Green Valley STIHL has three "Grades" of synthetic the last time I looked. They are conventional, synthetic blend, and full synthetic. They recommended the synthetic blend for cleaner burning with less carbon deposits. Then, because the 4 mix engines were still having some carbon build-up that required additional maintenance, they came out with the full synthetic 2 cycle oil they called "Ultra" which they tested and found reduced carbon deposits. If all this is true, I think it is a good reason to use synthetic oil mix over conventional oil. But, that's just my opinion. Sorry I misunderstood your first post. I must have had a "senior moment". Thanks for your response. Charles Ranheim

I think any food grade oils would be safe. Really any basic mineral oil like 3 in 1 would be safe as well. What ever oil you use make sure to clean it up good so it doesn't get plastered on any bird's feathers and it should be fine.

I never did get any food grade lubricant, but at least now I know that it exists. I don't have the problem blender anymore, but I do have the Black & Decker blender that I bought 14 years ago. I store it in the garage and use it only for making hot sauce when I have chocolate Habanero chilies. I have a Vitamix blender in the kitchen and use that the rest of the time, although I more frequently use a stick blender.

Wow this is an old thread. Some guy said exactly what I would have said. LOL One thing I missed: The solvents in store-bought wood preservative products (and other oil based paints) are specially formulated for low toxicity. Mineral spirits aka paint thinner is actually in the diesel range in terms of boiling point and length of the hydrocarbon chains. However, the aromatic hydrocarbons have been reduced to very low levels compared to diesel. Compounds like alkylbenzenes and alkylnaphthalenes, anthracene, etc. These have benzene rings which basically make them more toxic than straight-chain hydrocarbons with the same number of carbons. Diesel has a lot of that stuff - 25-35%. Removing those actually reduces the odor a lot, and the best grades of mineral spirit are 'odorless'. So diesel is NOT the same thing. We've already discussed what's found in used motor oil - carcinogenic PAHs are the main thing. There's those pesky benzene rings again. Is it an environmental disaster for your yard? Not really. Is it a significant health risk? If you had kids or pets who spend a lot of time in the yard, I wouldn't recommend it. Less of a problem otherwise, although whether it leaches into the groundwater or into waterways depends on your soil and climate. As for me, I wouldn't use this smelly and more toxic brew on a fence or deck. I'll stick to formulated wood preservatives.