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50:1 premix fuel for chainsaws, line trimmers, etc

G

Greenfrog

Member
We have all mixed our gas and oil. It sits, can go stale, have to deal with the octane number, the ethanol, and the softening of the vinyl gas lines, gaskets breakdown,
etc.
I see now the premix fuel in many stores. Problem is, it is pricey! $$$
It is however, convenient....kind of like bottled water!
Handy for the occasional use of a saw and intermittent use of weed eaters.
I have to admit, they seem to start better and run better, and apparently doesn?t go stale.
Just wondering what others think of this?
Thx for you thoughts and discussion on this.
 
I use it in my infrequent run items. I might go through a quart or two a summer in the trimmer. If I'm going heavy, like the chainsaw, then I'll mix my own up since I'll burn through it in a couple of days. Then run saw dry and put in storage.
 
Way too expensive for me! We have close to 10 small 2-stroke engines, I mix my own. We have 91 octane ethanol free gas available in MN, since my engines are from 50 years old to almost new I mix it 3 oz to the gallon, that's 43-1, everything runs fine on it, no problems. I never mix more than a gallon at a time, usually use it within a couple of months, no problems.
 
Agree with running the saw dry. If you use those quart cans I would go with the 40:1 mix. It is a little more engine friendly. Less wear "Lasts longer". My really old saws some of them used 32:1 mixes. The latest synthetic oils are magic compared to even ten or fifteen years ago. If you need to mix your own i would highly recommend using hi-test gas and when done run the saw dry. I also mix on the heavy side with all of my 2cy. stuff. Only buy 3/4 of a gallon of fuel and dump that whole bottle of oil in. All of my saws and string trimmers are totally happy. That 50:1 jazz is for epa pollution control. I don't believe them. Just my opinion. :)
 
My friend that has worked with small engines for 55 years or more, sold me some to use when you are done sawing or whatever. use up what you mixed then putin some of the premixed-run it and shut it off. Helps keep the carb cleaner. He recomends that fire departments and emergency units use the caned fuel. If they need a saw to vent a fire ,or to save someone, it needs to run. joe
 
I think there is a legitimate market for it, for equipment that only gets occasional use, for people that can't/don't do their own repairs.

But I can't justify the price.

I just use regular grade E10 with 50:1 synthetic oil, keep the container sealed, and only mix 1 gallon at a time.

Ever few years I have to replace some Tygon lines or a primer bulb, but I'm not sure if that is all because of the ethanol, or just natural aging process.
 
jeff, i get the 40-1from rural king, its about 16 a gallon. i add oil to get it to 32-1 like you do,. if i do a lot of cutting, i will mix regular gas and oil, but when done, dump that fuel in the farmall m, and put some canned fuel in the saw and run it to flush out all the ethanol fuel. seems to work good. for something that doesnt get heavy use, i just leave the canned fuel in it.
 
I maintain a fair sized cemetery. My weed eater is 50:1. I use 87 octane and mix up a one gallon can at a time. Each time I finish the mowing job I dump the left over gas out of the trimmer and let it run till it quits. So far it has always started on the first or second pull. I currently have about one half of a gallon of mixed fuel in my can. I will fill the can full and then put it in one of my old gas tractors. Then I'll mix up fresh gas for this spring.

My weed eater is a Stihl and cost $169.99 from the dealer. I don't worry about the fuel lines. If I have any trouble I'll go back to the dealer and buy a new one. I wear out a trimmer string head about every summer.
 
Perennial topic. Same arguments don't change anybody's position.

I don't use the premix myself, but it does make sense. Pump gas, particularly winter grade fuel, has a fairly high vapor pressure with results in poor shelf life. Premix is formulated with low vapor pressure gasoline, resulting in better shelf life, even when it's in the vented tank of a power tool.
 
I just buy NON ethanol gas and mix it with the 2 cycle oil will last a long time plus I mix about 30 to 1 which probably also helps.This time of year its no problem I'd burn thru about $50 of the premix stuff in a day sometimes if I used that.
 


If you only use a little it makes sense. If you buy 2 cycle oil by the case because you use some much, it's too costly by far.

I equate it to the choice between buying pre-mix anti-freeze or straight anti-freeze. One is convenient, one is cost effective.
 

I agree with most others. For me it is a no-brainer. It saves me a lot of money and aggravation. For someone who is using their two strokes a lot, premix would make no sense, but if you are an occasional user and you take ALL of your costs for repairs and replacements into account, premix will save you a lot. An aside story is some really numb things that I used to see happen around our Fire Dept. When we had three guys with very little life experience making the decisions. One was mixing up a five gallon can of premix for the chain saws and roof saws. Probably four years worth.
 
we sold it in our shop for customers who had item,s sitting more than using, worked great for them. I used it all time also in my seldom run items,prices for it are all over the place. me personally wasn't issue I even thought about cause it solved more issues for us making things cheaper in long run.
 
