We have a great tip this week that will help you save on oil, but first we have an important announcement.

Summer is in full swing, so parents throughout the Lehigh Valley are hearing those whiny words that can push anyone to the brink of insanity: "I'm bored." If you have some ideas about how to keep the little ones occupied without going broke, please send them our way. We'll pass them along, and the children and their parents will be much happier. It'll be like a fun summer school for Cheapsters.

Now back to our tip, from Terry Wuchter in South Whitehall Township. He's got that dirty little secret the big oil companies don't want you to know.

"When you drain your old oil from your car … drain it when it's hot and filter it," he said.

He uses a coffee filter tucked in a funnel to strain the oil, putting it back in empty oil bottles.

"Filter it two or three times. You want to get the dirt out," Terry said. "Then use it for your chain saw to oil the chain. It's a way to recycle the oil. It cuts the same with old oil or new."

We made a demonstration video you can check out at http://www.mcall.com/onthecheap.

Terry uses the old oil as a substitute for bar and chain oil, which lubricates the bar so the chain can spin smoothly around it. It's not to be confused with the oil you use to make a gas/oil mix that actually fuels the chain saw. You can buy special bar and chain oil for about $4 a quart, or if you're doing a big tree job, about $10 to $12 a gallon.

Some people caution against using motor oil on a chain saw, but not for safety reasons or concerns about equipment. Bar and chain oil is stickier than regular motor oil, so it stays on the chain longer. Motor oil flings off the chain more quickly, so if you try Terry's tip, be prepared to refill the oil on your chain saw more quickly than with regular bar and chain oil. You might get a little messier, too, but most Cheapsters we know aren't doing tree work in their Sunday best.

Terry's tip could also help you out in a pinch if a storm downs a tree across your driveway, blocking you in when you have no bar and chain oil.

Terry said he's been doing this for about three years with the same chain saw, and he hasn't had to buy any bar and chain oil in that time. He took down a dead 30-foot pine tree last year and cut it up using old motor oil. He went through about a gallon of it for that job.

"It doesn't save you much, but it's also tough to get rid of the oil," Terry said.

We did some number-crunching in the On The Cheap lab, assuming most Cheapsters do their own grunt work rather than paying someone else to do it. We figure Terry's tip would save you $160 over 20 years, assuming you burn through 2 quarts of bar and chain oil a year. You'd save even more if you have a large property and have to clear a lot of trees.

Send your tips: spencer.soper@mcall.com, 610-820-6694 or P.O. Box 1260 Allentown, 18105

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Never buy chain saw oil again

Cheapster: Terry Wuchter

Tip: Filter old motor oil to lubricate your chainsaw

Estimated savings: $160 over 20 years