- Thread starter 1948jr
- Start date
Every small engine I own including chainsaws you want hi-test gas. Chain saw 2cy mix, I mix one bottle of mix to 3/4 qt. of hi-test gas. Works beautiful in any 2cy engine you have from 50 year old classic machines to todays stuff. Give you a 36 to 1 mix. Modern synthetic oil works just dandy at this ratio. That 40 or 50 to one is to meet the polution stuff and doesn't do your engines any favors. This is my opinion but have been doing it for a good 40 plus years.
Deere Mark
Member
Don't mix my own anymore. All two-cycle engines just get the 50 to 1 mix. Five chainsaws, two weed eaters, two gas hedge trimmers, and one two-cycle push mower (like a Lawn Boy commercial mower). Have some five-year-old mixed gas to dispose of.
Mutt and Jeff
Member
Gas station Gasoline
oh boy here it goes
which oil is best
is gasoline with tears better
is blue oil better than red
does amsoil make gas
can I use fart gas
I use what the manufacture recommends
oh boy here it goes
which oil is best
is gasoline with tears better
is blue oil better than red
does amsoil make gas
can I use fart gas
I use what the manufacture recommends
When I replaced my two stolen chain saws I was told by the dealer to always use non-ethanol gas plus good 2 cycle oil. I have not had any problems with that yet, but I no longer run a chain saw that much. Ran the a tank full of gas yesterday in the little one and at least a tank full in the big one yesterday. most I have run a chain saw in a long time. Hurricane florence cleanup. I have had major tree damage. will lose 4 out of 8 trees and have not not cut one down yet.
Sean Feeney
Well-known Member
I bought a husky 50 in early august 1991 didn't really have the extra money but went for it
2 weeks later hurricane bob was here on cape cod, one of the best investments i ever made.
2 weeks later hurricane bob was here on cape cod, one of the best investments i ever made.
We have always just bought the regular 87 octane with 10% ethanol which is the most common and cheapest found in Ohio.
Have Sthil saws so always use their 50:1 mix. also run it in an old poulan and the weed whackers of various brands and the lawn boy mowers. Have not blowed any up yet in many years of running.
Have Sthil saws so always use their 50:1 mix. also run it in an old poulan and the weed whackers of various brands and the lawn boy mowers. Have not blowed any up yet in many years of running.
Butch(OH)
Well-known Member
Majority of our equipment is Stihl and they recommend 89 octane which is mid grade around here. We use hi test and think the engines benefit from it. Remember that if you you only pump a gallon into a can at a gas station that you are getting what the last guy bought, not what you selected due to whats in the hose and lines. I always pump a couple gallon into the truck even when getting 5 gallons at a time.
Russ from MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Bemidji MN
3/4 qt.? I hope you meant gallon!
I prefer to use fresh, non-ethanol gas and a major brand mix oil. Current'y I'm using, and very happy with, Dolmar (Makita) 50-1 oil mixed at about 40-1. I go a little rich as I run saws dating back to the late 60's. The real old girls from the late 50's/early 60's get something closer to 25/30-1.
I firmly believe that the local fuel you get will determine how soon, if ever, you have issues with ethanol mixes. I know for a 100% guaranteed fact that our local ethanol blends will give serious issues with older saws (and a lot of 4 stroke small engines too!). I also can't believe that all the guys here who have never had any issue whatsoever are all liars. Hence, my belief that fuels vary enough to cause this difference.
I haven't had any issues with ethanol gasoline in the last 10 years since an Echo dealer got me started on using Briggs & Stratton fuel
stabilizer which I use in all my engines farm tractors to chainsaws. This stabilizer combats the effects of the ethanol gasoline and I don't
have to mix a new can of gas every 3 months. Since using the stabilizer I haven't had to replace plastic and rubber fuel lines and carbs that
are corroded from the ethanol. The briggs and Stratton fuel stabilizer will keep gas fresh for up to 3 years.
stabilizer which I use in all my engines farm tractors to chainsaws. This stabilizer combats the effects of the ethanol gasoline and I don't
have to mix a new can of gas every 3 months. Since using the stabilizer I haven't had to replace plastic and rubber fuel lines and carbs that
are corroded from the ethanol. The briggs and Stratton fuel stabilizer will keep gas fresh for up to 3 years.
Southern Ray
Well-known Member
same here. I use my chain saw maybe once a year to trim trees and cut up limbs.
weedeater maybe once a month.
I buy the 40:1 premix and be done with it.
weedeater maybe once a month.
I buy the 40:1 premix and be done with it.
Butch(OH)
Well-known Member
Same here, We have a LOT of gasoline powered equipment and work on a good bit if of it for others and I see the issues constantly but I have not one thought that others who post differently are FOS, they must have different blends of fuel? I run everything out of fuel when I know is going to sit. Just this week I set up my Honda powered sawmill that last ran in the spring and it would not hit a lick even though I had shut the fuel off and ran it until it died. I removed the fuel bowl and some old story, it had yellow colored sand like left overs in the bowl, main jet plugged and needle was half stuck in the bore by the same stuff. And all of that was just from the bit of fuel left in the bowl when run until it stops, next time I will pull the drain screw.
What sort of problems were you having ? Our stuff has not been completely trouble free either. But what ones have had issues I can't see how the gas caused them ? My chain saw got to where it would not idle but it is pretty darn old too. New diaphragms cured that. Everything looked clean inside. Mom's main lawnboy mower I've had to take the carb. apart on it as it has a regular float type but it seems to of gotten dirt clogging it up ? Got 2 other lawnboys and they don't seem to have that issue ? Mom tilts hers up to clean under the deck and I think that lodges dirt in where it should not be and clogs it up. These are all real old too.
