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api rating

Started by slider, August 14, 2016, 04:43:32 PM

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slider

My partner and I have acquired a case of saw mix from tractor supply.It was a gift.This oil has no api rating on the container.We normally we use stihl brand oil.We work these saws every weekend in our tree business so they get worked hard.What are your thoughts on using this oil.We run a 40.1 mix in everything.We half invested in some fine saws that serve us well and i don't want to shorten the life of them buy using mix that i am not sure of.al
al glenn

ladylake


  Al

  I'd stay a name brand api rated oil for those expensive saws.  Seems like tractor supply sell some real cheap hydraulic oil also which I wont buy.  Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

red

Honor the Fallen Thank the Living

motohed

Stick with what works , that case of oil is'nt worth a chance in pro saw .

Chop Shop

Tractor Supply = harbor freight for country folks.

They carry some name brands,but most of the house brand is garbage stuff.

Ada Shaker

You wouldn't drink a cup of coffee a perfect stranger gave you walking the streets would you?.
If it hangs to the left, your likely to be a Husqvarna man.
If it hangs to the right, your likely to be a Stihl man.
Anything else is an uncomfortable compromise.
                             AND
Walking with one foot on either side of a barbed wire fence can become extremely uncomfortable at times.

slider

Thanks for the back up on this guys.I knew the answer before I posted.I was just curious about the rating not on the container.We use stihl synthetic and it also has no rating but i trust the company to market good oil.We have an 880,471,362,251 and a 194 top saw that are almost new and i just can"t cut corners on oil.Thanks again for your input. Al
al glenn

Al_Smith

Well being controversial as usual ,I have never had a problem with TSC oil .Of course ,again I run a 32 to 1 ratio unlike most .

Just to show you I'm not that partial I also run Stihl ultra at----32 to 1  8) Maybe the ratio has more to do with it than who's name is on the container .

Gary_C

Not to resurrect one of Al's favorite oil subjects, but API ratings are specifically only for automobile and truck engines. The ratings do not apply to chain saw mix oil in any way. Oils that are in the crankcase of gasoline and diesel engines have totally different requirements than mix oils for chain saws that have a short life of one pass thru a chain saw engine and are then burned or spit out on the ground or air. There's nothing remotely similar in application.

So go ahead and use that mix oil, it will be just fine. Or send it to me and I'll use it.  :D
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Al_Smith

oh no there went the great debate. :(

CR888

So many posts completely wrong in this thread, I'm not sure where to start. API aka American Petroleum Institute is a fine way to rate chainsaw oil, is just an older system than the JASO ratings. API TC rated oil is about the equivalent to JASO FC....if it has a TC rating its darn fine to use in a commercial professional chainsaw. Too many on forums when it comes to oil post advice having little to no real understanding of what they are talking about. Believe what you wish but finding the 'correct' info from the wives tales, opinions and outright garbage is a hard task. API TC rated oil is actually near top notch period.

ladylake

  Don't be using TCW rated oil in your saws either as that's for water cooled motors the run cooler.  Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

Ada Shaker

Quote from: Al_Smith on August 15, 2016, 08:45:09 PM
Well being controversial as usual ,I have never had a problem with TSC oil .Of course ,again I run a 32 to 1 ratio unlike most .

Just to show you I'm not that partial I also run Stihl ultra at----32 to 1  8) Maybe the ratio has more to do with it than who's name is on the container .

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but what level of guarantee does he have that it won't cause damage to his saws, even if it was gifted in good faith. Had he paid a dollar for it, he may have some come back. Dunno, the laws are obviously different in different places, but similar in spirit.
If it hangs to the left, your likely to be a Husqvarna man.
If it hangs to the right, your likely to be a Stihl man.
Anything else is an uncomfortable compromise.
                             AND
Walking with one foot on either side of a barbed wire fence can become extremely uncomfortable at times.

gspren

  Awhile back someone gave me a quantity of old Homelite brand oil that I wasn't sure about so little by little I added a few ounces to the diesel fuel in my John Deere until I used it up.
Stihl 041, 044 & 261, Kubota 400 RTV, Kubota BX 2670, Ferris Zero turn

HolmenTree

Stihl Ultra full synthetic recommends 32:1, 40:1  or 50:1
I've always run 40:1


 
Making a living with a saw since age 16.

CR888

Its funny, In Holman's post above there is a 'Note..' above the ratio chart stating 'this API TC oil can be used in other air cooled 2 stroke applications. API TC is fine oil for saws or even performance air cooled 2T's. Its just a different rating system to the Japanese.

