What oil and mixture are you using and why?

So you would run 32:1 in a saw that calls for 50:1? Is it good insurance? I have always thought that 50:1 sounded a little thin but always did what the book recommended.
My new to me MS 460 will be arriving this week and would run more oil in it if more doesn't hurt.

I use Belray H1R @ 32:1 in every saw and weedwacker I own. Good stuff.

Pardon me for the noob question: is higher octane always better for chainsaws?

Over 93 is a waste.....burns too slow.

Watch the Super and a eye on pistons. I use the Original only now. Had a issues with the super with 20% bean and a couple others did too.

Yeah, the super leaves bad deposits in a saw engine.
 
Randy, have you ever run alkylate in a saw, or seen one that has been run on it for years?
 
Aspen is available in Canada. on east and west coast, not sure if there is distributer in middle yet.
Akylate fuel is a must here as the fuel in gas station is very bad here. Hard to find oils that agree with it... Fully synthetic there is a few that work.

AV Fuel I tested at Williams place. It is not aggressive and works well too.

Many here mix Alkylate them self today and use what ever oil they see fit.

Be careful when changing components in mix as it can cook saw easily. Settings and property's change if fuel change.
 
So you would run 32:1 in a saw that calls for 50:1? Is it good insurance? I have always thought that 50:1 sounded a little thin but always did what the book recommended.
My new to me MS 460 will be arriving this week and would run more oil in it if more doesn't hurt.

I think its great insurance. I am with Randy on this one !! Any saw I have taken apart that ran 32:1 has looked like new inside, except for dino 32:1, then it was just a little carbonized in the crown/squish/exhaust area. Gooey enough to come off easily, but most important to me is seeing a newish looking piston with excellent ring movement while turning the flywheel. The 32:1 motors allways have the rings move and squish a little liquid as they switch direction while looking down into the exhaust port.

Some saws that I have taken apart with 50:1 were just plain ugly inside ....... frozen rings, evidence of heated up bearings, rock solid carbon build up, and of course nasty piston/cylinder metal transfer
 
Being a fundamentally lazy person with rudimentary math skills, I am tempted to keep using the HP ultra stuff in the little bottles so I don't have to measure anything. I have not seen any of this other oil in the stores, just Stihl, Husky and Conoco, Cenex, ect.
My MS 460 just showed up today and would hate to hurt the darn thing by using too little oil, I might go practice with 32:1.
I use HP Ultra at 25:1 in my old Pro Mac 850, would that be too heavy? It would be handy to use the same mix for both.
 
Lots of the older saws seem to do well with the oil rich mixes, no problems. I regularly do maintenance on some for an older guy that still putters around in the woods. I think he is 24:1, and his saws have great longevity. These days oils are better, and saws are built to more refined tolerances, so lesser lubrication is sufficient. My guess is 32:1 would be ok too. Perhaps Al might chime in about what he uses in his old Macs, even though he said no more oil threads to get his mind wrapped around.
 
We've been using the same little aluminum measuring cup for the last 20 years or so (maybe longer, I'm not sure). . . It's marked in ounces. 4 oz for a gallon of gas, easy as pie.
 
I've used Husqvarna xp oil at 50:1 in my Stihls and Husqvarnas for years and years.
Are you guys saying that it's better to run those saws a little rich?
I mix the 2.5 gallon mix in with high test. Am going to the local airport to see if
I can get non ethanol high test from them next time I get chainsaw gas and might mix
like 2 gallons of gas to 2.5 gallon worth of mix but I don't know what ratio that is.
Maybe 40:1?
 
Ive got a 97' Husky 288 XP Lite that has lived a life of logging and treework at 50:1. Im not talking occasional use either. 50:1 is fine. There might be better formulas, but there is nothing to worry about with 50:1.
 
Aviation gas is a different species of gas, something to do with the mix of heavy and light molecules. Likely the stuff for planes isn't good for saws.
 
50:1 will be ok in a stock saw.......ok, but far from ideal. Once we increase compression it's not nearly enough though. The piston and cylinder are fine with it, but there's just nowhere near enough oil to properly lube the bearings.

I've heard of guys that use whatever is on the shelf at the local convenience store, mixed with month old gas. They say it never hurts their saws. Just because it lived through it don't mean it's a good idea.

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You can feed your dawg the cheapest food on the planet, and it might live just as long as one fed a "premium" diet costing 5X as much. Might, might not. I love these oil threads, and end up always learning something interesting from them.
 
Well actually I run 32 to 1 in every two cycle I own .Saws ,snow blower ,hedge trimmers ,blowers ,weedwackers even a concrete saw .

On occasion I buy some Stihl ultra and I run that stuff at 32 to 1 also.The old Jeep CJ5 has about 5 gallons of saw gas in it too .It had sat for 8-9 years and never ran .I figured a little top cylinder lubrication would do it some good .

We're expecting 5 to 8 inchs of that cold white stuff tonight so the old Jeep might get ran in the morning .After I get properly coffeed up that is .
 
50:1 will be ok in a stock saw.......ok, but far from ideal. Once we increase compression it's not nearly enough though. The piston and cylinder are fine with it, but there's just nowhere near enough oil to properly lube the bearings.

I've heard of guys that use whatever is on the shelf at the local convenience store, mixed with month old gas. They say it never hurts their saws. Just because it lived through it don't mean it's a good idea.

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I'll listen because I believe I've got a lot to learn still but I've got three hot work saws going on years now of 50:1 daily use and abuse. A 361 and 660 EHP and a 460 timberwolf. I thought I had cooked the 460 but it was only a spit plug. I thought I had cooked it because it was shortly after replacing the tank due to a nasty chain throw. I figured I had messed something up on the re and re.
 
Might sound odd but two summers ago I was cutting in 98 degrees .It wasn't that bad under the canopies in the woods ,murder out in the open .Drink half a dozen bottles of ice water and never pizz a drop,that's hot .

The pair of Stihl 038's would run in that heat .The Mac 700's would vapor lock if you shut them down to refuel them .Hot !
 
Aviation gas is a different species of gas, something to do with the mix of heavy and light molecules. Likely the stuff for planes isn't good for saws.

100LL av-gas works just fine in saws. I've been using it for about the last ten years in my work saws, 066's and 660's, as have most of the fallers I know, and I've yet to have a problem with it. Some guys have had to make very minor carb adjustments but nowhere near the adjusting they were doing with the garbage that comes out of the local gas station and convenience store pumps. I'm not changing plugs any more often than when I used pump gas and my pistons, rings, and cylinders all look good...even on the high time back-up saws.

Pump gas where I live and work is a real crap-shoot as far as quality goes. Most of the independent stations buy their gas from brokers. They shop price, not quality. You might get a perfectly fine load one week from a major refiner and absolute garbage the next time from an independent refinery. I can't afford to stop work, pack out, and drive clear back to town because I got a bad batch of gas...hence the avgas.

Avgas is consistent. It's refined and inspected and filtered to much higher standards than car gas. A gallon bought in California will be the same quality as a gallon bought anywhere else in the country. It can be stored for a much longer time than pump gas. It costs a little more but not enough to make taking a chance on something else worthwhile. My local airport has 24 hour self serve and I usually fill several 5 gallon cans whenever I get a chance. I also run it in my Honda water pump, my Honda generator, my weed-wacker, and my wife's ms250.

I also run it in my Stearman...but that's a given.
 
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