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Chainsaw Fuel

Started by Woodbutcher56, March 19, 2017, 02:45:20 PM

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Woodbutcher56

I'm new here and this question has probably been asked many times but here goes. I would like advice on fuel choices I want to make sure I remain in compliance with warranty requirements. Choice 1 Sunoco Ultra 93 10℅ E with Dolmar High Performance Full Synthetic oil.  Choice 2 90 Octane 0℅ E with Dolmar HP Synthetic oil or Choice 3 a mix of 4 gal. 90 Oct 0℅ E with 1 gal Aviation LL 100 Oct. ( To boost octane level) with Dolmar HP Synthetic oil. I chose  Dolmar oil because I run mainly Dolmar saws. I usually mix 3oz. Oil to a gallon of gas. Thanks in advance for your response!

sawguy21

You can run the avgas mix if you want but there is no need to. Either of the other choices are good, if the ethanol content is lower go with #1
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Gearbox

choice 2 . 3 oz per gallon is oil rich but the misquitos will leave .
A bunch of chainsaws a BT6870 processer , TC 5 International track skidder and not near enough time

limbwood

choice 2 is what i would do if it were me.

ladylake

 Choice 2 here too, stay away from ethanol.  Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

OH logger

I run 91 octane ethanol free and amsoil synthetic mix
john

gspren

   I also like the non ethanol because sometimes my 2 stroke sits a bit. 3 OZ per gallon should be about 42 to 1 which is also good.
Stihl 041, 044 & 261, Kubota 400 RTV, Kubota BX 2670, Ferris Zero turn

plantman

Always run premium gas otherwise it might not burn hot enough to burn the oil properly. Also, I just talked to stihl and the tech told me to not run the mix rich because (believe it or not) he claims the gas cools the engine and a rich mixture could cause over heating. I never heard that one before but that's what he said. Also, I always take out the spark arrestor screens in the mufflers because they get clogged with oil.

sawguy21

That is an interesting theory about rich mixture but I'm not a Stihl engineer so what do I know. Don't get caught without that spark arrestor on public land.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Ox

Anything non ethanol.  Never run the ethanol in one if you can avoid it.  I've heard others saying no problems running ethanol.  They are using them very frequently.  If you leave one sit for the winter with ethanol in it, it (Tom) likely won't start the next time you need it. 
I expect to hear someone come on now and tell me that's wrong because it didn't happen to him.  :D

I wish I could have met Mr. Tom Cadenhead.  I never met the man but after reading about him and his stories I miss him but never met him.  That's never happened with anybody else in my whole life.  :-\
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Kbeitz

I think he was wrong. Back when I raced 2 cycle motorcycles a
rich mixture is what you needed to keep things cool. but a lean
mixture is what would win the race. Unburned gas takes the heat
away.
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

ZeroJunk

May be confusing rich, as in the amount of fuel delivered, with the amount of oil in the fuel.
A gentleman did a test on another forum using heat sensing equipment and found that according to the saw he tested it was actually cooler at 50 to 1 than at 40 to 1 .

Running a saw lean is a good way to always keep new saws around.

plantman

Quote from: ZeroJunk on March 21, 2017, 07:56:33 PM
May be confusing rich, as in the amount of fuel delivered, with the amount of oil in the fuel.
A gentleman did a test on another forum using heat sensing equipment and found that according to the saw he tested it was actually cooler at 50 to 1 than at 40 to 1 .

Running a saw lean is a good way to always keep new saws around.

Yes, that is exactly what the tech at Stihl told me. It seems counter intuitive that a mix lower in oil would run cooler . Actually a number of years ago I burned a chainsaw motor and thought that someone might have put regular gas in it but I was quite sure I had put mix in the saw . Perhaps that oil / gas mix had too much oil .

20ozjolt

I used to run anything threw my 2 strokes... now days I run closer to choice 2

Clear premium.... 93 octane I think....

thecfarm

I use the highest octane gas that I can get at my local gas station in all my small motors.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

ButchC

I think you have a decent  handle on the real issues since you didn't ask which oil, x, y or Z is best , lol.
Alky, WAS a serious issue a few years ago, it turned Echo fuel lines to mush and most others rock hard. Newer equipment will resist it but you still can't leave it sit for months in unused engines and expect them to operate as intended.  If I had easy access to pure gasoline I would use it but instead use 10% alky  hi test a  gallon at a time. When it is old enough that I can't remember exactly when I mixed it I toss it and mix new. Here is what you should be worried about, these are all equally important.
A- That there is some synthetic 2 stroke oil in the fuel somewhere near the correct ratio.
B- that is is fresh, less than two weeks old
C-that the fuel is the correct octane
D Carburetors are set correctly
F  to dump fuel and run engine dry when it is going to sit a spell.

