Water & Chain Oil do mix!

[wood troll]

Hi All,

Has anyone come across Arborol chain oil from OREGON?

It is used instead of mineral oil in mix of one part Arborol to three parts water. It is derived from plant oil and bio-degradeable.

It was recommended to me by a friend in UK who said it is being used by the forestry commision. I am looking into sourcing it over here in France but I thought I would like your opinions on it.

wood troll

[greyman]

Seems it is available here in Europe as the link to E-Bay shows. Plenty of info about it out there on the web too: look at the Solar lub site ( They're based here in Cheshire, U.K.). They also seem to do another bio chain oil called 'greenleaf' but that doesn't seem to be mentioned in the other link so maybe the two types of Arborol have replaced it. Thier site seems to indicate that there are two types of Arborol - one a straight oil and another the concentrate for mixing with H2O: wierd!

Arbtalk site had a thread back in 2008 but there were mixed reactions. I use Sthil Bio oil - only issue I've got is it seems to drain out of the saw if left with any in ( and that was on a new Sthil!)

Nice idea though - I guess it would be an emulsion and as such they can go a bit gummy as the emulsifier dries out. You might need to clean your saws more often but at least if you pressure wash them the run off wont be too nasty for the environment.

Love and Bananas,

Greyman

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/sis.html?_kw=BIODEGRADABLE+CHAIN+SAW+OIL+1Lt+BIO-DEGRADABLE+OIL

http://www.solar-lubricants.com/news/arborol%C2%AE-released-usa

http://www.solar-lubricants.com/biodegradable-lubricants

[wood troll]

Hi Greyman

Thanks for the links, I had not come across them yet.

I already use bio chain oil but I was intrigued when my friend mentioned the arborol; it could reduce the amount of oil used and the cost!

Another reason I am interested is that I have had to replace the oil pump on my big Stihl twice since I switched to bio oil.... I do also use it in an alascan mill so it has some prolonged usage.

wood troll

[wood troll]

Hi All

Have now found the Arborol chain oil and tried it out in a planking session. It seems to do the job! Obviously I will need to try it for a bit longer to make certain it is not causing undue wear on the blade etc, but the first run makes me optomistic.

As for the price.... 14.50 euros divided by 5 = under 3 euros a liter... not bad!

Will keep you all updated.

wood troll :-))

[wood troll]

Hi All,

Just an update on the water/oil mix.....

Everything has gone very well without any apparent wear on the blade or chain. I have used it on oak and poplar without any noticeable difference. I think I would recommend this product to you all as a way of reducing costs, amount of processed oil and environmental impact.

As an afterthought... it is weird to see a small plume of steam rising from the blade whilst planking!

wood troll

[greyman]

Hello Wood Troll,

Sounds like it might be time to give Mr Stihls Bio oil the heave-ho and take a look at this stuff. Anyone else tried it yet?

Greyman