Gas

[Kenneth in Texas]

How long should gas stay in my chainsaw or weedeater when its not being used? And should i just drain it all out and let them run out of gas if storing?

 

[Garandman]

Ethanol mix, even with stabilier, seems to create carb issues after a few months. I buy Mogas at an airport.

But in summer months as soon as I empty a gas can I put Stabil Marine Ethanol Formula (storage dose) in the tank to try to head off problems.

 

[oosik]

I put "regular" Stabil in the gas(10% ethanol) for my riding lawn mower, chain saw, weed eater & generator. I use this mixture year round and have never experienced a problem. I do not drain nor run dry any of my equipment. Done it this way for over 40 years with no problems.

 

[grnspot110]

For me, it's Seafoam & Marvel Mystery Oil according to label directions in all my small engine gas year round.

 

[Bird]

I used to run the gas out of my chainsaw, string trimmer, lawnmower, etc. for many years. But now I never do that. I also have a 2-cycle Mantis tiller and I quickly learned that if you run the gas out of it, the fuel filter in the tank will harden and no fuel will go through it to the engine until you remove that filter and blow it out backwards. So I just use the mid-grade gasoline with ethanol and a pretty liberal amount of the regular Stabil.

 

[RalphVa]

I had to ALWAYS run my old Stihl chain saw dry. One time I didn't and had troubles starting it the next time.

One the grass whip I with the bulb thingie to pump fuel to the carb, I never had problems with it.

Now, with an ICD implant, I cannot use any of these and just use 18v stuff. Better is probably the 40 and 56v stuff for chain saws. I've a 40v lawn mower.

Ralph

 

[kenmac]

I use 0 ethanol gas. I leave my gas in all yr mixed with Amsoil 2 cycle oil

 

[MossRoad]

I use gas with ethanol. Have for many, many years. My chainsaws are always run out of fuel completely, because usually, the last time it runs out, I know I'm too tired to keep cutting! :laughing: Weedeater stays full of gas year round. Snowblower gets run out every spring. Those are my two-strokes. My tractor, log splitter, lawn mower, tiller and generator are all four stroke gas engines. They have gas in them year round. The only thing I use Stabil in is the generator. I try to run that for an hour several times a year and keep the tank topped off. Its a small tank.

All of my equipment starts fairly easily, so no complaints there.

With that said, my chaisaws and weedeater have all lost fuel lines due to them turning to mush in the tank, regardless of running them out of fuel or not. I'm convinced its the ethanol in the fuel, but have no scientific proof.

 

[Will_C]

I store everything (2 stroke equipment, ZTR, ATV, generator, etc.) with tanks completely full of treated gas-have not had an issue. I recently found a source of ethanol free gas and am using in that in all the 2 stroke equipment, as well things that have small tanks. I treat that gas as well with Star-tron.

Will

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

So basically use some sort of gas treatment regardless of whether its non ethanol or ethanol mix and leave it in the tank? Just seems in previous years if gas stays in them for a couple months i have a heil of a time starting them, so im gonna try the gas treatment this time :dance1:

 

[mikim]

I put blue marine stabil in my 5 gallon cans and never worry about it after. Tanks in all my small engines stay full and ready year round. I keep my chainsaws on a "ready line" shelf... full, sharp, and ready to go. If it's not on the shelf then it's on the bench in need of whatever. Since using the blue marine stabil - all my fuel issues have ended. I also put high test gas in those 5 gallon cans. Probably not necessary, but considering how far it goes in small engines....why not? I've noticed an improvement in performance with the lawn tractors since doing that.

 

[Garandman]

Stored gas often shows a loss in octane so buying high test isn't a bad idea, though most small motors don't need it.

 

[Giles]

I always store my small engines dry. If I am unsure whether I will need to use an item, I store with Full tank, full till it runs over.
The less air available is better for stored fuel.
Items like my gas generator is run dry with completely full tank of treated fuel. One year later, I drain and fill with fresh gas and use the drained fuel in lawnmower.

 

[Garandman]

Holzmiete | Infos über Holz & Heizen

My translation since GooGoo failed:

Build instructions for a Holzmiete for the drying and storage of firewood and much information about wood and heating.


"Bau Anleitung einer Holzmiete zum Trocknen und Lagern von Brennholz und viele Infos über Holz und heizen."

 

[Tollster]

I run high octane in all two strokes, aviation fuel at 50:1, no issues on time limits when properly stored in a cool dark area sealed, and out of direct sunlight.

 

[MossRoad]

Cheapest AVGAS we have within 100 miles of here is $5.03 a gallon, with the average being around $5.50, while regular 89 octane car gas here is averaging around $2.90.

Running high octane fuel in a low compression engine, such as a chainsaw provides no additional value or power for the engine. High octane just helps prevent early detonation in high compression engines.

Stihl recommends 89 octane gas.

Add to that your own fuel costs for driving to an airport that will sell you AVGAS Vs. driving to the closest gas station and, unless you are like me where the airport is only a 4 mile round trip, the next closest airport is a 40 mile round trip that will cost 3 gallons of car gas in my Suburban, so, an additional $8.70 for fuel, while the 7/11 is less than a mile.

A at a 50:1 mix, that's not enough oil for many 2 stroke machines, as many require 40:1 ratios. That mixture may cause premature wear on an engine that requires a lower fuel to oil mixture ratio.

To summarize:
10 gallons of AVGAS will cost $55.00 plus $8.70 to transport it = $63.70. (plus wear and tear on my vehicle)
10 gallons of car gas will cost $29.00 plus 34 cents to transport it = $29.34 (plus wear and tear on my vehicle)

A bottle of Stabil costs 5-6 dollars on sale and will treat 20 gallons. That's the way to go.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Personally, I use ZERO ethanol. All of my equipment hates it - running rough, can't reach top rpm, hard to start.

I don't worry about leaving the fuel in most things but I do use Stabil and run the generator dry as it can sit for extended times.

 

[Gary Fowler]

My Generac generator says to shut the fuel cock and run the carb dry when not in use. I also removed the gasoline from the tank after running carb dry. My Stihl saw says to run dry also, so I drain the gas back to my storage bottle and run it dry just like I do with most of my gas engines except the lawn mowers. I try to reduce the fuel to just a small amount and load it up with stabil for winter. Then in the spring, put in fresh fuel and more stabil for first use. So far only one time did I forget the stabil and the mower wouldn't even attempt to fire. Drained the fuel tank, put in fresh gas and right away it started up. The poured the old fuel into my rock driveway and it wouldn't even burn when I put a match to it. I had to use my propane torch to get it hot enough to start burning and then it smoked worse than diesel.

 

[dgeesaman]

My approach is this:
fact: ethanol is **** on machinery
fact: ethanol is most destructive when it's old
fact: it's a pain for me to get premium non-eth fuel but I can get it.

I burn most of my gas in my mower. So during the mowing season I run regular fuel with ethanol in it and I end up making a trip to fill tanks every couple of weeks. Once fall comes around I make a much longer trip to where I can buy E0 / 91 octane and I add a dose of Stabil. I use that mix to run down the mower for the end of the season and the E0 is the only thing I'll run in my saws and trimmers.

 

[swines]

Stihl recommends 89 octane gas.

Stihl recommends a minimum 89 octane. If you buy Stihl MotoMix formulated for 2-cycle engines, it is 92 octane. So, the fuel mix Stihl sells is higher than 89 octane, and one could infer that Stihl feels at least 92 octane would be preferred.