Waaaay down the list is
Which oil is best
Which ratio is best
Ethonal vs non
Peterson JP swing mill
Morbark chipper
Shop built firewood processor
Case W11B
Many chainsaws, axes, hatchets,mauls,
Antique tractors and engines, machine shop,wife, dog,,,,,that's about it.

petefrom bearswamp

You are correct Ox.
Just a contrarian  anecdotal response.
I have posted this before.
My 1973 model super xl Homelite stayed at my Adirondack camp with ethanol gas in it for 15 or more years.
It started, usually in about 5 pulls every time.
I have retired it now tho in favor of my much lighter Husky 345.
I have used non ethanol and notice no difference in either starting or performance.
I only cut firewood now and buck logs at my mill, so my saws  sit idle for weeks at a time usually in the winter.
No problems starting.
Just lucky I guess.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

Ox

pete - i do believe you are very, very lucky to have that kind of good luck with ethanol gasoline in small engines.  I've had nothing but huge problems with it in anything that runs with a carburetor, as did everybody else around here.  I was a mechanic at one of the local John Deere dealers and I saw many, many no run conditions come through when ethanol started being common around the area.  Almost every single time it was due to ethanol gas.  This is a very real problem with carbureted small engines, and likely even carbureted vehicles.  The latter I don't have first hand experience with.  The former I do.  Sometimes the only way to get the engine to run was to actually replace the carburetor with a new one.  The original carb was soaked, cleaned, blown out, etc. but just wouldn't run.  It had everybody stumped over and over.  I've seen intake valves stuck in the guides and bent over the pushrods.  Fuel lines hard as rocks or simply crumbling in your fingers.  Gel looking crap that looked like it came out of a baby's wet diaper.  White and green fuzzy corrosion halfway up in the bowls.  Never had that happen until ethanol fuel came around.  Ethanol is the evil brew of the devil.

Are you sure what you used was ethanol gas?  ;) ;D  I can't believe the good luck you've had with it.  :o
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Kbeitz

After every winter is finished I need to open my carb on my mule
to remove that Gel looking crap before it will even start. I also never
had that problem until ethanol fuel came around
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Awesomesince72

To much oil will lean out engine. Ive never burned up a saw at 50:1. 40:1 and 32:1 both work but I don't think it's necessary except maybe on a mill saw that runs wot for extended periods.
Most important thing is pick a ratio and tune carb and stick with that ratio.
As far as fuel goes I've tried 100ll and saw ran crappy. Burn rate to slow. I've ran ethanol and never had a problem with my 066 even if I left gas in for a couple years.
I prefer non ethanol 90 octane. Seems like best burn rate for stock saw and I like the way it smells.
Find a fuel and oil that you like. Tune saw with it and stick with it.

Ox

I heard a few, only a few  :D, stories of no problems with ethanol over long periods of time in small engines.  I'm starting to wonder if ethanol fuel varies enough from region to region where it's just like what I hear.  I've always thought that maybe it was supposed to be ethanol fuel but really wasn't.  Some of this stuff just doesn't make any sense at all.
I also wonder about different climates regarding ethanol.  All I know is I hate the stuff and pay extra for the high test non ethanol for my stuff and all my problems stopped immediately after switching. 
Just random rambling.... :)
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Caloren

Here in Central CA I have no choice, it's ethanol or nothing! Checked once to see if pure gas was available and was surprised to find a couple of stations that claimed to have it, but they were over 300 miles north of me, that wasn't going to happen! Don't know if my saws would run better with non ethanol or not, but I don't leave gas in them when I store them for a week or more. One gallon of gas will last me for almost a year in my lawn mower since we have a small lawn here at home, no trouble with the Briggs & Stratton engine on that. Couple of small generators we use in the mountains, they seem to run fine with gas left in them for months at a time.
Would I use non ethanol if it was available? I would certainly try it, just to see if it made a difference, and probably use it.
Just a few thoughts as it is interesting to read all the pro's and con's of people in states where real gas is available!  8)
Stihl MS 170, Stihl MS 310, Stihl 028 AV Super, and half a dozen other no-accounts! Cat D4 D.

20ozjolt

Try your local marina

Many up here are a good place to find clear gas

petefrom bearswamp

I will probably switch to non ethanol even tho no probs so far.
It is getting much easier to get here in central NY state now.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

clearcut

There is an ethanol free alternative fuel available in CA, sold at Home Depot and such. I believe you can get it on Amazon also. TruFuel is one brand. It comes in pre-mixed or 4- cycle. Its pricey at about $20 per gallon. It claims to be very shelf stable.

I plan on trying it in my very old lawnmower that hates ethanol. I tired of cleaning the carburetor every week, just to cut the grass.

My newer string trimmer and leaf blower seem to do fine with E-10.
Carbon sequestered upon request.

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