CHAINSAW--OIL / GAS MIX

Anonymous-0 · Oct 23, 2010

I have an older Poulan 361 chainsaw, directions calls for a 8oz to 1 gallon of gas mix. (16to 1)I see on some of the newer oils they claim they can be mixed with a 1oz per gallon of gas regardless of the manufacturer recommendations. What has been your experience? Will this work or should I stay with the recommended mixture. Thanks for any imput.

farmer boy · Oct 23, 2010

I don't think I would try that. That's 8 times less oil or 128 to 1. 50 to 1 is the least oil I would try on anything.

Chris (WA) · Oct 23, 2010

I have had the same issue and here is my thought. It is cheaper to add more oil and change a sparkplug more often than to sieze an engine!
I will go to 50 to 1 with my mixes. So far so good. 20+ years on some of my equipment but it only sees home use.

JDemaris · Oct 23, 2010

The reason for newer less-oil-to-gas ratios is 100% due to emissions-regs. Subquently, most new saws have to use more durable materials to hold up as well as older saws that were not built as durable. Less oil also makes for a slightly richer fuel-mixture that sometimes requires some adusting (if possible).

You're not going to hurt a thing using more oil in newer saws, but you could putting less in older saws. Playing it "safe" is cheap insurance.

I used to use plain-old 30W motor oil back in the 60s. At that time, Sthil called for 20 to 1 and Homelite 16 to 1. In the 1990s, Stihl still called for 20 to 1 with regular oil, and up to 50 to 1 with high-tech two-stroke-cycle oil.

I've been using cheap outboard two-stroke-cycle oil I buy in 5 gallon jugs at a 20 to 1 mix in all my saws- built from the 1950s up to a few new 2010 saws I've got. Zero problems. But, I've also never bought bar oil in my life. I run waste oil and also never had a problem, not even on my 32" bars.

bc · Oct 23, 2010

I've got a mix of saws and trimmers from 16 to 32 to 40 to 50:1. Only use a gallon jug for the mix. Buy the little oil jugs pre measured for 50:1 in a gallon of gas. Sometimes I'll compromise and add it to about .8 of a gallon to get around a 40:1 mix. Both run on 50:1 and that is what the saw repairman have them adjusted to. My 3 year old Crapsman 46cc saw ended up with a scored piston and cylinder which made it trash. I can't rule out that the 50:1 mix may have been part of the problem. The saw repairman recommends the 50:1 and I am inclined to make sure he makes a living. He needs all the grocery money I can give him.

Last night I got my Pullin 295 and homelite xl back out of the shop since they wouldn't start. I went to the airport and bought a gallon of avgas/100LL and put some johnsered oil in for a 50:1 mix. They took me and my gas can in a golf cart out on the tarmac to the bulk truck. He nozzled in with a big nozzle a gallon without spilling or splashing a drop. Probably should have only got .8 or .9 of a gallon. Picked up a round quart can of Mobil Jet Oil II synthetic turbine oil for just over $11 a quart. I can fill up my squirt oilers with good oil and put the rest in a quart bottle.

bob15 · Oct 23, 2010

I use 32:1 on all my McCulloch saws. Everything from the 32cc saw up to the 125cc chainsaw gets the same oil ratio.

bob

bob15 · Oct 23, 2010

JD, if you're going by Bob's Lawnmower in Maryland, stop in. He has cases of Mac oil at very good prices.

bob (and I'm not bob johnson, just one of his better customers)

Mike M · Oct 23, 2010

I run the Stihl oil mix 50:1 in a poulan and the weed whackers and my Stihl saw and they all run fine. I think the poulan runs better then it did on the oilier mix.

JDemaris · Oct 23, 2010

Yes, I've known the "old fox/coyote trapper" for many years. Great guy, but not always easy to find his place open during the "off season." Did you see the papers a few years back when some new neighbor called the police when she saw him pour a shot-glass amount of old chainsaw gas down a woodchuck hole? Poor Bob was on the front page.

Going to Bob's place is like going-back-in-time a bit.

