Two-Stroke Oils: All the Same?

[bucketofguts]

Just because a few companies(more like a half dozen) doesn't mean they are all the same. Phillips 66 has great track record of producing oil for many oems and they are all different.

I most certainly agree. What oil would you recommend Paul buy in a big container for his 2-stroke engines

Mix any good oil at 40:1? Don't try that with opti-2. I've had trouble trying to do it at 50:1 in a leaf blower and chainsaw. It really is meant to be mixed much thinner.
It seems the oil has a lot of cling to it, including clinging to the passageways in the carburetor. This can really mess with fuel flow, so much in fact I could not tune a leaf blower rich enough because it restricted that much. In a Stihl ms250 it really messed up the mid-range tune, and I could not adjust it out. After I went back to using Castrol like I normally do at 50:1, it slowly returned to normal as the Opti was washed out.
It seems to work fine at 100:1 and I've used it in small equipment like that, but I don't have enough courage to run it at 100:1 in one of my saws.
That being said my uncle has been using it in his 024 AV super since it was new at 100:1, and the saw still runs strong today. Up until about 5 years ago he's been using firewood to heat his house in the winter, so the saw is no shelf queen.

In any case I've had no trouble using Castrol for years at 50:1, but I usually cut in cooler temperatures and I would probably go to 40:1 if I cut during the middle of summer. My experience with it has been good, little in the way of deposits and never any oil related failures.

 

[ColinNS]

Several years , no issues

Same here. Break a motor down with a several tanks of that mix through it and you can feel a film on the piston. Great stuff but not cheap.

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

No running them on high test. The smaller scale glow engines run on a nitro/methanol mix. They were one weedwhacker engines back in the day. Now they are purpose built for rc use. These are the 2 1/5 scale models I currently have. The pic with my daughter is the 5ive t. 32cc zen based engine. The other chassis with the solid axles is a kraken vekta .5 34cc zen based engine.

I love this! Though I learnt early on by browsing forums that the addiction in that hobby is huge and so is the amount of money that one can spend LOL. After seeing that, I decided it wasn’t a hobby I needed haha. I enjoy seeing them tear up the parks when I bump in to people running them and can walk away knowing my wallet is not empty

 

[Squareground3691]

Same here. Break a motor down with a several tanks of that mix through it and you can feel a film on the piston. Great stuff but not cheap.

Buying it by the gallon is the cheapest way to go .

 

[Husky77]

I plan to get a big container of oil for my 2-stroke engines. Does it really matter which brand I get? More importantly, are there brands I should avoid?

If your going to buy some especially more than 1L you need to look into it more and make sure it's right, but if your not that concerned and go blind, all will work. Just some a lot better than others! But from what I see a lot just get any oil because it says 2 stroke and get away with it, run them hard and when the fail just get another...... then say " them saws are crap"

 

[Husky77]

Thanks for the replies. Didn't know I was poking a sore spot.

I ordered Echo armor-something. It was cheaper than the stuff at Tractor Supply, and I didn't have to get in the car. I figured Echo ought to be able to make an oil that works.

You'll do ok, yes it's a mine field and so many run "the best oil" you can spend a lot of time researching. 30 years ago I ran mine on oregon 2t it was a semi synthetic and worked fine, never had a saw wear out and pistols were always good. Now 30 years on there are better oils but do they do a better job? You will find so much conflicting advice and every brand sell the best! How much time have you got to experiment and find out for yourself, it's the only way you will truly know. More importantly keep you chain sharp and dont force it to cut

 

[Catfish044]

Learned my lesson the hard way with stihl HP toasted the rod outta my 660 I always run my tune a little on the fat side with my saws , new 462 didn’t even get fired up and the crap dumped out non ethanol 90 and red armor at fat 40:1., that all everything gets now the 462 , 461 , 044 , 193t , the hedge trimer , weed eater and my old echo leaf blower has never ran better

 

[JMCK]

Echo red armor with Non ethanol everyday, all day. Over 12 saws with zero issues.

 

[sean donato]

I love this! Though I learnt early on by browsing forums that the addiction in that hobby is huge and so is the amount of money that one can spend LOL. After seeing that, I decided it wasn’t a hobby I needed haha. I enjoy seeing them tear up the parks when I bump in to people running them and can walk away knowing my wallet is not empty

Yeah cheap is not something 1/5 scale rc is. Only reason why I just have 2 of them and not more, well that and they take up a lot of room..

 

[sean donato]

They are for certain not.

So what's the difference? Everything I've found says they are all made by the same company. The only thing I can't confirm 100% for manufacturer of the hp+, however the regular hp is still a Phillips 66 production.

 

[bwalker]

So what's the difference? Everything I've found says they are all made by the same company. The only thing I can't confirm 100% for manufacturer of the hp+, however the regular hp is still a Phillips 66 production.

I don't know. Honda HP2 is made by Phillips as well and I believe Yamalube 2R is made by them now too.
Phillips over the years has made good two cycle oils.

 

[bwalker]

I most certainly agree. What oil would you recommend Paul buy in a big container for his 2-stroke engines

For a saw or other O P E any oil that's actually JASO FC or FD certified will do.

 

[Dennisthemenace]

Hey Dennis, I haven’t sadly mate, have you?

No, sticking with Amsoil Sabre

 

[lone wolf]

No, sticking with Amsoil Sabre

That works for me I never had a problem from it.

 

[bucketofguts]

Learned my lesson the hard way with stihl HP toasted the rod outta my 660 I always run my tune a little on the fat side with my saws , new 462 didn’t even get fired up and the crap dumped out non ethanol 90 and red armor at fat 40:1., that all everything gets now the 462 , 461 , 044 , 193t , the hedge trimer , weed eater and my old echo leaf blower has never ra

I most certainly agree. What oil would you recommend Paul buy in a big container for his 2-stroke engines

https://buckinbillyray.com/buckin-answers/what-oil-fuel-mix-do-you-run/

 

[OM617YOTA]

I most certainly agree. What oil would you recommend Paul buy in a big container for his 2-stroke engines

30wt non detergent.

(Sarcasm, for the humor impaired.)

 

[sean donato]

30wt non detergent.

(Sarcasm, for the humor impaired.)

I prefer conola oil myself....

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

No, sticking with Amsoil Sabre

Gotcha. I got some, but it cost a pretty penny!! $44 AUD per L. Only ran a tank of it so far but the smell and smoke is much less than the others I have tested so far.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Holy hell, we can get a gallon of Husky XP+ for nearly that price in the states.

Edit: Woops I'm wrong, conversion is farther apart than I thought. $44AUD = $27USD at current rates. I thought they were near parity right now, I was wrong.

 

[KASH]

I started full time cut and skid logging in 1979 brand new Husqvarna 162 used what ever oil was on sale mixed quart to five gallon after about 2000 hours the power was down a bit time for a rebuild.
Today if I had a brand new 162 and used the best modern oil at there recommended ratio I would probably get around 2000 hours.
The 2 main reasons saws die early are
Set too lean
Dull chains with lean mix ratios a really bad combination on hot days.