Premixed fuel in a can

[frogfish]

The guy I bought my chain saws from told me about it, since I don't run the saws weekly or even monthly sometimes, he said this would work better in my case. Yes a bit more $$ but I figure in the long run less $$ in repair. I've used this now about 3.5 years and the saws all start easily and run just fine.

 

[fish1552]

The only issue I see with the fuel in a can, is when was it mixed and canned? If it says 2-3 years, how old is it when it is bought off the shelf? Much like batteries, there is a shelf life and batteries (like those for phones, etc) run about 5 years and you have no idea how long it was sitting in the warehouse on a shelf before shipping to the store.

I'm not saying it isn't good in a pinch, but just be sure to keep it on the shorter side of that time rather than longer. If it gets towards the end of that, it might be better to give it as a gift to your buddy.

 

[GGB]

I have used Stihl's version of premix fuel when I was also in a bit of a hurry, and also wanted fuel I knew was clean to help clean out a bit of fuel in a trimmer that I was concerned might have had some ethanol in the tank. No problems, but can't address the shelf life since I used it within a month or less. I have tried to use nothing but ethanol free premium for some time, but have recently begun using 100 octane racing gas for my premix fuel.

Because of hearing numerous stories of plastic jugs allowing moisture to get in, I also bought a metal safety can for the premix, with the Stihl Ultra premix (silver bottle) and the racing gas. I've also been using the racing gas on the small engines which don't get used very often rather than running dry as I used to do. From what I've been hearing, on some gas engines you may be better off to store wet to keep carb gaskets from drying out. Stay tuned.

 

[houstonscott]

The problem with the fuel today is the ethanol. It's highly corrosive and will destroy the engine parts. It absorbs water, not good. Worst of all it separates out of the gas and destroys the engine and carburetors after sitting, and start up with separated fuel can destroy and engine straight up. Small two cycle stuff like weed-eaters, chainsaws, outboard motors, that sit are most at risk. I would never store a small two cycle powered tool again with ethanol fuel in it, not even over night. They are just to expensive to replace to run or store them with ethanol fuel.

HS

 

[joshuabardwell]

I found that I got much better results when switching to 93-octane over 87-octane in my 2-stroke engines. This doesn't really make sense to me, as I don't think the compression in the 2-strokes is high enough to require the higher octane, but they would constantly have a problem where they would die out when hot, and once I switched to 93-octane, that went away. Anyway, I use 93-octane with Sta-bil in it, and have had no problems with storing the items with gas in them during the regular season. I always run them dry before longer-term storage, however. I think the Sta-bil makes a big difference.

 

[Bluegill2]

I found that I got much better results when switching to 93-octane over 87-octane in my 2-stroke engines. This doesn't really make sense to me, as I don't think the compression in the 2-strokes is high enough to require the higher octane, but they would constantly have a problem where they would die out when hot, and once I switched to 93-octane, that went away. Anyway, I use 93-octane with Sta-bil in it, and have had no problems with storing the items with gas in them during the regular season. I always run them dry before longer-term storage, however. I think the Sta-bil makes a big difference.

Could be that the 87 was just poor quality, or had too much ethanol? A lot of 91-93 octane premium has no ethanol and this will make a better running 2 stroke. You're right 2 strokes do not have that high compression and will make more power on lower octane gas.

 

[murphy1244]

Could be that the 87 was just poor quality, or had too much ethanol? A lot of 91-93 octane premium has no ethanol and this will make a better running 2 stroke. You're right 2 strokes do not have that high compression and will make more power on lower octane gas.

So Racing Gas would not be a good idea?

 

[Bluegill2]

So Racing Gas would not be a good idea?

Yes...
The only good thing about racing fuel in a stock 2 stroke, is no ethanol. Higher octane makes less power.

 

[torch1]

Good day Gentleman,

Not sure if this is valid for the US but in Canada, Stihl and Husqvarna both include fuel stabilizer in there premix 2 stroke oil. Normally I use a minimum size can (1 gal max) for my premix so the gas does not go stale due to be refilled more often, if I know the premix has not been used for a while I will dump it into my gas vehicle tank as the small amount of oil is not going to hurt anything when mixed in with the large quantity of gas in the vehicle tank. Keeps my small engine gas fresh and eliminates a lot of gas related issues.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Could be that the 87 was just poor quality, or had too much ethanol? A lot of 91-93 octane premium has no ethanol and this will make a better running 2 stroke.

No clue...