Will my chainsaw last longer if I use more oil? Is it safer? (25:1 VS 50:1 temperature testing)

I know how long it takes to produce a video like that! Very informative buddy...

You should retune your carburetor after changing to 25-1 ratio. You're putting more oil in and less gas so you have to richen the carb settings to get the same amount of gas into the cylinder. By not making the carb adjustments you are running the saw leaner which causes more heat everytime. If you make the proper carb adjustments you well gain a bit of power from the extra oil sealing the piston better. Great video! It certainly shows the need to retune after changing gas/oil ratios.

I've logged professionally for over 30 years. I mix 40 to 1 and add 1 iz of marvel mystery oil per gallon of gas and ONLY NON ETHANOL gas. My saws cut 3 to 4 million feet a year with no issues. Good job on the video

I have a poulan 3400 from 1983 that I run. Manufacture recommends 16:1 ratio! That's what I always ran and never had a problem. Smoked during warm-up, but cleared during sawing. After about 35 yrs I took it apart to put in new rings and the piston and cylinder walls were in perfect shape. The cylinder is NOT chrome or nickasil plated either. Was no ridge on cylinder from ring wear. Most of its life I used Cenex two stroke oil.... my Dad was a manager at a Cenex location. I don't think more oil makes saw run hotter. If that was the case, my saw would have overheated. My saw ran cool. The carb was adjusted to the mixture it was running. Ran great. Dealer would always give me hard time. Wanted to sell me new saw every time I stopped in for new chain or bar. Told him I'd buy new saw when my poulan wore out. It's still going and he died waiting.

I wanted to thank you, DonyBoy and Steve (Steve's Small Engine Saloon). Because of you guys, I was able to pick up and quickly diagnose and fix a Husky Rancher 55 for a total of $50. Loving my "new" saw. All it needed was a thorough cleaning to release a stuck break and fiddling with the coil to get spark back. Starts and runs great!

The reason for the higher temps is do to the extra oil raising the compression. The reason it didn't have the same power is because it was running richer. The jets would have to be turned in a little on the richer mix to get the power up. Some thoughts from an old logger.

With my engineering and mechanic background I have found out a long time ago that a 40 to one mix gives the best lubrication to all the parts in the engine. At 50 to 1 the wrist pin really needs more oil film. Especially at high RPM. The manufactures recommend 50 to 1 to make the EPA a little happier.... As a side note: When wrenching on small bore 2 stroke dirt bikes its amazing how many rebuilds are due to the owners running 100 to 1 Amsoil... Just my experience. I recommend at least 40 to 1.

Ran all my Huskys on 50 to 1 mix. Still do. Never looked likeblowing one up. Used to log full time. 2 years out of a spark plug was common. Why smoke yourself out for no reason. Used to have folks try all kinds of things out. Saws were often running to rich and gutless. 50 to 1 is what Husky mauals say and its good enough for me. My old 372 loves it.

Biggest problem is going to be carbon on the piston and exhaust port, but the anti spark shield will block solid far faster with the 25:1.

Proper sharpening. 32 to 1 mixture. Original 372 Husqvarna. Usied logging felling large hardwood timber. Saw ran awesome for 20 plus years. Got run over by a log forwarder. Busted both cases. Pulled the crankshaft out put in a couple cases that I bought from a buddy. That was five years ago still running strong. Proper sharpening.

Thank you. If you can get the public to understand this you have truly accomplished something. That being said, if you had the ability to richen fuel to air ratio you could get the temperatures back to nearly equal. Since the carb adjustments are pegged or fixed we normally can’t do that. Having worked in the industry I have had a hard time getting public to understand that more oil is not better. With today’s oils wear is not caused by lack of lubrication it is caused by dirt. Air filter maintenance is critical for long life.

You see, the MAJOR FLAW in your test is that you did not re-tune your carburetor for the new mix ratio. If you are running more oil you are displacing fuel and causing a slightly lean burn. You just need to re-tune your carb a bit richer to get that extra fuel back into the a/f ratio and the saw will run just as cool and have more lubrication. If the saw has limiter locks they may need to be removed to run rich enough with more oil then the EPA mandated 50:1. I've heard that the M-tronic and Autotune saws have no problem adjusting for the extra oil if the proper warmup procedure is performed.

I worked for a Ford New Holland dealership that took on McCulloch chainsaws. The service representative and I had this discussion and what he told me makes 100% sense to me. To much oil has a longer flash point which creates more heat than less oil with a shorter flashpoint. It simply takes longer to burn more oil and makes more heat. I did enjoy this video which backs this up.

We ran 2-stroke racing bikes at all different oil mixtures back in the day. We jetted for the day. The main issue with running the castor bean oil we favored at 16:1 or thicker was fouling spark plugs when you throttled down. Man, this brings back memories.

