All About Choosing Chainsaw Oil Oil requirements for a 2-stroke chainsaw engine. Review of the best two-stroke oils from Stihl, Husqwarna. Fuel mixture, gasoline and oil ratio table. What oil to use to lubricate the saw chain.
How to determine the ratio of gasoline to oil
The fuel mixture used in 2-stroke engines is prepared from a certain amount of oil and gasoline. The latter must have an octane rating of at least 90 and be unleaded. AI-92 fuel is best suited for these purposes.
To prepare the mixture, you must use only engine oil from reputable manufacturers. The lubricant should be designed for high-speed engines with an air-cooled system. This component, intended for low-speed engines (moped, motorcycle, snowmobile), must not be used.
When preparing the mixture, it is required to strictly observe the proportion of gasoline and oil. As a rule, it is 1:50, that is, you need to take 100 ml of oil and dilute it in 5 liters of gasoline. This rule changes slightly if the engine or piston system is new and a break-in is required. In this case, the oil-gasoline ratio can be 1:40. For running-in, you will need 2-3 full refueling of the unit with a fuel mixture with this ratio. If the fuel mixture is diluted in a ratio of 1:30, then carbon deposits will inevitably form on the piston and inside the cylinder, which, as already mentioned, leads to a breakdown of the entire crank mechanism.
Below is a table to help you quickly determine the gasoline-oil ratio if you need to prepare a large amount of fuel mixture.
Choosing engine oil
An oil intended for a 2-stroke engine must meet the following requirements.
- The lubricant should form a minimum of ash during combustion. Ideally, it should burn completely.
- The lubricant must have good solubility in gasoline and a high degree of purification from various impurities that can cause clogging of very narrow channels of the carburetor.
- The oil must have high anti-corrosion, anti-wear and lubricating properties.
There are certain standards for oils intended for 2-stroke engines: TC-W3 and 2T. The grease complying with the TC-W3 standard is used for water cooled engines (outboard motors, jet skis). 2T oil is used as an additive in gasoline for 2-stroke air-cooled engines (lawn mowers, mopeds, chainsaws, etc.).
MOTUL Outboard Tech 2T Oil
When using poor-quality lubricant, the entire piston group of the engine can fail due to the formation of carbon deposits under the piston rings. As a result, they will not be able to compress, and scuffs will form on the cylinder walls. Also, improper lubrication of the bearings of the crank mechanism leads to overheating and, ultimately, to seizure. Important: it is forbidden to use diesel oil to prepare the fuel mixture, since it does not correspond to any of the above parameters.
Husqvarna HP
It is a Swedish manufacturer that includes several well-known brands, including Partner (Partner), known for its semi-professional and professional gardening equipment. Husqvarna produces not only machinery, but also high-quality lubricants used in almost all brands of gasoline-powered tools.
The photo below shows the Husqvarna HP 2-stroke oil, which contains special additives that can compensate for the poor quality of fuel, which is not uncommon in our country. After all, the octane number of gasoline purchased at a gas station does not always correspond to the declared one.
This grease is green and contains a semi-synthetic base. It can be packed both in 10-liter containers and in 1-liter containers. The mixture is diluted in a standard ratio of 1:50 (20 g per 1 liter of gasoline). But when the engine has not yet been run in, or work is coming in the cold, the proportion can be increased to 1:40.
ForestPlus
ForestPlus mineral oil for chain lubrication is a quality product that creates a reliable film on the tire bar and on the chain links, which holds well even at maximum chain speeds.
It is packaged in three types of containers, a liter bottle and cans of five and twenty liters.
ForestPlus has the lowest shelf life of the Stihl range, which is only three years when stored properly.
SynthPlus
SynthPlus is a semi-synthetic oil that retains its properties even under the most severe conditions. It is capable of maintaining performance at minus 25 degrees. SynthPlus mixes well with BioPlus, making it easy to switch from one oil type to another.
SynthPlus has a long shelf life, which, if properly stored, reaches seven years. SynthPlus oil color, brown.
Stihl SynthPlus is packaged in containers of the same capacity as BioPlus.
Mixing ratio
Very often people ask the question, how much oil per liter of gasoline is considered the norm. It is easy to answer it, because the instructions for any Stihl chainsaw, as well as on the additive package, indicate that when using original Stihl products, the proportions of oil and gasoline should be 1:50. This means that for one liter of fuel, it is necessary to add 20 ml of the additive.
When to use special chain oil
The use of special oils for chain lubrication will be justified in the following cases:
- You have a new chainsaw under warranty and to maintain it, you must use oils recommended by the manufacturer of the chainsaw. Otherwise, if, for example, the oil pump fails, then the repair will not be carried out under warranty. This is especially true for expensive professional chainsaws.
- You respect the environment and prefer not to pollute it again. In this case, oils with a bio prefix are suitable.
- When working at critical temperatures.
Let’s consider several types of oils from different manufacturers and sort them by price category, environmental friendliness and container volume.
Chain oil
In other cases, it is quite possible to replace the chain lubrication oil with any other than working off. However, there is one more nuance. Often users have a question: Why is the consumption of oil for lubricating the chain more than the fuel mixture? After all, their consumption is interconnected? It should be borne in mind that manufacturers of chainsaws consider the consumption of oil for lubricating the chain, filling in their own brand. And the consumption of any other can differ both in the smaller and in the larger direction.
On many chainsaws, starting from semi-professional ones, it is possible to adjust the oil consumption for chain lubrication. This is done by adjusting the capacity of the oil pump.
If such adjustment is not provided, then the settings come initially from the manufacturer. How to check if the consumption of chain oil is normal on your chainsaw? It is necessary to start the saw, apply gas and bring it to a board, log or other surface that is horizontal. Particles of oil to lubricate the chain should fly off when the chain is running and leave a thin, even oil mark.
Chainsaw chain oil. What and when to pour?
Very often when selling a chainsaw, the question is:What kind of oil should I use to lubricate the chain?. The most common answer: Anything other than working off. This is absolutely true, but there are some nuances. For example, sellers often offer to buy chain oils from manufacturers of chainsaws or designed specifically for this purpose. This generally makes sense at low temperatures or when you place great emphasis on protecting the environment.
Versatility problems
The performance evaluations of so-called multipurpose oils should be viewed critically. In reality, this is not a very good advertising ploy. To date, no manufacturer, respecting its reputation, has received information about the start of production of 100% universal oil.
Practice has proven that the wrong choice of chain lubrication increases the load on the engine by 7-10% and also reduces the working life of the saw set.
Benefits of higher price oils
Proprietary chain oils are formulated with beneficial antioxidant, anticorrosive, stabilizing components and additives to help maintain the oil’s performance and increase the wear resistance of working equipment under difficult operating conditions.
The quality of branded consumables is benchmark. Most of these are products of leading manufacturers Stihl, Husqvarna, Echo, Daewoo and a number of others. Over the past few years, the quality of Chinese chain oils produced by state-owned enterprises has improved markedly.
Chainsaw owners decide on their own which oil to use to lubricate the chainsaw chain. At its best, it is a consumable adapted to the climate of the region and recommended by the operating instructions for this model.
Price features of the offered assortments
European chain oils of a high price group are recommended for the operation of professional chainsaw equipment operating in difficult and even extreme conditions.
The cost of consumables is fully compensated for by the productivity of large-scale sawing operations, reliability, and almost complete production of the specified service life by the sawing equipment.
Domestic chain oils are mostly produced from their raw materials, imported additives and using modern technologies.
In terms of quality and performance, the Russian assortment is not inferior to similar products of European brands, but it costs much less.
Chinese saw headsets of the middle class are inferior to European counterparts in terms of wear resistance and durability. This imbalance is partially eliminated by using the manufacturer’s recommended chain oils, developed by Chinese specialists.
According to consumables suppliers, the presence of special additives in Chinese chain oils has a positive effect on the performance of standard tires and saw chains, as well as chainsaw equipment in general.
All of the above applies only to the products of large companies. The advantages of using chain oils for small private companies have not been proven in practice.
HUSQVARNA oils
The company offers its customers Husqvarna Bio Advanced oil for use in normal and extreme conditions. The oil is made from plant components and is environmentally friendly, supplied in one liter and five liter containers.
As an economical solution, the company has Vegoil oil, according to the manufacturer, its consumption is reduced by 40% compared to others. Supplied in a liter container.
The company also manufactures bearing grease, which it recommends for lubricating the bearings of the drive sprocket and the sprocket on the saw bar.
Less common, but popular with chainsaw owners, are:
- Polar Lube Mineral Mine Oleo-Mac;
- Adhesive CHAMPION, sold in containers up to 10 liters, which is convenient for use in forestry;
- Makita Biotop;
- Anchor.
You can get acquainted with some oils for chains by looking below, in it a seller of a large network of tools, comments on the use of adhesive oils from various manufacturers.
How to replace the original expensive oil and is it worth
In situations where it is not possible to use original ones, they can be replaced with oil for car engines. Cheap automobile oils such as autol or diesel lubrication options are unsuitable for long-term use due to low adhesive properties.
Some owners, despite the recommendations, still use analogues, preferring to change the tire and chain more often, but here everyone decides for himself. Such oil cannot have any negative effects on the lubrication system, which means that the only difference is in the quality of the tire protection from chain friction.
What oil to use to lubricate the chainsaw chain
The answer to this question is quite simple, for this you need to open the instructions for any saw and it will indicate that you need to fill in oil that has a good adhesion effect.
What is it for? The fact is that the chain moves along the tire at a high speed, and if an oil with low adhesion is used as a lubricant, then most of it, by inertia, flies off the end of the tire and lubrication of its lower part does not occur. This phenomenon can be observed with a little experiment. Start the chainsaw, point the end of the tire towards a bright surface and add maximum gas. As a result, oil stains will appear on it, which are proof of the theory.