JDseller · Oct 23, 2010

Running a high ratio oil mix,50/1, in your older saws can cause them to lock up. Also any two cycle motor that I use in warm weather gets at least 32/1 or 16/1 mix. The reason being you can lean the carbs out when it is warm and you are not getting enough lube oil. I buy Lawn Boy and Stihl two cycle oil in the little remeasured bottles. I also use "Seafoam" year round in my two cycle gas mix. It seems to help keep the fuel fresh. I also have had fewer fouled spark plugs with this mix.

RodinNS · Oct 23, 2010

Dunno about that....
Old man was unrepentant about using 25:1 and cheap oil in all of the saws. I lost count of how many times I cleaned the spark arrestor in the clearing saw and the carb rebuilds on the chain saws... along with losing a 44 and 34, likely due to lean mixtures. Since I switched to 50:1 mix with Stihl oil all of the carb problems went away. I"m not chasing the adjusting screws all the time. No more gumming...
Mabey the "cheap" oil we"d been using was simply the wrong spec for those saws but in hindsight it sure created a lot of misery and a lot of expense.

Rod

JayinNY · Oct 23, 2010

I pull the spark aresstor screens on all my 2 cycle power equipment, chain saws, string trimmers ect, why clean em when you can chuck em? Ever see a string cause a fire?

Rob Hartman · Oct 23, 2010

I run 40:1 in everything. Snowmobiles, chainsaws, leafblowers, weedeaters, you name it. I use premium fuel and Pennzoil 2 cycle oil or Amsoil along with Seafoam. Never lost an engine yet and very rarely change a sparkplug. The only time I mess with the carb is when the weather changes from hot to cold.

MarkB_MI · Oct 24, 2010

There's no way you can compare the old 2-stroke oils with modern ISO-L-EGD/JASO FD oils. You can always mix the stuff a little richer than normal; I always double up on the oil when I'm breaking in a new power tool.

Do NOT use TC-W3 oils in your chain saw. Make sure the oil is rated ISO-L-EGD or JASO FD. Opti-2 is good stuff.

ericlb · Oct 24, 2010

my personal experience is you need to stay with what the tool calls for, i have lost several brush saws as well as lighter weedeaters and 1 chainsaw due to hands refuling with the wrong mix, ie; 50 to 1 mix in a 32 to one tool, you can put a richer mix in a tool calling for leaner, and about the only problem will be clogging the exhaust screen, but go the other way and you can lock up and ruin a engine in just one tank of fuel,your luck may be better

bc · Oct 24, 2010

Jay, where and what are these spark arester screens? Thanks.

JayinNY · Oct 24, 2010

They are a little steel screen in the muffler opening were the exhaust comes out, after awhile the plug with carbon and the engine wont run right, it restricts the exhaust, so your supposed to take it out and clean it. I just take it out when I buy any new piece of equipment and throw it away. What it does is stop a hot carbon spark from coming out of the exhaust and starting a fire. I wouldent recomed takeing it out in a really dry envoriment. J

buickanddeere · Oct 24, 2010

Too much oil is almost is bad as too little.
Too much oil lowers the fuel octane, leans the mixture and causes detonation. The engine seizes to a halt with a holed piston or broken rings and nobody understands why or how.
Directions from the bad old days when mixing leaded gasoline with non detergent motor oil are poor advice today.

bc · Oct 25, 2010

Good morning guys. Got a chain saw question. Did some cutting this weekend and every so often I get a steady stream of sparks coming from the bottom and middle of the bar and chain when cutting on a limb in that area of the bar. Any idea what's going on there? Thanks.

guido · Oct 25, 2010

Hello bc,
First i would check the chain tension. You should be able to pull it up, but not out of the bar. Something metallic could have gotten into the cluch or bar area, another area to look at.
Oiler could have sopped working as well.
Guido.

MarkB_MI · Oct 25, 2010

Remove the bar and chain and inspect both. Is the bar bent? I'll bet the chain has worn a groove in the bar; that's easy to fix, just file the bar edge so it's flat again.

By the way, always flip the bar over every time you remove the chain. That way both edges get used evenly.

CHAINSAW--OIL / GAS MIX

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