Gary_C

Quote from: CR888 on August 20, 2016, 11:40:29 AM
So many posts completely wrong in this thread, I'm not sure where to start. API aka American Petroleum Institute is a fine way to rate chainsaw oil, is just an older system than the JASO ratings. API TC rated oil is about the equivalent to JASO FC....if it has a TC rating its darn fine to use in a commercial professional chainsaw. Too many on forums when it comes to oil post advice having little to no real understanding of what they are talking about. Believe what you wish but finding the 'correct' info from the wives tales, opinions and outright garbage is a hard task. API TC rated oil is actually near top notch period.

That's a pretty broad brush that you are using to paint other posters on this forum and I would have to include your post as being one that is included in the "wives tales, opinions and outright garbage." API has in the distant past issued two cycle  ratings (TA, TB, TC, TD) but all but TC are now considered obsolete. Additionally some manufacturers are rating their oils as TC+ and TC-W3 but there are few actual specs that are used to measure the performance.

There are other standards organizations like ISO and JASO that are writing more stringent standards for two cycle oils for high performance two cycle engines but their new standards do not indicate a lack of performance for older oils. In fact much of the new standards have to do with meeting more stringent emission rules than performance and some of the new standards deal with the new friction modified synthetics which are not necessarily better when it comes to two cycle engines.

So for the original posters question, the lack of an API rating on the gift oil does not indicate anything important and the oil is perfectly good to use if used according to the instructions on the containers.  And I back my opinion up with my offer to take that oil off his hands if he is still afraid of using it. What better offer was included with your version of "wives tales, opinions and outright garbage?"

Incidentally, API has the top of the line performance spec system for 4 cycle engine oils under API's Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System (EOLCS) but those specs have absolutely nothing to do with the old and now semi abandoned 2 cycle engine specs under the 2T standards. The other standards organizations like JASO and ISO have now gone beyond the API ratings for 2 cycle engines.
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Al_Smith

Just when I thought the great oil discussion had ended it appears to be alive and well .Now the stuff has to have numbers and letters and nobody can agree ,everybody has info and every one is correct . 8)

How about SAE 30WT oil and aviation gasoline .I would think if it worked years ago it should certainly work today .16 to 1 ratio,run the saw and fog for mosquitoes at the same time.Now do we use Shell Rotella or bargain basement  oil,that's the big question ;D

OH logger

Quote from: Al_Smith on August 23, 2016, 07:51:24 PM
Just when I thought the great oil discussion had ended it appears to be alive and well .Now the stuff has to have numbers and letters and nobody can agree ,everybody has info and every one is correct . 8)

How about SAE 30WT oil and aviation gasoline .I would think if it worked years ago it should certainly work today .16 to 1 ratio,run the saw and fog for mosquitoes at the same time.Now do we use Shell Rotella or bargain basement  oil,that's the big question ;D

or amsoil like i do?   :o :snowball:
john

Ada Shaker

Not all coffee's are created equal, some taste better than others :D.
If it hangs to the left, your likely to be a Husqvarna man.
If it hangs to the right, your likely to be a Stihl man.
Anything else is an uncomfortable compromise.
                             AND
Walking with one foot on either side of a barbed wire fence can become extremely uncomfortable at times.

red

Coffee = Food . . Every topic eventually turn to FOOD
Honor the Fallen Thank the Living

Ada Shaker

Wood you like fries with that?.
If it hangs to the left, your likely to be a Husqvarna man.
If it hangs to the right, your likely to be a Stihl man.
Anything else is an uncomfortable compromise.
                             AND
Walking with one foot on either side of a barbed wire fence can become extremely uncomfortable at times.

Kbeitz

I don't know how true this is. It's only what I have been reading on 2 cycle racing forums.
They are saying you can ruin an engine by adding to much oil to the gas. They are saying
by adding more oil leans out the gas mixture. More oil = less gas.
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Al_Smith

Well now that right there can be a big bone of contention.It makes no sense  to have that line of thinking .Lean run refers to too much air and not enough fuel not too much oil .How then could outboard boat motors run on 16 to one with SAE 30wt oil in the mix .Better yet old Mall and Mercury saws at 10 to 1 blowing smoke like a mosquito fogger .

Using that line of thinking one could make the assumption that less is more .That being the case why not run straight gasoline ? How silly would that be .It might make it 20 seconds at wide open throttle and never run again .

Truth be known most likely what happened is somebody cranked in on the high speed jet to rev it up like a model airplane engine and ended up cooking the motor .Didn't have the gumption to admit it and blamed the oil .---then an urban legion was born----and never died .  See how much fun this is 8)

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