TruFuel Users?

[Gem99ultra]

My small engine repair guy is recommending using TruFuel for my 2 cycle implements. At $6/quart that comes to $24/gallon; pretty high price for string trimmer, chainsaw, etc. fuel I think. Supposedly TruFuel is 92 octane with some sort of gas treatment in it, but I have no idea as to what.

I, and I'm sure there are others, that are sick and tired of clogged carburetors, deteriorating fuel lines, and hard starting tools.

Are any of you actually using TruFuel or a similar product in your 2 cycle implements? If not, what sort of mix are you using?

 

[ericm979]

$24/gallon! I use gas station regular 87 octane, with fuel stabilizer. I put stabilizer in the 5 gallon cans when I get them home. My two stroke chain saws etc don't need higher octane. (some of my two stroke motorcycles need higher octane, I use race gas in them). I've never had a problem with carbs gumming up. The Mantis tiller can be a bit hard to start in the spring but it sits for a year between uses. The vent hose on my Stihl 025 came apart the other day but it's 20 years old. I use high quality Redline synthetic two-stroke oil in all my two-strokes. 50:1 for the chain saws and yard implements.

On the motorcycles and generator I run the carbs dry after every use. That prevents carburetor gumming up- there's no gas to evaporate to gum. But chain saws etc dont' have fuel taps to turn off and it's too much effort to drain the fuel tank each time.

 

[Buxus]

I can offer no definite proof that it's worth it, but I use it in my chainsaws and trimmer and generator. My Stihl dealer recommended it not for the octane, but for the fact that it is ethanol free, and can basically sit forever. He claimed there was no separation of gas and oil, and that it would never run lean through the tools or gum things up. I have dealt with him for years, he has always seemed a straight shooter, and does not sell the stuff. I can't get ethanol free in Delaware or in my area of Maryland.

I don't know if he is correct, but I am not filling my truck with it, so I only go through about 4-5 gallons a year. I pay about $21 a gallon by buying the 6 pack at Lowes. So for about $70 a year extra ($84 compared to about $14 for gas and oil separate) I have less worry and more convenience. Pretty cheap insurance. Best of all, I don't have to deal with the dreaded portable gas containers and their frustrating spouts.

 

[motownbrowne]

You can find it on sale cheaper than that, but yeah, it's good stuff. I like it for the end of the season. I'll run my trying dry, then fill it with Tru fuel and run it for a few minutes. Yeah it's a little pricey, but it doesn't go stale like pump gas, and it doesn't have ethanol. I like to keep a can around in case my regular supply runs out in the middle of a cutting project. Also, it's nice to send along if you should ever (God forbid) lend out a piece of OPE. That way you know your stuff is getting good fuel.

During times of high use for any particular piece of equipment, though, I run ethanol free 89 or 92 octane mixed 40:1 with good synthetic oil and a small dose of stabilizer. I also try not to let gas get more than a month or 6 weeks old. I haven't had any carb problems since adopting this practice.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I use the Husky product, it's an "engineered" fuel, I use it in any two stroke that isn't run very often, the 2 strokes that get run a lot, I use hi-test NO ethanol gas (NO E) with Husky oil in it.

When I mix gas/oil, I only mix enough gas that I can use it up in a few days, a week at most.

I've had no carb or any other problems since I started doing this! I was having plenty of fuel related problems when I was using E10 fuel, even when I ran the carbs dry!

As for hi test or not, the manuals of my chainsaws say to use hi test, and for me, it's no big deal to buy/use hi test, no E fuel.

SR

 

[japody]

I've used non-ethanol hi test for the last several years in all of my 2 & 4 stroke engines for the last few years. Haven't had a gumming issue since.

 

[Deere Dude]

I use non-ethanol 90 octane or better and good oil. I try to keep it fresh as possible but sometimes that goes 3-4 months with no problems. If I started having problems I would probably buy a can of the expensive premixed to sort out the problem.

 

[bcp]

I used it with no problems until non-alcohol fuel became available at some gas stations in the area.

Bruce

 

[Fiziksgeek]

I use pump gas and mix up my own during the season when I know I'll be using my equipment on a regular basis to save money. Before winter, I dump out the pump gas mix, fill to the brim with TrueFuel or Stihl Motomix, etc., run for a few minutes to purge the pump gas out, and store for the winter. Since I started doing this, everything seems to start nice and easy with no smoke in the spring.

