Do you run two stroke carbs dry?

[whistlepig]

Really, to me anyway, the drama for fuel didn't start until ethanol. Gasoline worked very well until we fixed it.

 

[ericm979]

Gas was going bad and gumming up carbs before they started putting ethanol in it. I cleaned out a lot of motorcycle carbs back in the day.

 

[LD1]

I don't really see too many ethanol related issues in modern stuff.

And in the older stuff, not so much fouling or gumming issues....rather the rubber isn't compatible with ethanol and turns then to mush. A modern rebuild kit and no issues.

 

[goeduck]

Ran dry...seals and diaphragms tend to dry-rot and become a rebuild involving replacement parts rather than just a cleaning

Should not 2 strokes have residual oil in the carb?

 

[MossRoad]

Should not 2 strokes have residual oil in the carb?

50 drops of gas to 1 drop of oil is pretty diluted.

 

[goeduck]

50 drops of gas to 1 drop of oil is pretty diluted.

Should not take much. Oil creates a very thin film, that is why a 2 stoke only needs 1 drop of oil to 50 drops of gas. If that level of oil protects the engine, it should protect the diaphragms in the carb. :thumbsup:

 

[Industrial Toys]

TOTALLY confused with the range of response. Except ETHANOL = BAD, and gut tells me to leave fuel in. Heck, it's even the easier of the two. How often does that happen?

 

[RandyT]

Ethanol gets blames for a lot of stuff that it doesn't cause. The Alcohol is a solvent which should help to remove deposits from the carb. The main issue with ethanol is the water that is associated with it which causes corrosion and in some cases can form algae growth similar to diesel algae. The main issue is the crappy gas that is it combined with breaks down and caused the issues and then ethanol gets the blame. Since ethanol adds 2 octane points your 87 octane fuel is 85 octane without the alcohol.

So how many of you guys are running 85 octane fuel in your equipment? Or a better question is how many are running 87 octane fuel in a piece of equipment that specifies 90 octane or above?

 

[LD1]

Should not 2 strokes have residual oil in the carb?

Dont have a good answer for you other than the many old saws I tear apart, the ones that are dry usually need a total carb rebuild. Everything gets dry and cracks. The ones left wet....sure they get varnish smelling and gummed up, but always run again after a cleaning as the seals and diaphragms arent deteriorated

 

[HarryVanderpool]

I've never had fuel related issues with any of my equipment and I've been running 87 octane 10% ethanol since the mid 80s.

That goes for 4 stroke stuff, too. Maybe I just use things often enough that it doesn't cause issues. I do put stabil in my generator. I run it about 2-3 times a year with a load on it for about 1/2 an hour. Then I just top off the tank again. It's 24 years old and still works fine.

This is exactly our experience. I could have written this, word for word.
Our generator is 26 years old.
We fill all of our 12 Jeep cans with regular pump gas with ethanol and Sta-Bil in the fall for emergency and never have any problems.
Our two main chainsaws are 1980s vintage and start right up whenever needed.