Which Oil should I use?


This guide has been prepared to help you make the right choice of oil depending on the ambient temperatures of where you ride...

  • For ambient riding conditions up to around 30°c (86°f) in the summer but winter temps are below 25°c (77°f).  Use TUTORO original Chain oil all year round. 

  • For ambient riding conditions up to 40°c (104°f) summer temps but never fall below 25°C (77°f) in the winter. Use Plus25 oil all year round  

  • For ambient riding conditions - Up to 40°c (104°f) Summer temps but in the Winter temps fall below 25°C (77°f). Use TUTORO Original in the winter and Plus25 in the summer

 

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Mineral Hydraulic Oil ISO 68/100 for temps up to 30°c and ISO 220 for higher ambient temps can be used as an alternative to TUTORO Oil, however this is at your own risk. Other mineral oils may also be compatible but its use is at the users own risk. See our page on

Plastics and Lubricant compatibility 

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Why we only recommend using TUTORO Chain oil...

Our chain oil is made to order and has wear modifiers, anti-friction, anti-fling and steel coating additives (ferric attractant). We know what's in it, that its safe to use in the TUTORO Auto and environmentally sound. We simply can't say that for anyone else's products.

We would like to be able to say you can use anything in your TUTORO but oil chemistry is an extremely complex field, in particular in relation to its compatibility with the injection moulded components and Brass in our products. By using something other than our oil you may also be inadvertently releasing toxic substances into the environment. We can only recommend our own oil as we know exactly what it contains. 

Alternative oil to use Traffic Light System 

  • Green = OK to use
  • Amber =  Some damage may occur, potentially hazardous
  • Red = Serious Damage, Toxic and extreme environmental hazard.

MINERAL Hydraulic Oils are the only alterative to our oil and have the advantage that they are available worldwide - a useful option for those taking long trips "into the wilds". Depending on the ambient temps in your region you can use ISO32, ISO68, ISO100 etc. all the way up to ISO220 (the higher the number the thicker the oil). Thicker oils should be used for higher ambient temps. 

Engine oils are designed to do a different job, generally they are too light and do not contain the correct additives to prolong the life of your chain- they may also contain additives which could damage your Auto and/or be environmentally toxic.

Chain Saw Oil, we don't recommend it as it is just too sticky and "glue-like" to flow properly. Importantly some Chainsaw oils are vegetable oil based as well as being hydroscopic which leads to corrosion of the Auto's brass and steel parts (and your chain!). Some of these oils also attack the Auto's internal nitrile seals not to mention the O or X rings in your chain!

Gearbox oil EP80/90* - WARNING Don't use EP Gearbox Oils! these can make the Auto oilers cap swell, this can cause the Acrylic* reservoir to crack when the cap is forced into the top of the reservoir! If you have been using this don't try to force the cap to fit but order a new cap, drain the oiler and switch to using a TUTORO oil or use an ISO32/ISO68/ISO220 grade Hydraulic MINERAL oil. The additives in EP oil will also corrode brass.

*Acrylic - also sometimes called... PMMA, Plexiglas, Perspex, Acrylite, Acrylic Plastic, Altuglas, R-Cast, Polycast, Lucite Plazcryl 

NEVER, EVER USE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID in your oiler!, some variants have all sorts of nasty toxins in and can destroy plastics, some even corrode brass as well as being environmentally toxic and toxic to you through skin contact.

Any damage caused to your Auto through failure to follow this advice will not be covered by your warranty.

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Along with the question "What Oil should I use we are often asked "How much oil will I use?"

Generally speaking, in the summer warm dry months with little rain you will need less oil than in the winter where rain will wash off the oil in short order. For a TUTORO Auto expect summer use to be a fill approx every 800 - 1000 miles. I know some users have gone 1500 miles on a fill but a lot depends on the time spent covering those miles - ie you cover a lot more miles on a motorway in a day than you do on small back roads but the time in the saddle is the same.

During the Winter months when the temperatures remain below 25° C and rain is all too frequent, the amount of oil you should use will need to increase in order to offer any sort of protection to your chain and sprockets- so expect to almost halve the distance you can go between fill ups.

What this looks like in real terms is in the UK during the Summer months using an Auto and our Original standard Oil, the flow control valve would be open between a quarter turn open and one turn open - depending on how hot it gets ( ie 1/4 turn open at 28°/29°C) but during the Winter I open up the flow control valve to two and two and a half turns open - this does two things, it uses more oil as I need to protect the chain against the rain and salt and it compensates for the lower flow rate of the oil when cold.