Problems with Stihl Ultra Oil

[spacemule]

The real question is, did the op stop after three engines because he figured he needed to figure out what the hell he was doing, or because he ran out of working motors to fry. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[ZeroJunk]

If someone could tell me some tricks of using ethanol fuel

Google Startron.

 

[komatsuvarna]

Heh who knows I just hope he figured out his own way to conquer the ethanol issue or found some non-eth gas to run. If he didn't then I'd hate to see that repair bill.

I really hope that the government craps enough cash into cellulose ethanol to get it going HOT. Then they can offer a rebate or something to trade cars in for Ethanol optimized vehicles that can run 100% ethanol. Then we can keep the rest of our dino juice for small engines, do similar rebates and conversions, or do what germany does and run white gas in our saws.

Sadly other great ideas like hempoline, hemp clothing, a decent tax system, and trimming the fat out of our government haven't made it yet. I am glad to hear previous posters say that gas with ethanol can be used in small engines, though I'm not terribly convinced since E10 labeling isn't well regulated and despite this "Federal Mandate that all gas must have Ethanol in it" I have indeed seen gas stations that don't explicitly stock ethanol gas. Even with the 10% Label on the pump.

There are a few good ways to see if your gas has ethanol in it by drawing a line on a jar and filling it with water up to the line and then filling with water up to the line. Afterwards you can dump the gas to be tested into it and shake up the jar. once the fuel and "water" separates if there's more "water" than there was before then you've confirmed the presence of ethanol. They do make special little test tubes to tell you exactly how much there is.

If you've filled up at the same gas station using the same regular / premium since before 1994 and you've not noticed any performance changes, especially if you're using the same vehicle , then you're likely not using ethanol gas. I usually get 4 1/2 trips to and from my college campus, without going anywhere else, on the normal gas I buy. This is in a 94F150. When I fill up using the "Premium" gas of the exact same price as normal gas which I do know has ethanol I only get 3 trips flat. Not an exact science but I've noticed it's not variable, I use cruise at 65.

If someone could tell me some tricks of using ethanol fuel in chainsaws I'd be grateful, because unfortunately it doesn't seem like ethanol use as a fuel is going away and the EPA sure is stepping it up.

Been running it since it came out, its all thats available here. Like Indiansprings, I've left it in stuff for seasons at a time with no trouble. In the last year Ive been running it in ported saws with ultra oil, aint had a problem yet.

I know there are problems with ethanol sometimes, but IMO 90% of the time its just an escape goat!

 

[2dogs]

I just registered to post to this. Do not under any circumstances run gas with ethanol in it on the older Stihls. I did that once with my 026 and after 5 minutes (I was REALLY new to chainsaws back then) it quit from being so hot. You might get away with Eth in newer saws such as the 170 (I haven't tried it but I own one.) I'm no expert on the subject but it's always seemed like eth just destroys the older saws from what I have read. Also I've used both the silver and orange and the only real difference you'll see is an extended warranty on new gear when you buy it through your dealer and it's a little nicer on the plant life (like if you dump it on some grass on accident) other than that it runs just as good as the orange stuff. Both oils say they pack fuel stabilizers and they have to because my grandfather left a lot of his stuff laying around before I took over and believe it or not that stuff was still good. I personally recommend adding 1oz of Stabil to all of your 1gal batches as it'll help prevent eth problems and has some carb cleaning properties it's also relatively cheap compared to what eth can do to small engines. I seriously hope whoever wins the next election kicks the EPA in the head because so far all they've managed to do is ruin thousands of perfectly fine chainsaws, cars, etc. If you're wondering about using lower octane non eth gas go ahead we've been using 82 oct eth free from Caseys (They ship their gas from Illinois I think.) and our equipment has ran well. There is always the option of using the high oct stuff right from stihl for like.. 7.99 a bottle.

tl;dr version
Ethanol bad for older stihl saws
Silver/Orange oil more or less the same
Stabil is gewd stuff.
Lower oct without eth is better than higher oct with

Nonsense. Here in California all gasoline has alcohol in it and it works fine in chainsaws. There are things the prudent man will do such as running the saw dry before storage or mixing only enough gas that can be used in say a month. Rubber components will not last as long as they did in the 1960s. You run what works for you but be careful about giving advice that is contrary to what works for others.

 

[GASoline71]

Oh snap! All my Stihls are doomed! I've been usin' ethanol gas for years... wonder why they haven't blown up yet?

2puppies outlined it short and sweet. read and heed what he said.

But to give out blatant misinformation and to preach doomsday for a specific brand of saws is silly.

Gary

 

[SteveH]

So you've been running it in your saws with no changes?

A lot of us are. Or, it seems that way from reading posts. My oldest saw is an 036 from I think about '99. My newest two are a 441 and a 211 bought in the past two yr. I have done nothing at all except put gas/oil mix [either regular Stihl or Ultra, depending on what I grab off my shelf as I have bottles of each up there] and have had no issues. I don't even think about it.

Not saying there are no issues with ethanol, just that I haven't seen any in my stuff.

 

[ZeroJunk]

Ethanol does add a variable that wasn't there before. If through your enviornment, attention to storage and containers, bad gas station, etc. you allow a lot of moisture to be exposed to your gas there is a possibility that you can get some pockets of bad mix. This is just something to consider. If I am running ethanol, outboard motor or saw, I shake the #### out of the can. Makes me feel better.

There is a lot of smoke about ethanol related engine problems and I suspect there is a tad of fire there somewhere.

 

[GASoline71]

My oldest Stihl that I currently have is my 044... from 1993. It has been run usin' E10 gas since E10 gas has been around. 92 octane. Never ever had an issue with overheating or power loss. Not even water in the tank. It's been sittin' on the shelf in the shop for 2 months with a half a tank in it... I can walk out and start it, and cut just fine.

The oldest Stihl I had awhile back was an 056 Super... same deal... always run with 92 octane E10. Saw was a friggin' beast... never an issue.

Gary

 

[sunfish]

Hmm that's pretty confidence boosting. I got a question though, would switching to a higher octane cause a saw to run hotter before being adjusted? I run 82 OCT and I switched to the 92 OCT because I too as the op said heard it was better for 2strokes.

I've never seen 82 oct?

I ran 87-91 with eth for years and a bunch of it, with never a problem.

I buy 91 non-eth now, just because I can and I don't care for the ethanol political BS.

 

[GASoline71]

Every 2 stroke I've ever owend (from dirt bikes, to saws, to weed eaters...) has been run on 91 or 92 octane fuel.

Gary

 

[sunfish]

Hmm I really just dunno I don't think octane would affect running temperature, but I do know eth makes engines run leaner because of the oxygen ethanol introduces. Ethanol also varies between fillups at the pump so adjusting the carb has to be done pretty often. Do you adjust the carb often Gas? I'd like to switch to gas I know is E10 just so I'll be on the up and up and know how it works. I don't have to adjust my carburetor much.

I've never had to adjust carb between eth gas and non-eth. Never noticed any diff in how a saw ran between the two.

 

[GASoline71]

The saw I use the most is my 044. The carb on that saw hasn't been touched in at least 5 years. I think you're overengineeering your thought process.

Gary

 

[sunfish]

I have also never noticed any diff between 87, 89 or 91 octane gas, in how my saws run...

But my outboard motor does run better on 91 non-eth.

 

[ZeroJunk]

Some guys like to run their saws on the edge of max RPM and still four stroking no load. If that is the case you need to pay close attention to it. If you back off a few hundred RPM which you will never notice time wise working then it's not a worry.


Saying that there have never been any ethanol related failures is just as misguided as saying that ethanol always causes failures.