40:1 Premium Mineral Oil ( WITH API-TC/JASO-FB RATING ) with a Premium 98 Octane Fuel. Perfect for bigger saws optimal performance and reliability, I also use a mixture of either Husqvarna or Stihl Bar & chain oil with a Diesel SAE 40 engine oil mixed together ( 50/50 for colder conditions and 75/25 for average temperatures, on hot days I’ll run a pure bar and chain oil ) this is all just my personal preference based off of my experience not only felling trees but working as a OPE Specialist in the past. Though if your just a homeowner doing annual maintenance around your property always listen to your husqvarna or stihl dealer if you know nothing about cars you refer to the owners manual not billy on the internet for what oil and how much to put in (PLEASE DONT USE ETHANOL FUEL IT EATS YOUR FUEL LINES AND RUBBER COMPONENTS!)

I do random tinkering. (I've fixed VCRs, Hoverboards, chainsaws, lawnmowers, reel mowers, PS3s, vacuum cleaners, home plumbing, home electrical (120V & 240V), my motorcycle was a 1980 Honda CX500D that I bought for $200 because the owner said he couldn't make it run. It had a broken wire preventing turning 12V into kV for spark. That was it. It ran great and I got my M rating with it.) A guy I was talking with found out I do random tinkering and asked me if I could look at his quad (but not the glutes). Anyway, he was told that his 2-cycle bike wasn't oiling properly, so he was told to just mix oil with the fuel and he did that and the bike stopped running and the two of them couldn't get it fired up again. So I said I'll take a look at it, and he dropped it off. I had a guess that the oiler was oiling, and by mixing oil in with the fuel AND having the oiler still connected, I had a hunch that the crankshaft literally filled with oil. So, what I did: I emptied the fuel tank. I disconnected the oiler tube from the engine block and determined that oil at least got to that point. I emptied the oil tank. I removed the spark plug. I hung the bike up with a winch to a tree, to turn the engine upside down to let the oil drain out of the engine, and drain it did. It was seriously pooled oil in the crankcase. I let the bike back down onto its own wheels. I cleaned the carb with compressed air after ensuring it needed no parts replaced. I reconnected the oiler tube. I filled the oil tank with 2-cycle oil. I filled the gas tank with regular 87 Octane. I reinstalled the spark plug. Bike fired right up and smoked a bit as it cooked off the last of the liquid oil in the engine. I ran it around the yard for ~30 minutes. All seemed well, I sent him video of it working and he came and picked it up. I told him to hold off on thanking me until he trialed it for a solid weekend. The following week he thanked me, it worked great. I watch videos like this because I hate sitcoms and "regularly scheduled programming". "But, how are you able to see emergency messages?" A one-time payment of $80 buys a tv antenna that gives free tv for years if I want to watch it, but youtube literally covers everything nowadays.

good work I was initially surprised by the result :) a little late to the comments section here but i would say the higher temp is likely due to a leaning of the fuel ratio due to the extra oil. Also, too much oil will cause the needle roller bearings to "skip" or "skid" rather than rolling, this causes wear on your bearings. Oil technology and metal/machining quality also affect the oil ratios. Each saw make and model has its own recommended mixtures for a reason :) The pure lubrication aspect of the oil happens at around 100:1 then there is the cleaning/washing away of contaminants that needs a little more and finally there is a sealing/cushioning component to the oil and you end up at 50:1 - its also a very convenient ratio to mix. Originally Husqvarna stated that you needed Husqvarna oil at 50:1, other 2stroke oil at 33:1 and monoSAE30 oil at 25:1. Now, many years later the manual reads "air cooled 2stroke oil at 50:1", on all their saws. Many Chinese saws say 25:1 simply because the tolerances aren't as good and generally the oil quality is unregulated. It would be interesting to re do the test, re tuning and re plug the saw for the 25:1 and see what happens. Well laid our format - instant sub from me mate

I think going from a 50:1 to a 25:1 is a pretty radical step. Using XP Series Husqvarna saws and 50:1 synthetic oil, I got damage over time (a lot of time but a $175 parts rebuilt …) I’ve changed to 40:1 and things seem to be much better

It’s important to remember the extra oil will cause carbon to build up faster in the muffler and will eventually cause enough back pressure to cause the engine to run poorly or not at all. Always follow MFGs recommendations. They’ve done all this testing for us. Thanks for a great video! It’s always nice to see testing in real life.

In the early 1970s we ran 16:1 in our chainsaws. After 25 years of hard use they showed very little wear. I have seen what happens to saws people run at 50:1. It scuffs pistons, wears out seals, and bearings don't last. After using them and fixing them as well as motorcycles, it is QUITE obvious to me that more oil is better. Remember, it's the tree hugger, EPA and manufacturer that wants 50:1. Your saw and bike dont!