How long does it take for the mix to go "stale"? I run about 6 gallons a year. Mix it 2 gallons at a time with pump premium. My usage goes down quite a lot in winter so the fuel used near the end of jug is probably 6 months old. I store the mix in my shop which is heated and set to 60 degrees all the time. Doesn't seem to cause any problems. My saw is the least used tool and I do drain it and run dry if I don't know I will be using it soon. The blower and brushcutter/weed whacker just get put away since I know it won't be long before they need to be used again.

One could always mix a gallon at a time and if it gets used up in ~6 months probably not going to cause trouble. If it takes longer than 6 months to use up a gallon of fuel then I'd really question the need for gas powered tools and probably go electric.
 
We've had this discussion many times. The ethanol is the issue with 2 cycle gas. You can buy premix or there are stations around that sell ethanol free gas.
 
The ethanol separates out from the gasoline; that the biggest issue with 'stale'. I have mixed regular gasoline and keep it in a sealed Eagle? Gas Can for over two years, adding to it when it gets low. No problems with that. Ethanol, along with separation issues, also hardens plastic lines and dissolves cork gaskets and floats.
 
IF....you run lots of fuel through your equipment your probably a fool for buying it.

IF... you only use your equipment occasionally, your probably a fool for NOT buying it.

My wife has her own weed-eater and she uses it and leaves me alone, to work on the farm. After switching to it.. her weed-eater starts every time, I dont have to stop and rebuild or replace the carburetor, so HEKK yes, its worth every penny and more. I dont have to help her start the weed eater every time she wants to use it.. We have more than saved the price of a can of fuel each year in parts and even having to buy a new weed-eater every year. And as the chain saws only get used when a tree goes down or we are rebuilding fences, I have started using it in them as well. So this product has saved me hundreds of dollars. And its saved me a million dollars in aggravation.

Everyone needs to evaluate their use of two cycle equipment and make the correct choice for them.
 
Agree with you Joe. The local fire company and there are a bunch of guys from the forest fire service. Those guys will carry case of the stuff in the utility boxes on their trucks. Pour the can of fuel in and pull the cord. She starts.
 
I ran the premix in my new saw until the warranty period was over, so they couldn't accuse me of "straight gassing" it. If it's on my dime you can accuse all you want, but I don't want you welching out on warranty work because I mix my own gas.

That said, I've used my own mix that is YEARS old, most certainly WITH ethanol, and NEVER any issues. I leave it in the tanks in the fall. Everything starts and runs fine the next spring.

I also have a "magic mix" that I use to resuscitate old 2-stroke equipment that I pick up at auctions. Standard 40:1 mix, plus 6oz of Berryman's B-12 per gallon. I have turned many filthy old carbuncles into running working machines simply by putting some of this in the tank and priming through the carburetor 3-4 times.
 
Do you have non-Ethanol gasoline available in your area? I use VERY little 2-stroke premix as I only have a leaf blower. I'll typically mix up a gallon can with non-Ethanol fuel treated with Sta-Bil and then use from that can for the next 18 months. Yes... 18 months. My Echo leaf blower still starts on the second pull and runs perfectly.
 
This is great for the guys who have non ethanol gas availabe locally. But what about us that don?t? My nearest non ethanol is fifty miles away. I?m not buying pre-mix. So I mix my own using E-10. I have never had a problem with any of my equipment using E-10.
 
Agree with the others, lots of use, probably best to go with non-ethanol, mix your own and be precise in mixing. I started using non ethanol when it became available, E10 prior to that, and seemingly had minimal trouble with it, but did make sure to run everything that was fueled with it often enough to avoid trouble. I also used Stihl 2 cycle oil. No idea if that made a differenc,e but when everyone had trouble with E10, I rarely encountered it. I have seen it just the opposite with others equipment that was idle, not used in long periods of time.

I use MotoMix in my Stihl K 130R Kombi since new, don't use it so much that it is cost prohibitive, but even if it was, I likely would not change. The 1 gallon container was the best buy in this, they always sell the little containers, ask or order the 1 gallon, was always the best deal on it. One thing many may not know or notice is that this fuel is so much less noxious when in close quarters or hot humid day with no breeze, noticeably so over gasoline mix. Good feature if the fumes annoy a person.

My chainsaw may set for months, but with Stihl 2 cycle oil and non ethanol gas, no trouble at all, fires up quickly.
I've run moto mix in it, but given the amount I would use, I mix my own.
 
In my area you can't buy gas without some ethanol in it. I add "Startron" to the fuel in all my portable gas cans and that's what I use to mix my fuel. I also use the Stihl oil bottles. Haven't had any issues with chainsaws or weed eaters.
 
I have all sthils four chainsaws two weedeaters and a pole saw I mix my own using regular gas and sthil oil mix my saws set most of the summer and the weed eaters set all winter I'm 63 and can't remember ever having a bad gas issue Rick
 
You bet! I add a couple of drops of food coloring. Makes it very easy to see where. Only takes a few minutes to get etinol free fuel. Make it a gallon jug at a time using hi-test and a milk jug or a big soda bottle works too. If you start with hi-test you will get better octain levels. How too videos all over Utube.
 
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