I enjoyed this comparison of bar oils, but only one cheaper brand was tested in the shoot-out.
I would have liked to see the Tractor Supply and Walmart oils tested as well.
Interesting but a couple of queries from my end. In Aust’ I have run oils from filtered used engine oils (not my choice & not my saws), cheap no brand (new) 20/50w engine oil from supermarket, stihl & husky labelled, my own mix with filtered used but clean hypoid diff oil, through to gulf western chain & bar oil iso220 & later without noticing iso150. From decades of use bar and chain and sprocket wear was really bad using old re-filtered or new engine oil(20w50) cheap from supermarket. Both stihl & husky were average with high bar temps, i consider a bar too hot if i cant hold it for around ten seconds. I used to mix 50/50 filtered diff oil, could be 90sae or 85w140 with the husky and stihl bar oil, worked good. Then i ran GW chain & bar oil for years iso220 without issues or heat. Then i bough my Cannon Duralites, well, i bought new GW oil, didn't read the fine print didn't think i needed too! But the oil colour had changed from yellow to nlue in this new bottle. Brand new 28” bar used on new 592xp in poisoned willow(its harder on gear than our hardwood) full skip chisel, after one tank of fuel i now i cant touch the bar & notice there are hotspots found starting to occur??? I knew it was running hotter due to chain tension…
On starting to fill the third tank of oil i noticed the blue oil had now become yellow! So? Why? Ding!! Yep thats the old GW oil which is a iso220. Now i have no hot bar and the blued hotspots starting to be polished off. As for the theory that it is too thick in the cold, well i ran three and half months in our winter, -6 through many -8 & -12 C’s. Yes i will run an iso150 in smaller saws but not in preference to a iso220 blend, now in this case Atlantic Oil as Gulf Western at this point in time are not blending the iso220 & I definitely will not use iso150 in that 592xp, performs too well as proven to me in the oils lack of lubricating or cling. Now here’s a side point, i mentioned mixing diff oil 50/50. I bought my 61(orange top not black they dont perform the same) ran this mix along with slick50 in the bar oil new, and a little each couple chains, that bar was still being used up until i just bought a 24” cannon dlite for it, & i await a 20”. Its been a work saw and forntnightly home firewoid hot water saw, you can pick splitters out with the sprocket points! Its an .058 i now run a .063 in but it looks better than many bars a few years old on some utes. Why? In this case i’m informed by a reputable company that 50/50 iso150 & some 85/140 = iso220 interesting!!! Take note. Oils ain’t oils they say, well i dunno but i inow one thing, if they wont provide ‘the’ contact as to who makes it then beware! Maybe its made to a spec for s label or it doesn’t exceed specs due to costs??
Its your bar, your chain, your sprocket and saw, the harder it has to work and the more it wears the more it costs.. its your money in the long run, so its up to you use what you may but my choice is iso220.
I understand the time, effort and work here to provide the video, in all honesty its a good thing to get people to question and think rather than take someones word as to what they sell, and now after, well over three decades running saws, I guess I’m set in my ways… but my old stuff is reliably going strong and my newer stuff is sorting out whats up to the task and what isn’t.
Stay sharp for thats safe, walk home don’t be delivered via an ambulance