 

[Gunny]

I use TruFuel in my chainsaw. I got tired of replacing gas lines and filters, cleaning the carb every year, so I thought it was worth a try. Expensive yes, but I haven't had to do anything at all the the saw in three years now, even though I do try to run it out of gas before putting it up for summer storage. It's convenient for me, several places here within ten miles that sell it. It's nice to know that all I have to do is check the fuel and bar oil, check the gas level and fill if needed, pull the rope and start cutting wood.

Everything else I own is four stroke and for all the single cylinder engines I use high octane then add Stabil to the 5 gallon cans. I haven't had any problems with them either since I started that routine.

 

[RandyT]

Some of the professional landscapers are actually purchasing it in 54 gallon drums for use in their equipment. To each his own I guess

 

[Oldoak]

I have been using 89 octane, 10% ethanol gasoline with the recommended dose of Sta-bil in my small engines for years. I never run the carborators dry for storage and the gas mixture sits in my generators for up to 12 months without any problems. That goes for my garden tractor, chainsaw, weed whacker, and generators. I do exercise my generators every couple of months though, and syphon out the old gas and put fresh gas in if I hadn't used a full tank of gas within a year. I use the old gas that was syphoned out in my pickup truck.

Been doing this for years without a single problem ever since non-ethanol blended gas was no longer an option anywhere in my area.

Edit: Until today, I never heard of TruFuel. I never had a need to search out fuel such as that.

 

[ericm979]

I wish non ethanol gas was available here. Some brands/stations/loads have less than others but with the pumps all marked the same there's no way to tell.

This thread made me look in the manuals for the Stihl 025 and the new MS362 I got recently... and I was wrong, they both call for 89 octane. I'll be getting that for general gas use from now on instead of 87. (gas at my house also goes into the emergency generator, which we've used for 9 days so far this winter, and the UTV). The 025 hasn't holed a piston in 20 years of 87 octane so it's not been detonating on it, but I've only run five or six tanks through the 362.

 

[Fallon]

I use "canned gas" in my brush cutter. It's stupid expensive, but I only burn a couple cans a year. MUCH cheaper than constantly rebuilding or replacing the carb & other plumbing. Also nice to have it reliable, my sanity & time is worth a lot.

Would be a very different equation if I was looking at more than a couple gallons a year. Fresh fuel that is constantly used doesn't cause much problems.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Thanks guys, for your suggestions and observations. It sounds like TruFuel and similar are probably a worthwhile purchase, at least for occasional use.

I think for my use, based on the above reports, I'll do the 'end of season flush' thing and also if/when I have a starting problem. One change I might make now though is to crank up from 87 octane to 89.

For my everyday use I have been using 87 octane and adding Stabil to my 5 gallon supply cans. I use way too much gas throughout the year to spring for $24/gal.

 

[oosik]

Man - that is expensive stuff. I use regular old 87 octane with 10% ethanol and Stabil. Been using it in all my equipment for over 25 years with no difficulties at all. Like Gem99ultra - I use WAY to much gas to start using $24/gallon stuff. I don't drain, flush, or otherwise prepare anything, fuel wise, for winter storage.

However - I DO think that our very low humidity situation here must have something to do with never having a problem. In the 35+ years here I've never had problems with water in my diesel fuel nor any ever collecting in the tractors water seperators.

 

[4570Man]

I use the Husky product, it's an "engineered" fuel, SR

You keep spreading that around. Where's the proof?

 

[TheGoose]

You can get a 110 oz container (.85 gallon) for $20. I use it in all my 2 stroke equipment. It's pricey but it keeps the ethanol problems at Bay. We cannot buy e0 gas here thanks to the EPA and corn lobby.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

You keep spreading that around. Where's the proof?

Where's your proof it isn't??

SR

 

[kenr74]

I sell a competitive brand to TruFuel. I've been to the plant they make it and know more about fuel than I ever hoped to know. I can say a few things about the canned fuels in general.

Will they make your equipment run better? Definitely.
Is it pump gas with additives? Some are, some aren't. The brand I sell starts with tanks full of ingredients and they mix it to come up with "fuel".
Will the internals of your engine last longer with a canned fuel? Every test I have seen says yes.
Are they worth the cost? That is up to every individual user. If you run pump gas then dump it and run a canned fuel you should notice a difference in how smooth it runs and how easy it starts.

Personally, I run pump gas then switch to canned fuel at the end of the season. When it is time to start running equipment again it fires right up. No carb issues then back to pump gas when in regular use. If you are a light user canned fuel makes more sense. Pay up front for the fuel vs pay later for repairs.