Premix 2 Stroke Fuel

[Briar Lee]

I’ve been opposed to each and every advancement in technology in internal combustion engines since the first PCV valves on cars when I was a little kid. And I’ve been dead wrong every time.

When a friend of mine closed his pawn shop in 2018 I paid $40 for a like new Sears (Poulan) 38cc 16” bar chainsaw. I mixed up some gas and oil for it and it ran fine in 2018. Then the spring of 2019 the gas I had left in it was sour and it wouldn’t start.

My son took pity on me and replaced the spark plug and carburetor and gave me a gallon of premix 50-1 2 Stroke fuel, and it worked all that year.

Then came Corona and I didn’t start that saw until last week. It had spent four years with the same gas in the tank.

It started the second pull, and runs great. The fuel is still good, as is the spark plug and carburetor.

A professional like Harry Hosterman who uses a chainsaw for a living might still mix their own gas.

But the rest of us should pay $25 for three liters (110 ounces) of premix 2 stroke oil.

The brand I just bought for my weed eater is Husqvarna but there are several choices.

When my son replaces the carburetor and spark plug on my weed eater I’m fairly assured my weed eater will start again.

It started just fine last year, you know?.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

Ethanol free is your friend. I won't put anything else in my equipment except for during the summer, and that's only if I have to.

 

[Briar Lee]

Ethanol free is your friend. I won't put anything else in my equipment except for during the summer, and that's only if I have to.

I’ve never intentionally put one drop of anything but leaded premium gasoline in any two stroke engine I own for fifty years.

For the last thirty or so it’s been unleaded alcohol free premium. I also use Sta-bil.

And every year I have to get somebody to tune up my weed eater, chainsaw, etc to get it to start.

The premix is about four or five times the cost of mixing it yourself and worth every penny.

The secret has to be in the stabilizers they blend with the gasoline and synthetic oil.

The power shops claim premix is good for at least five years.

I can vouch for four years, personally.

 

[elessar]

I have had similar results with Amsoil Saber synthetic 2 stroke oil when I mix my own (full disclosure, I shamelessly recommend Amsoil as I am an Amsoil dealer). I went to start my Stihl MS362 after it had sat for the better part of a year. Figured I should start it just because. It lit off about half way through the first pull. Scared the crap out of me! It's all about the stabilizers.

 

[ssjones]

I always use a marine grade stablizer in my gas, for 4 stroke lawn mowers or my 2-stroke yard equipment.
Our new Maryland Governor says that gas-powered lawn equipment will be outlawed in less than 10 years, so I guess it won't be a problem after that. We'll just be buying an endless stream of short lifespan batteries.

 

[Briar Lee]

I always use a marine grade stablizer in my gas, for 4 stroke lawn mowers or my 2-stroke yard equipment.
Our new Maryland Governor says that gas-powered lawn equipment will be outlawed in less than 10 years, so I guess it won't be a problem after that. We'll just be buying an endless stream of short lifespan batteries.

Whenever I hear a do gooder wanting to outlaw this or that to save our precious children I fondly recall my dear old grandmother Myrtle “Ma” Cahow Agee.

Nobody ever despised Franklin Delano Roosevelt more than she, because that no good syphilitic old whore master legalized booze in 1933 and he was one hundred per cent responsible for Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Even today our family reunions are as dry as the deserts of New Mexico.

When Ma Agee was on her stump for total temperance and complete isolationism if there were any weed eaters they had a long electric cord, and a riding lawn mower of any kind, was something exotic.

I looked today at new weed eaters. The good homeowner grade are like mine, a one horsepower two stroke engine and a straight shaft, and cost about $300. They hold about ten ounces of fuel.

For $329 retail they had this cordless electric 40 volt weed eater:

220iL with battery and charger

Both lightweight and heavy-duty, Husqvarna’s 220iL string trimmer with battery and charger delivers more than enough power to get the job done.

www.husqvarna.com

When I get tired of my gas weed eater I’ll buy one of those so I can complain about replacing the battery every five or ten years.

If the do gooders ever do outlaw gas power toys, you won’t want a new one anyway.

 

[FurCoat]

I always run the tank dry on gas powered equipment before winter storage. Never had a problem out of them. Non ethanol with Stabil is what I use also.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I avoid the headache and only use 4 cycle lawn and landscaping tools.

 

[mikethompson]

I would imagine that fuel mixes and how long they last are climate dependant to where you live no?