Chainsaw oil

[Nubbinz]

I was wondering if anyone has tried that synthetic oil thats supposed to work for 16:1 all the way up to 50:1. Ive got a stihl running 50:1 .Got a homelite from the 80s running 32:1. Gonna rebuild a 16:1 homelite from the 70s so I got another spare. Its probably easy to see I want one gas can for all. Worst case with the stihl is the mix is too rich and it smokes, but my old homelites parts are hard to find so I dont want to wear out the rings or seize it up from running too lean of a mix. Has anyone on here run the oil thats supposed to work in any saw in a 16:1 for a long period of time? If so is the engine still running strong? Thanks in advance.

[just ben]

ok this is basically another oil thread. the answer is a modern synthetic oil will lube better at 50:1 than an old an old conventional type oil at 16:1. It's really not about the amount of oil addrd to the fuel but more but more about how much oil drops out of the fuel to lube the engine

[DasUberKraut]

If you want something to work and continue to to work. I suggest sticking to the manufacturers mix ratio.

[hoosierlogger]

I uses Stihl saws professionally every day. I dont pay any attention to the 50:1 ratio recommended by Stihl. The oil in the gas is the only oil your crank bearings get. I have ran 36:1 in my 4 saws for 6 years now and have had 0 problems, and they get ran about 7 hours a day.

The reason they recommend 50:1 is so that it doesnt smoke and they can pass emissions requirements in all 50 states.
A little smoke wont hurt a thing.

The old saws that recommend 16:1 were using motor oil in the gas back when oil was crap. IMHO 36:1 is a good all round mixture. If it smokes too much bump it up to 40:1. But I would go no higher than that.

[briano]

All of the new saws recommend 50:1 for a reason, that is where you get the best all around performance and durability. I worked at a Husqvarna dealer for six years, and this is what all of our saws used. Just use a good oil such as Stihl, or Husqvarna and you should be good to go. I have an old Stihl that recommends 20:1 and I use my 50:1 mix in it with zero problems. One important thing is to use premium gas, 91 or 93 octane. Using 93 octane gas there is about an 80 degree head temp difference compared to 87 octane. So to answer the question, use premium gas and good oil, not the Wally world brand, and 50:1 should not be a problem.

[DasUberKraut]

My 67 Eska Golden Jet 3hp outboard requires a 16:1 mix. If you put any other ratio in it. It will not run.

[Nubbinz]

Took your advice Hoosier. Been using 50:1 stihl synthetic in my stihl saw since I got it and it does smoke sometimes and gets oil build up in the muffler. Not a problem, lets me know its getting lubricated. Going to continue running that as is. Instead of multiple mixes for everything else though, I mixed up 32:1 synthetic . The only appliance its not rich enough for is the 16:1 homelite, but I'm sure its much better then the oil they had in the 70s.

[300rman]

My 67 Eska Golden Jet 3hp outboard requires a 16:1 mix. If you put any other ratio in it. It will not run.

I dont believe that for a second. A motor will not refuse to run on a leaner oil ratio. Heck, they run great without any oil at all....for a little while.



Everything I run, I run at 32:1, and run Klotz. Never have problems. For something that sees max RPM use almost every second it is on (chainsaw), you definitely want a little extra oil than a little too little.