The last of my 2-stroke engines?

[Highbeam]

The hearth sites have also begun to give good reviews of electric powered firewood splitters. Seems that the common Ryobi type splitters use an electric motor to spin the hydraulic pump which then works like a normal splitter. You can split wood in your garage or at night in silence and without the fumes. Some folks use a quiet Honda Eu2000i generator to power the electric splitter which is a very quiet generator and can be a cords length away behind a tree.

Just don't do it while watching TV in the living room. You might lose your fingers.

 

[jdbower]

I use my DeWalt 18V reciprocating saw for everything! I have some wet wood pruning blades I found at Home Depot.

Upgrading my 18V Dewalt to a 36V was another tempting option - I'll have to check for the pruning blades (the standard wood blade I have wasn't cutting it - literally ).

I'll also have to try adding a bit more fresh gas to the mix next time I fire up the Husky, that could be a problem in my case.

A set of forks for the bucket and a portable generator could do for electrical power.

I actually just got my forks, but wrestling between the PTO vs. gas vs. propane generators is probably going to come next year. Gas is another engine to maintain (but could enable me to replace some existing equipment with electric when it breaks for a net decrease) but it's also probably more cost-effective than PTO. I think PTO generators may be able to power the entire house, but a dedicated propane (coupled with a portable gas) may be a better combination of portability and power. Of course, the biggest downside is that I know I'll use it to fell a tree just a tad too close to the tractor

 

[cp1969]

I love my 2 cycle engines. 2 cycles should not be hard to start; none of mine are. Keep a good plug in them is about all you have to do. I'm not sure the freshness of gas matters all that much.

The kids have an FA50 Suzuki 50cc scooter. The key was lost; consequently it sat for a number of years (I think 3) without being ridden. I had a new key made this summer, and after priming the carb, it started on the 3rd or 4th kick. Now, it does have separate oil and fuel tanks but I dont' think that really matters, either.

My Poulan chain saw (1980 model XXV) typically gets started every other year or so. I never drain the 16:1 gas and it always starts. Maybe ten pulls or so.

Toro string trimmer that wife said was too hard to start (too much compression for her) was set aside for 3 or 4 years until the Echo that replaced it conked out from a clogged spark arrestor. While the Echo was down, just for grins and to keep the wife weed-eating, I tried the Toro. The gas I put in it was over a year old and it started after 6 or so pulls.

 

[RobertN]

Upgrading my 18V Dewalt to a 36V was another tempting option - I'll have to check for the pruning blades (the standard wood blade I have wasn't cutting it - literally ).

These blades have a different tooth size and pitch. I have tried more typical wood blades; they don't work(fine for dry 2x4's but not wet tree limbs). These are made by SKIL, and are available at both the blue and the orange box stores. Probably OSH too.

 

[Bird]

I think every manual I've ever seen for 2 cycle engines stresses using "fresh" gasoline. Well, I've used everything from gas that I bought that day to gas that's been sitting in the garage or storage shed for a year or more. The engines always started OK, so I wondered about the advantage of "fresh" gas. In 1970, I bought a new 2 cycle 2 hp Johnson outboard boat motor to use on a canoe and aluminum rental boats. It had a one quart gas tank, so I'd mix my gas and oil in a larger can but I always started out with a full tank of gas and also carried a one quart oil bottle with the pre-mixed gas & oil. If the motor ran out of gas, even in fairly rough water, it was easy to refill the tank without spilling gas by just turning that one quart bottle upside down in the filler neck of the motor. And even when I wasn't using the motor, I kept the gas tank full. Then my job sent me to Northwestern University for the 1971-72 school year and when I got back we lived in an RV until a new house was built, so that boat motor with a full tank of gas sat in the garage for over a year before I got to use it to go fishing again. Hmmm, started just as easily as ever and seemed to run just fine. And when it ran out that day, I dumped my quart of fresh gas & oil mix in it, restarted it and took all again at full throttle. Wow! I'll bet it picked up at least 500 rpm with the fresh gas over the old stuff.

Now that was before I started using Stabil in my gasoline, as I do now, so I don't know if the results would be the same or not, but I don't throw any gas away.

 

[SkyPup]

I was all set to purchase a new 15HP Honda 4-stroke outboard motor for my 15" Gheenoe duck hunting boat this year but ended up replacing my well used 1990 Evinrude 15HP 2-stroke with a new 2008 Yamaha 15HP 2-stroke.

The main reason was the weight of the engines, the Mercury and Honda 15 HP 4-strokes with manual not electric start weighed in around 120 pounds, while the 15HP two stroke weighed 84 pounds.

No way was I going to add that much weight to the transom of a tiny duck boat.

Sorry to hear that they will no longer produce 2-stokes below about 100HP, seems as though you need the expensive fuel injection closed loop systems to meet emissions now.

Anyhow, my duck boat should be good for at least another 15-20 years or so.....if I last that long!