Indiana Ken
Well-known Member
If you are using 87 octane, I suspect it is actually blend of 84 octane gasoline with 10% ethanol. Typically this is called 87 octane regular, at least in this part Indiana. Many people confuse, incorrectly, "regular" to mean all gasoline without ethanol.
If you wish to purchase no ethanol gasoline, the pump must clearly state "contains no ethanol". In addition, expect to pay an additional 60 cents (+) per gallon. Without the octane boost resulting from ethanol, the fuels octane rating must be obtained by additional refining, adding cost.
IHC pickups
Member
I use the medium price gas and Stihl oil to mix it 50 to 1. They start good after setting. In my lawn mowers at the last mowing of the season I put sta-built in them and run them to mix into the system. They start real good in the spring.
Tony in Bama
Member
90 octane ethanol-free gasoline mixed with 50:1 Echo or Stihl oil. Add a splash of Seafoam and the recommended dose of Stabil to the gas can. Never had a 2-cycle carb problem since (knock on wood)....
Bob Harvey
Well-known Member
Me too. Since I switched to 'Premium' (non ethanol) fuel for all my small engines, and use Stihl oil in the 2 strokes, I have had NO problems in 5 + years. Also use it in my '53 - 60 JD, that only gets run every couple of months. Overall extra cost is about $5 per annum.
Stephen Newell
Well-known Member
Regular gas with two cycle oil in it. Different ratio for different brand saws.
rustybronco
Member
I try to use non ethanol fuel in my small engines.
My chain saw, a Craftsman-rebadged Pulan 2300, gets FVP full synthetic 2 cycle oil mixed 40:1.
My chain saw, a Craftsman-rebadged Pulan 2300, gets FVP full synthetic 2 cycle oil mixed 40:1.
rustybronco
Member
FVP 2Cycle Full Synthetic Oil is a high quality, clean burning oil that meets or exceeds
JASO FD and ISOLEGD.
JASO FD and ISOLEGD.
Most I have done this with have all metal parts like old tractors. I have done my push mower and an atv those have rubber hoses. So far they lived through it ? I do know that draining them and leaving dry is not a good idea. I had a lot more problems when I did that as there was always residue that dried up and stuck the needle valves and clogged small ports.
I've seen everything from fuel lines and caps turning into "gummy worms to heavy varnish forming in the carb to a sandy type of crap in the carb to fuel filters either dissolving/melting or becoming clogged and sealed with that varnish stuff. And I mean this occurs on a wide variety of equipment of various age running from, say, 1 year old to 50 years old. I've got a 1965ish McCulloch saw that that still has the original diaphram and fuel pump in it, but it's never been run with modern ethanol fuels and never will as long as I own it. I have a 4 stroke water pump that the carb is all gummed up on from using ethanol and leaving it in the carb and a Coleman 4K genset that's the same way. My own fault. Stabil has been tried and was a complete failure for me FWIW.
I have also used Stabil and did not do what they said. About 10 years ago after having a number primer bulbs going bad my Echo dealer told
me to try Briggs & Stratton fuel stabilizer combats the effects of ethanol gas. I started using it and have not had to replace any bulbs or
lines and use it in all my tractors and yard equipment. I took a gallon can of gas treated with the B&S fuel stabilizer and set in the back
of shop for 2 1/2 years and at that point the gas smelled like the day i put it in container and put in garden tractor and it run fine.
me to try Briggs & Stratton fuel stabilizer combats the effects of ethanol gas. I started using it and have not had to replace any bulbs or
lines and use it in all my tractors and yard equipment. I took a gallon can of gas treated with the B&S fuel stabilizer and set in the back
of shop for 2 1/2 years and at that point the gas smelled like the day i put it in container and put in garden tractor and it run fine.
Mule Meat
Well-known Member
Echo dealer told me about the same thing.. He sees it every Spring where Stabil has gummed up the fuel works of small engines with a red powdery gunk.
He also said since 99% of todays two cycle oil already has fuel stabilizer added to it.. Why do people think that adding more of it to fuel will help anything?
Brendon-KS
Well-known Member
- Location
- Goessel, KS
As with most topics there are a lot of different viewpoints expressed here. Nothing wrong with that - we all have different experiences and perspectives. For me personally, my 20-year old Stihl string trimmer and 15-year old Stihl chainsaw get fed cheap 87 octane, 10% ethanol fuel with the recommended 50:1 mix ratio using good quality oil. Both have many hours of use and still run like new, never having given me any fuel-related troubles. The saw gets used at least monthly but the string trimmer will set (with whatever fuel happens to be in the tank when I'm done with it) from early fall until late spring and has never once failed to start and run fine with just a few pulls. Others apparently don't have this experience but from what I can tell for me to do anything different would gain nothing and just cost more money.
Back when I used gas tractors daily to do chores, hayfield, winter feeding, etc. I always had "tractor gas" delivered, no ethanol. I never had carb issues relating to gas (sometimes dirt...). Since I only use diesel now, I no longer have gasoline delivered. I get regular non-ethanol at the gas station (it's at most stations). I mix whatever brand of oil I find. I never use sta-bil, never had a single small engine issue of any kind (gas related). My current Husq. 455 is 12 years old. I just picked up a cheap Makita 3601 like discussed here http://opeforum.com/threads/makita-ea3601-the-most-intriguing-saw-to-date.7728/ . I needed something lighter to cut a few miles of cedar limbs out of barbwire fence, I was going to get a pro saw and supplement the other one, but decided to cheap out when I saw the deal this was (ebay has them new, after coupons it was around $200, then I get 10% back in ebay points on top of that).
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