought.

Yours, hoping your not sorry you got envolvedly, sinc. Peter.

[Pedrx]

Carlight: thanks. Have noted your comments. Sounds a good price, 10 to 15 pounds for 5ltr. What's it called and where from?

Thanks, Tracy. Very kind of you.

Peter

[Hobby]

Hi Pedrx.

Wow, your depth of concern regarding the structure and usefulness of chain oil is certainly a subject I have little interest in, after all I'm not running a forestry company but purely a single husky chainsaw in my spare time !! However, I commend your level of involvement in the subject.

When I say Stihl oil 'cuts down overheating and excessive wear.', all I really mean is when comparing to No oil.

I cut Oak, Hornbeam and similar dense wood around 20 days per year without any issues regarding the longevity of my bar or chain. To spend useful time analysing a product costing £20 that seems to do its job and last 6 months would appear to me to be folly. However I sit for hours on a canal bank watching a float so I don't think I'm the best person to judge. Good luck with your quest. Rgds Hobby

[TreeWorks Uk]

My first post so hello to everyone!

£20 for 5lt of chain oil seems pretty expensive to me. You should be able to get the Stihl Syth Plus for around £12 - £13. I use biodegradable chain oil (only because it’s part of my environmental policy and I have to use it near water courses & other sensitive land) and currently pay £54 for 25Lts.

On some saws you will find an adjustable flow control so you can make sure that your bar/chain is oiling properly – not too much so no wastage and not too little which would overheat the bar/chain causing excessive wear. This feature is very handy when using oils of different viscosity. Bio oil tends to be a lot thinner than the Synthetic variety.

My first petrol saw, a McCulloch, didn’t have the adjustable flow control and also the oil pump kept oiling even when the engine wasn’t revving, just on tick over. All my Stihl saws only pump chain oil when it’s needed i.e. when the engine is revving. This feature is something you might want to look out for on any future saw purchases.

Hope this helps.

Greg

[Stephen1]

Hello Pedrx

I've used Stihl SynthPlus myself and found it suitable for the job in all respects. Somewhere in the back of my sponge filled head I seem to remember (but can't think from where) that some of the additives Stihl cleverly pop into this mix cause it to have rheopectic properties. Try googling rheopexy or rheopecty (sorry I can't remember which - both seem to ring a distant bell of first year physics!).

In a nutshell this means the viscosity of the oil increases when it moves against itself - i.e. the shearing forces it undergoes when being flung around the chainsaw bar cause it to temporarily thicken. So you have the advantage of high viscosity on the bar where and when you need it, and the benefit of low viscosity when pouring it and through the pump delivering it to the bar.

Sort of the opposite of ketchup (thixotropic) which becomes less viscous when you shake the bottle, making it easier to pour.

So the important point - don't panic and set the lubricant pump to its highest setting because you think the oil is thin and so is being flung off very quickly. Start with it relatively high and adjust as necessary in response to what you find is actually happening by trial/experiment. As you say Stihl has a very good name, and I believe you can trust their products to be suitable for the purpose they are sold for! However avoid secondhand car salesmen and supermarket own brand cola...

[Stephen1]

Try wiki;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheopecty