RFI: Chainsaws

[ralph]

Bought the Stihl MS251. Was a little bit of a toss up between the 251 and the 250. The comfort handle of the 251 was the deciding factor.

I didn’t really set a budget, but described the type of work I will be doing, the frequency, etc. Told the guy that I tend to be a buy once, cry once kind of guy that appreciates value and understands that quality isn’t always cheap.

His advice was that unless I intend to cut all day, every day and consistently very large stuff, the 250 or 251 would be more than capable and should last forever with occasional PM. Got a confirmation from a fellow shopper that is in the tree trimming and removal business, which I appreciated.

Fuel, oil and a spare chain later and I was receiving a tutorial on my purchase!

Again, thanks to all for the advice and experience.

Bought a MS251C earlier this spring, and so far it’s worked out great. The pic is of some Oak that was given to me by a local tree trimming outfit, this came from right up the street, I didn’t even have to load or unload it, they cut it up, loaded their truck up and drove down the street and dumped it in my yard. It seems some people had two beautiful Oaks cut down, I guess because they didn’t like the fall cleanup. There was nothing wrong with the trees.I have an outside wood burner to heat my house with, and although I have plenty of wood for winter, this was a nice boost. This should give both my Husky 455 rancher, and the Stihl a good work out. Thank God I have a splitter...

[txdpd]

Went by a medical call the other day to secure a pistol.

Guy cutting on damaged tree, had a random limb fall and hit him in the head, and fell on his saw. Cut on his ankle wasn’t too bad (nerves and tendons though?) the chain had spent enough time as a trenching tool that the cutters were shot. Pretty deep cut on his head. $10 hard hat would have prevented all of that. Good thing he had an LCP to keep him safe.

Really Nice neighborhood, he probably makes $200k a year. Couldn’t afford safety gear, or just pony up $7-8k to have a professional crew with a bucket truck do the job, because no one should be in or under those trees.

[txdpd]

Tractor Supply has their store brand, Country Line, bar and chain oil on sale for $5 a gallon, it’s still an outstanding value at $7 a gallon. It’s every bit as good as Echo, Husky, Stihl, etc name brand oil at $10-14/gallon.

Outside of ER visits (and used motor oil is an ER visit waiting to happen), B&C oil is the first or second largest expense of running a saw, being far greater than the saw, bars, or chains.

Edited: lipoid pneumonia and other respiratory problems from breathing aerosolized B&C oil is a real problem for loggers and arborist. Some knucklehead might be right that used motor oil is still a lubricant, but he didn’t take it out of his motor because it was good oil. It’s done it’s job and now it’s loaded with suspended carcinogens.

[Dan_S]

Not sure exactly how using motor oil equates to an emergency room trip.

That’s all that is used in saws in some areas, and I’m unaware of any good reason not to. Just run it through a strainer first to take out particulate matter that could clog stuff up in the saw.



Alright, see the edit. That’s beyond my pay grade. All I know is that in remote parts of the world, used motor oil is what’s used as bar and chain oil.

[jeep45238]

I honestly skimmed most of this, and bear with me, but you left a massive part of the equation out. I run chainsaws almost daily for work, do aireal work, etc. - I'm happy to lend any advice I have. I have MSA 200C's, MS261CM's, MS362CM, MS462CM, MS661CM, multiple bar options, rigging, etc.. Battery and gas powered, yada yada.

You said quite large - define that. The whole man's trash is treasure part - my quite large is over 50".

How often do you run the saw, monthly, annually, daily, etc.? How handy are you, and how much is your time versus your money worth?





PPE is incredibly important - enough so that I keep a CAT7 on my body when running a saw with chaps or chainsaw pants, and each work vehicle has a NAR trauma kit. It is more important than what saw you pick.

[AKDoug]

Not sure exactly how using motor oil equates to an emergency room trip.

That’s all that is used in saws in some areas, and I’m unaware of any good reason not to. Just run it through a strainer first to take out particulate matter that could clog stuff up in the saw.



Alright, see the edit. That’s beyond my pay grade. All I know is that in remote parts of the world, used motor oil is what’s used as bar and chain oil.

Used motor oil, even if strained still contains abrasives that can damage oil pumps on saws. Modern saws are operating on less and less bar oil due to EPA and international environmental constraints on bar oil releases into the environment. They've increased the quality of bar oil to make it more tacky and tightened up the clearances in oil pumps to make this possible. It's a package deal and used motor oil is the number one cause of oiler failures on saws we service. The average home owner or weekend user will probably never see an issue, but professional users certainly will.

[Dan_S]

Used motor oil, even if strained still contains abrasives that can damage oil pumps on saws. Modern saws are operating on less and less bar oil due to EPA and international environmental constraints on bar oil releases into the environment. They've increased the quality of bar oil to make it more tacky and tightened up the clearances in oil pumps to make this possible. It's a package deal and used motor oil is the number one cause of oiler failures on saws we service. The average home owner or weekend user will probably never see an issue, but professional users certainly will.

Well, all I can say on this is that in the jungle, it’s common practice to utilize the used motors oil in saws. Shrug. I was a bit surprised to see that, but....makes sense, given the difficulty in hauling stuff from town, and the expense of purchasing something you can figure out a way to do without.

[jeep45238]

Well, all I can say on this is that in the jungle, it’s common practice to utilize the used motors oil in saws. Shrug. I was a bit surprised to see that, but....makes sense, given the difficulty in hauling stuff from town, and the expense of purchasing something you can figure out a way to do without.

In the jungle they're probably using old saws that are running on 25:1 or 16:1 ratios, at a time when SAE30 was two stroke oil.

With the tolerances, compression, and RPM's of today's saws, especially pro saws, you'd kill the motor really quickly doing that. Not only from a lack of protection standpoint, but carbon chocking the exhaust port (I've seen photos of them being 1/2 the size of the port itself due to so much carbon).

[Cookie Monster]

Keeping the chain sharp and blowing chips is priority over cost for bar oil. I use the biodegradable Stihl bar oil because I am a hippie at heart. I also turn the oiler to max on any saw I am running.

I have no doubt used motor oil is in high use across the world for running saws.

[Dan_S]

In the jungle they're probably using old saws that are running on 25:1 or 16:1 ratios, at a time when SAE30 was two stroke oil.

With the tolerances, compression, and RPM's of today's saws, especially pro saws, you'd kill the motor really quickly doing that. Not only from a lack of protection standpoint, but carbon chocking the exhaust port (I've seen photos of them being 1/2 the size of the port itself due to so much carbon).

And no, it’s not used for two stroke oil, it’s used instead of bar and chain oil - in brand new Stihls.


To be clear, I don’t do this when I have access to good bar and chain oil, but I’ve seen it done, and those saws aren’t bursting into flames.
Just seemed a bit hyperbolic to state that using used motor oil as a bar lubricant was bound to cause a trip to the hospital...