?? About octane for mowers and chain saw

[goeduck]

This thread is turning mean.

 

[4570Man]

For those of you that live in an pure gas free state the choice is easy. For me I'll drive zero extra miles and pay about 30 cents a gallon extra for ethanol free gas for my small engines. There's zero hassle of draining fuel at the end of the year. And zero additives needed which probably cost more than the 30 cents I'm paying a gallon extra. If you factor in the longer run time per gallon of ethanol free gas especially the 2 stroke mixes that 30 cents seems like a bargain. I don't care how many people say I could run e10 in small engines I'm still not doing it.

 

[4570Man]

Btw a bottle of Sta-bil cost $6.90 on Amazon before sales tax. That's a little more than 17 cents a gallon to treat it at the minimum recommend dose. I doubt Sta-Bill has over a thousand 5 star reviews on Amazon because ethanol gas is so great that it isn't needed anyway. That's not even counting the unknown amount of people that didn't leave a review or bought elsewhere.

 

[AxleHub]

For me the easiest evidence that using E0 is much better than using E10 is shown with a Mr. Funnel.

Take 2 identical 5 gallon gas containers and go to a high volume quality provider. Put 3 gallons of E10 in one container and 3 gallons of E0 in the other. Bring each container home and place them in your garage.

3 weeks later, pour the contents of each container thru the Mr. Funnel.

You will notice that the Mr. Funnel catches something from the E10 pour . . . It's water.

 

[MossRoad]

This thread is turning mean.

It's not meant to be mean... he listed 18 engines that he says run poorly or not at all on E10, and says it applies to all of his engines. Not some. ALL (caps him). If the engines are designed to run on 87 octane unleaded gas, they'll run on 87 octane unleaded E10. Plane and simple. It's most likely a tuning issue, poor gasoline storage habits, dirty environment, etc... not the fuel.

 

[Texasmark]

On prompting from a guy on another site, who also put me onto the problem I was having with a BS V twin, I started using premium in all my gas engines on the farm which are 28 or less hp and 2 and 4 strokers. It's worth the 70 cent premium over regular 87 in increased performance.

 

[MossRoad]

How did you measure that performance?

 

[MossRoad]

What do the manufacturers recommend?

Briggs and Stratton... 87 e10
What is the best fuel type for lawn mowers and small engines? | Briggs & Stratton

Kohler... 87 e10
Engine Maintenance FAQ | Kohler Engines

Here's a guy doing dyno tests in his car... 87 made more power than 89 and 91 after the engine got up to temp, and the more pulls he did, the more power he lost on higher octane fuel...
Octane vs. Horsepower – Separating fact from myth in the debate over which fuel makes more power | NASA Speed News Magazine

Here's a good video from Husqvarna regarding proper fuel, fuel storage, and good maintenance habits regarding fuel. Husqvarna recommends 89 octane E10.
Ethanol and Your Outdoor Power Equipment. How to Prevent Issues. - YouTube

Here's some guidelines from Stihl.... they also recommend 89 octane and give guidelines as to how to handle 10% ethanol fuels.
Gasoline Guidelines for STIHL Outdoor Power Equipment | STIHL USA

I guess the reason I haven't had fuel related issues in anything in 30+ years of using nothing but E10 fuel is because I've followed good practices from the manufacturers, used sealed gas cans, only mix a gallon of 2-stroke fuel at a time, and rotate out my stored fuel a couple times per year. The only thing I use Stabil in is my generator... and I'm thinking about running that dry from now on. But its 22+ years old and starts and runs fine, so why change a good thing.

To each his own, I guess. To me, it's a waste of money. Pretty much to a T, every time I talk to a friend that is having small engine fuel troubles, it can be traced back to them either messing with the carb settings, leaving fuel sit in it for a year or more, dirt in the fuel, plugged fuel filters, pinhole cracks in fuel lines/primer bulbs, etc... not the use of E10.

 

[Ford850]

A common theme from the manufacturers is using fresh fuel. Most say store it for no more than 1 - 2 months, even with stabilizers.
Fresh gas is nearly clear. Stale gas is amber colored and that's when it varnishes and clogs carbs.

 

[MossRoad]

A common theme from the manufacturers is using fresh fuel. Most say store it for no more than 1 - 2 months, even with stabilizers.

Yep. I guess I am fortunate in that I use it up faster than it can get contaminated... but on that note, as I've mentioned adnauseum, I buy gas in three 6-gallon cans. Those last me several months, depending on activity. I fill them 3-4 times per year. My current tractor is gas. 25HP Kohler. It burns about 50-75 gallons per year depending on activity. Push mower, weed eater, couple small chainsaws, generator, power washer, log splitter. No issues. I had a late 70's IH2500b tractor loader that had a 4 cylinder gas engine. I'd leave it sit all winter for 6 months with the same fuel in it and never had a problem starting it in spring. I just don't understand why so many people have fuel related issues when I do not, and can only see it being
A. I am lucky and the exception to the rule.
B. Something else.....