 

[goaliedad]

back in my youth I enjoyed dirt bikes- all off the floor, stock bikes...until...I got a great deal on a "hi-performance" bike with a sachs 175 cc engine. It was the most tempermental beast ever- ran like a raped ape- once I got it running. I was very careful about keeping fresh gas, used the right oil, drained the tank every winter- everything "you should do". Well, after several years I got lazy- left gas in over the winter, use pre-mixed gas- and that bike never ran better! seems like it wanted to be abused. Put a fresh plug in once in a while- kick it two or three times, and down the trail I'd go.

 

[IH3444]

In your husky 359 your piston ring are stuck to the piston. I just did mine this winter. Get a ring kit from Bailey's, remove cylinder/head and place multiple paper towels under the piston. This will keep dirt out of the crankshaft area. Clean piston, and ring grooves. Install new ring, don't hone cylinder if in good/excellent shape. Check upper bearing, as well as lower bearing. Use a new base gasket. Clean ports, and inside upper cylinder head of carbon. I used some 3M scourgeing pads. Reassemble with care, and some oil. Torque cylinder down properly. Reassemble all components. Carb, muffler, you may want to open up your muffler a tad, and give it a straight throught port to vent exhaust.

 

[MossRoad]

I think every manual I've ever seen for 2 cycle engines stresses using "fresh" gasoline. Well, I've used everything from gas that I bought that day to gas that's been sitting in the garage or storage shed for a year or more. The engines always started OK, so I wondered about the advantage of "fresh" gas. In 1970, I bought a new 2 cycle 2 hp Johnson outboard boat motor to use on a canoe and aluminum rental boats. It had a one quart gas tank, so I'd mix my gas and oil in a larger can but I always started out with a full tank of gas and also carried a one quart oil bottle with the pre-mixed gas & oil. If the motor ran out of gas, even in fairly rough water, it was easy to refill the tank without spilling gas by just turning that one quart bottle upside down in the filler neck of the motor. And even when I wasn't using the motor, I kept the gas tank full. Then my job sent me to Northwestern University for the 1971-72 school year and when I got back we lived in an RV until a new house was built, so that boat motor with a full tank of gas sat in the garage for over a year before I got to use it to go fishing again. Hmmm, started just as easily as ever and seemed to run just fine. And when it ran out that day, I dumped my quart of fresh gas & oil mix in it, restarted it and took all again at full throttle. Wow! I'll bet it picked up at least 500 rpm with the fresh gas over the old stuff.

Now that was before I started using Stabil in my gasoline, as I do now, so I don't know if the results would be the same or not, but I don't throw any gas away.

I just leave the gas in from season to season. Never have a problem.

 

[RobertN]

I mentioned using fresh gas, partly because most anything runs better on it, in Calif we have this oxygenated stuff with poor shelf life, and I used to hang out with a western and national rated dirt bike racer.

2-strokes run at 10,000rpm or higher, so all the help you can give those little motors helps

The guy I used to know raced and built competitive dirt bikes for the western and national circuits. Day old gas could be a competitive disadvantage for them. It's not just the gas, but the oil mix that starts breaking down. It is enough difference to be a win/loss for them.

In our trimmers and saws, it probably does not make so much of a difference.

I don't race, so I don't throw gas/mix away. But, I do mix in small quantities so it gets used. Used to mix 2-1/2 gallon cans; now i will mix a gallon. I use premium too. A friend of ours is a pro Arborist; he does the same, because they are little 10,000rpm motors

I think every manual I've ever seen for 2 cycle engines stresses using "fresh" gasoline. Well, I've used everything from gas that I bought that day to gas that's been sitting in the garage or storage shed for a year or more. The engines always started OK, so I wondered about the advantage of "fresh" gas. In 1970, I bought a new 2 cycle 2 hp Johnson outboard boat motor to use on a canoe and aluminum rental boats. It had a one quart gas tank, so I'd mix my gas and oil in a larger can but I always started out with a full tank of gas and also carried a one quart oil bottle with the pre-mixed gas & oil. If the motor ran out of gas, even in fairly rough water, it was easy to refill the tank without spilling gas by just turning that one quart bottle upside down in the filler neck of the motor. And even when I wasn't using the motor, I kept the gas tank full. Then my job sent me to Northwestern University for the 1971-72 school year and when I got back we lived in an RV until a new house was built, so that boat motor with a full tank of gas sat in the garage for over a year before I got to use it to go fishing again. Hmmm, started just as easily as ever and seemed to run just fine. And when it ran out that day, I dumped my quart of fresh gas & oil mix in it, restarted it and took all again at full throttle. Wow! I'll bet it picked up at least 500 rpm with the fresh gas over the old stuff.

Now that was before I started using Stabil in my gasoline, as I do now, so I don't know if the results would be the same or not, but I don't throw any gas away.