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Biodegradable chainsaw oil buying guide

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are standing over an amazon.co.uk basket of chain oil, and every title sounds similar until you divide the price by the millilitres. This biodegradable chainsaw oil buying guide is the checklist for that moment: buy bar oil rather than two-stroke mix, read the exact bio claim, then work out the price per litre. The [bio chainsaw oil comparison](/hub/forestry-tools/chainsaw-oil-bio) holds the six-bottle table. Prices here are the saved amazon.co.uk shelf prices. Products Compared compared those listings and public UK sources on 21 October 2026 and did not run a lubrication lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are standing over an amazon.co.uk basket of chain oil, and every title sounds similar until you divide the price by the millilitres.

Our top picks

Oregon Oregon O10-6362 1 litre

Best overall

Oregon Oregon O10-6362 1 litre
9.8/10about £11.13
View offer
Liqui Moly Liqui Moly 1280 1 litre

Best value

Liqui Moly Liqui Moly 1280 1 litre
9.7/10about £12.49
View offer
Stihl Stihl BioPlus 1 litre

Rank 3

Stihl Stihl BioPlus 1 litre
9.7/10about £17.89
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Bar oil, not fuel
  2. 2.What the word bio is allowed to mean
  3. 3.Volume and price per litre
  4. 4.Tack, season, and the saw maker’s note

Bar oil, not fuel

A petrol saw has two caps, and they are not interchangeable. The fuel cap takes the petrol and two-stroke mix the manual specifies. The other cap, usually marked with an oil can or a chain, feeds the pump that throws bar oil onto the rail. A cordless or mains saw often has only that oil tank, so it still needs bar oil. Pour mix into the oil tank, or bar oil into the fuel, and you are putting the wrong liquid in a pump or an engine. A 100 ml bottle labelled chain and bar oil is a top-up for a mini saw, not a fuel can. Filling that tank is on how to use chainsaw bar oil.

What the word bio is allowed to mean

On these six listings, bio is several different sentences. Liqui Moly part 1280, at £12.49 for 1 litre, prints OECD 301 B and says the oil is plant-based. Stihl BioPlus at £17.89 on Amazon says quickly biodegradable and does not name that test. Stihl’s UK page does name OECD 301 B, the Blue Angel, and the EU Ecolabel, at £12.13 per litre including VAT. Oregon’s 1 litre at £11.13 says 97% biodegradable. A percentage is not OECD 301 B. Defra’s 2015 note for public buyers asks for OECD 301 B plus OECD 201, 202, and 203. Makita at £22.95 names no test. DD-Teck says bio mineral oil and names no test. A short pick is on best biodegradable chainsaw oil.
Oregon Oregon O10-6362 1 litre

Testsieger

Oregon Oregon O10-6362 1 litre
9.8/10about £11.13
View offer

Volume and price per litre

The figure that sorts the basket is pounds per litre. Oregon’s single litre is £11.13. The pack of two is £22.26, the same £11.13 per litre for part O10-6362. Liqui Moly is £12.49. Stihl on Amazon is £17.89, while the UK shop showed £12.13 including VAT. Makita is £22.95. DD-Teck is £6.29 for 100 ml, about £62.90 per litre, and several UK reviewers thought they had ordered a litre.

Tack, season, and the saw maker’s note

Bar oil is a total-loss lubricant. The pump throws it at the chain, and what misses the metal lands on the log and the ground. Oregon’s 1 litre page says universal anti-fling. The two-pack page does not repeat that line. Liqui Moly says outstanding adhesion. Stihl’s Amazon bullets say adhesive properties. Liqui Moly prints SAE 10W-30 and a flash point of 318°C, and no pour point. Those grades do not prove the oil will flow on a cold January morning. If the saw manual names a viscosity, that note outranks a marketing line.

Common questions

Do I have to use biodegradable chainsaw oil in a UK garden?
A private garden saw is not under the same rule as a public contract or a certified wood. You can still choose a formulated bio bar oil because the pump throws oil onto the ground, and one Oregon reviewer picked the 1 litre bottle to avoid mineral stains near a pond. That is a preference and a site judgement. It is not a statute that bans fresh mineral bar oil on every lawn. Discarded engine oil is a separate ban in HSE guidance for chainsaws at work, because it lubricates poorly and raises a skin concern with regular contact.
Is bar oil the same as two-stroke mix?
Bar oil and two-stroke mix go in different tanks on a petrol saw. Mix is fuel for the engine. Bar oil is the total-loss lubricant for the chain and the guide bar. A cordless saw usually has only the oil tank, and it still needs bar oil. If a small bottle is labelled chain and bar oil, treat it as bar oil. Read the millilitres before you assume it will also fill a fuel can.
Does 97% biodegradable mean OECD 301 B?
No. Oregon’s amazon.co.uk listing says 97% biodegradable and does not name OECD 301 B. Liqui Moly’s listing does name OECD 301 B. Defra’s buying standard for public purchasers asks for that test plus OECD 201, 202, and 203. A percentage on a garden bottle can be enough when nobody will ask for a method. It is the wrong evidence when a form names the test.
Why is 100 ml so expensive per litre?
DD-Teck is £6.29 for 100 ml, which is about £62.90 if you scale it to a litre. The Oregon and Liqui Moly litres in this set are about £11 to £13. The small bottle can suit a mini saw used occasionally, which is what some UK reviewers describe. It is poor value when you thought the title was a litre, which is the complaint that comes up more than once.
Which price should I trust, Amazon or the Stihl dealer page?
Trust the page you are about to pay. On the saved amazon.co.uk listing, Stihl BioPlus is £17.89 for 1 litre. Stihl’s UK product page showed £12.13 per litre including VAT, and it names OECD 301 B, which the Amazon bullets do not. Both figures can be real at the same time because they are different offers. Check the seller, the volume, and the test name on the tab you have open.

Related pages

Bio chainsaw oil vs mineral

Bio chainsaw oil for woodland

Bio chainsaw oil

Best biodegradable chainsaw oil: top pick or test name

How to use chainsaw bar oil on a petrol or cordless saw

Sources

Public UK sources and manufacturer pages, plus amazon.co.uk listing details from saved listings dated 21 October 2026. This is not a laboratory test.

  1. UKWAS, Woodland operations (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Defra, Government Buying Standards for hydraulics (2015) (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. HSE INDG317, Chainsaws at work (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. Oil Storage (England) Regulations 2001, regulation 2 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Oil Care, biodegradable lubricants (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Stihl UK BioPlus (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. LIQUI MOLY Bio Saw Chain Oil (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Oregon O10-6362 biodegradable chain oil (retrieved 21 October 2026)