50 to 1 oil

[albirk]

just wondering if anyone has used the 50 to 1 oil from baileys (woodland pro) brand they gave me 2  -  2 1/2 gallon mix bottles with my last order


thanks for all input (I have all stihl saws)

[ladylake]

It should work fine, I mix mine a bit richer, maybe put 2-1/4 gallons instead of 2-1/2. Stay away from ethonal if you can.   Steve

[John Mc]

Steve -

Can you still even get ethanol-free gas in your area? There used to be a few stations here and there that had it. An area distributor made a point of getting ethanol-free from a source in Canada. That distributor can't get it anymore. His last shipment came in this past September. I haven't found a single source of ethanol free gas since then (other than buying the little 1 qt. premixed cans, which are ridiculously expensive - something like $15 per gallon or more?)  I have access to 100LL aviation gas (which has GREAT shelf life), but I haven't used it in my chainsaw -- I'm not nuts about the idea of a day of sniffing tetraethyl lead exhaust fumes.

John Mc

[tyb525]

I use it, no problems.

[barbender]

Av gas still has lead in it?

[John Mc]

Av gas still has lead in it?

Yep. The Avgas used in piston engine aircraft is known as 100LL. Stands for "100 Octane, Low Lead". It's only low in lead compared to the old 100 octane avgas. Even 100LL still has about 3 times the lead of old leaded auto gas. The lead is about the only economical way (so far) of getting the octane up above 100. It's also partly responsible for the great shelf life... the lead inhibits a lot of biological agents which might otherwise cause problems. (There are other factors as well.)

After many years of hearing that leaded avgas' days were numbered, it looks as though they are serious this time. There is a big push on to come up with a reasonably price replacement. Some fuels are being tested now, but it will probably be a couple more years before they are ready for mass production.

[ladylake]

 Yes I can still get 91 oct without ethonal at the local Shell station, hope it stays.   Steve

[HolmenTree]

Lead in the gas is also a lubricant. Back in the day when I was a young kid just getting into saws , A few times I forgot the mix oil and my Jonsered 621 would come to a halt. Let it cool down, half hour later fired it back up with fresh mixed 40:1 and was like nothing ever happened.
Gotta say the leaded gas saved the day.

Willard.

[barbender]

I never realized that about the Av gas. What about race gas, like used in stock cars etc. I always wondered what caused the odd odor the exhaust from it had. I like the smell, I just hope it wasn't frying my brain

[bandmiller2]

So far I've had little trouble with alcohol in the fuel use high test with syn. oil and stabil marine.Unless the saw is in regular use [once a week at least] I drain the fuel and run dry. Frank C.

[John Mc]

I never realized that about the Av gas. What about race gas, like used in stock cars etc. I always wondered what caused the odd odor the exhaust from it had. I like the smell, I just hope it wasn't frying my brain

We've had racers come to the local airport to buy gas. I've heard there are other race gas sources, but don't know whether it's leaded or not. 100LL avgas is dyed pale blue (both so pilots can be sure what they're getting, and to help prevent it's use for on-road vehicles -- though who would use it on-road is beyond me... it's running about $5/gallon in my area these days.)

John Mc

[terrifictimbersllc]

Vermonters, I got ethanol-free regular gas at a Vermont station about 2 miles north of the Vermont-NY bridge between Port Henry and Crown Pt NY (well there's no bridge there now but we took the 24 hr free ferry) about Sept. 1 this year.  They used to have premium but were now only carrying regular 87 in the ethanol free.  Used it in the boat motor didn't want to leave ethanol sitting in the lines. Can tell you more exactly where if you want to send a pm.

[John Mc]

TerrificTimbers -

That was probably W.A.G.S. (West Addison General Store). I live about 20 miles from there. They no longer can get ethanol-free gas. They were supplied by the same distributor (located in Middlebury) that supplied most of my other sources in the area. That distributor got his last load of ethanol free gas in September or October. He just can't get it any more.

John Mc

[NCFarmboy]

I called Bailey's about there 50:1 oil, they said it was manufactured by Spectrum Chemcal Co. Spectrum makes Stihl oil for the US.  I've been using it for 2 years in all my 2 strokers. I will probably buy the synthetic on my next mixing oil purchase.  Premium gas, Seafoam 1oz. mixed 36:1 non-ethanol, we can still get from 2 local suppliers.  Somebody told me they had approved 15% ethanol (real bad news).  Shep

[wickmar]

   Has anyone tried mixing Star-tron gasoline additive with ethanol fuel??   That's what I'm using in ALL my gas burning engines.

           wickmar

[CX3]

All I know is if you use gas with ethanol, you really need to use the synthetic type 2 stroke oil.  That is what I have been told, but there also seems to be some pretty knowledgeable "gas junkies" on here too.

[John Mc]

   Has anyone tried mixing Star-tron gasoline additive with ethanol fuel??   That's what I'm using in ALL my gas burning engines.

Yes, I'm using it (or occasionally the Marine formula Stabil). Seems to work OK, but remember NONE of these additives solve all of the problems with ethanol-blended gas. If someone had such a "magic potion", it would just be added by the distributor when they blend in the ethanol, and we could all stop griping about ethanol...

[John R]

When I buy gas for any of my small engine stuff, I always mix the marine Stable in it, If I don't use it up in a couple of months I pour it in my truck and get fresh.
I try to keep at least 5 gallons on hand in case we have a power outage so I can fire up the generator without having to go get gas.

Anyway this has worked for me.

[John Mc]

** Warning: Topic Drift **

I added a conversion to my generator so I can run it on either gasoline or propane. THat way I don't have to worry about keeping gas around for an emergency, or having the gas go stsle on me if I've kept it too long. I've got a 500 gallon underground propane tank. Just added a tap where it goes into the house so I can plug in a hose to feed the generator.

John Mc

[Gary_C]

I've got a 500 gallon underground propane tank.

Never heard of an underground propane tank before. Seems like trouble if you drew vapor too fast and froze it up. 

[Bill Gaiche]

Maybe its butane. bg

[John Mc]

With a 500 gallon tank, it's hard to draw vapor too fast in normal use. That's more of a problem with the little tanks on a gas grill. Also, being underground actually helps in the winter time ... it's warmer underground than it is above ground.

John Mc

[Gary_C]

Well, I guess they do bury them though I don't know why other than to hide them from your neighbors. There are a whole bunch of rules to follow if you do bury one. Here is a link telling how. Underground Propane Tanks

Oh and if you scroll down the page you can see a picture of what one looks like if your water table is higher than the liquid propane level in the underground tank. Looks like a submarine surfaced in your back yard. 

[John Mc]

I can't see any of my neighbors from my house, nor can they see me. I consider underground safer than above ground... I won't run into it (gee, I NEVER hit anything with my tractor...), or throw stones from the mower at it. The kids won't climb on it. I also didn't want a 500 gallon tank sitting between the house and the pond, right in my view

I had the excavator here anyway, digging the hole for the house foundation. Someone from my propane supplier came down to supervise the installation.