alcohol in fuel

[Flapjack]

Hello all........I've just begun getting into chainsawing, and have purchased a stihl 310. I read on an old post about alcohol being in some fuels.My question is .........                  1   How can you check to see if you have alcohol in the fuel (other than reading it on the pump)?

2   What are the problems with having it in your fuel ?

3   Will using a pure synthetic oil prevent any problems, and if so where is a good place to buy it ?


                               Any info would be great, thanks.

[Mark M]

Hi Flapjack

We you could try putting some of that gas in a clear quart jar and then adding a little water (say maybe 10 parts gas and 1 part water. If there is alcohol present then it will absorb some of the water otherwise it will form 2 layers because the water is not miscible with gas. Don't put too much water in because it will only absorb so much. Also you can usually smell the alcohol too, at least I can when I use the ethanol in my vehicles. There could be some other things that could affect the water but I think it's pretty safe to say that if none of the water is absorbed by the gas then you don't have alcohol.

Mark

[oldsaw-addict]

I dont know exactly what alchohol in the fuel will do to a saw, but I think it will cause it to have a lean seizure where the piston melts to the cylinder. Can you spell expensive repairs ahead? The thing is that I've never actually had a saw go like that, just piston rings for me. If you want to get a good synthetic oil, I recommend going to auto zone and picking up a few bottles of Mobil MX2T oil. Its a full synthetic 2 stroke oil in gray bottles.I have one sitting here waiting for the next batch of new gas to mix it with.

[SasquatchMan]

I thought the prob with alc in fuel was twofold - one a leanness issue, and two, deterioration of rubber components in the fuel system???

[oldsaw-addict]

As I said, I only think it can do one thing or another, I'm not completely sure, thats why thers more than one of us members to help the other out. I had no knowledge of gasahol being able to cause deterioration of rubber components in an engine.   Makes me glad I'm not a hotsaw builder, I'd probably blow myself up in 5 minutes. :D

[Duane_Moore]

Sasq Man. you are correct that Alc, will ruin rubber. parti. in the carb.   Duh---Duane

[travelr64]

Most if not all MODERN two and four stroke engines use rubber gaskets and seals that are impervious to alcohol.  Also most if not all rebuild kits have seals and gaskets that are OK with alcohol.

Two stroke engines do run hotter with alcohol than with straight gas/oil mix.  That's why so many of the motorcycle and midget racers use it.  It also burns cleaner.  Thing about that is ya gotta have better cooling.   I.E.  more and wider fins and larger jets.  I'm not familiar enough with chainsaws to know if anyone makes cylinders that provide better cooling like they do for the bigger motors. Maybe some of the hopup guys can answer that better than I.

Anyway, having done a good bit of two stroke racing, that's what I know about the subject.

Good Luck
Coop

[Flapjack]

So If I use , the mobile pure synthetic oil, do I have to worry about the alcohol??

Are there any other ways to "fix" the alcohol problem??

I dont believe we heve alcohol in the pumps around here....but I thought if there was an oil I could use, or another way to avoid a potential problem, that it would be good preventative maintenance.

                thanks.  

[travelr64]

I don't know about where you live, but I imagine it's the same nationwide.  They can't sell ethanol here in Nebraska without labeling it on the pump.  My guess is that's federal law.  If you're worried about the alcohol.  Just buy fuel that doesn't contain any.  It could concievably make your saw run hot, causing problems like some of the guys have mentioned.  I do believe that synthetic oil is going to be the best preventive maintenance you could use.

Good Luck
Coop

[Flapjack]

Well , After looking around, I finally found an autozone that had the mobile mx2t . Mixed some up when I got home today @ 32:1 . Didn't know if that would be too much , but it runs with just a bit of smoke ( actually less than 50:1 husky oil ), so I guss it will be ok , and with more lubrication. The oil looks like regular motor oil ( straw color ) , it is a little hard to tell it's mixed gas.

Thanks for all the info guys, it looks very promising.

[Mark M]

Why you mixing it so thick? I would be concerned about piston deposits.

[tony_marks]

  ben walker introduced me to mxt2 ,,im not sure if hes on this forum or not.. now ive always got real good service out of stihl ,husky  oil mix.. i found the mxt2 to be an improvement. i cant put an finger on what it does better but it seems to run cooler ,smoother and i think there was a better responce an exceleration. etc.
  now ben uses 35-1 i think... if i was asking a saw for its max power all the time i mite also.. but for me it does just great at 45-1.for my application. i think it  is an improvement on other oil mixes ,,and they were already good i think..i mite mention,, i do use 92 octane also ,,as it helps run cooler also i think. jmo
  alrite fish i aint heard from u lately . the high test part oughta
 bring u out..hope ever things good with u...