100LL av fuel and chainsaws

Hi, been awhile since I've posted here.

Two of my oldest saws (A 42cc Craftsman/Poulan and a Solo 637) have both fallen prone to vapor-locking. Both run and start good otherwise; but once they get into the serious work, they soon die out and won't start until they cool off.

In searching the forum, someone recommended 100LL to get around this. This fuel is readily available to me as I work at an airport. I'm aware that it's specially formulated to be stable over time and to avoid vaporlock in piston a/c engines.

Are there any harmful side effects to using this fuel in a chainsaw? Does anyone here have any long term experience using this fuel? The biggest drawback I'm aware of is the current $6+ per gallon cost.

No draw backs I have used it in all my saws in below signature and then some for quite some time. Long shelf life, and I have had Zero fuel related issues with it, as in you don't see me producing threads about how ethanal or water or whatever has damaged my saw. I have never replaced anything related to the fuel system on all of those saws and 1-3 sit for very long times without running the gas out of them. Just started my 084 after it sat for about 2.5 years with 100LL in the tank and carb, started just like normal with just a few pulls, like I had run it just yesterday or something.

I use it on my saws and trimmers. Get blue kerosine jugs to store it in and use it only for your 2 strokes, unless you are a pro it will last a long time. That $6 per gallon is cheap insurance knowing that you don't have to dump the gas every month or two or wonder if it is good 6 months from now or if it has water in it or if it is eating up your rubber fuel parts.

I pay about $4 per gallon for it.

Sam

Haven't had a chance to check it out yet but somebody told me that Sunoco's top octane blend didn't have the evil corn crud in it. Might swing by there later today to find out. Probably close to the cost of the avgas even if it's true.

Got caught needin' a carb replacement on a back pack blower and didn't have the time to fool with it. Took it to the only Echo dealer around (probably $15 in gas round trip...times two once it was fixed). $100 later, plus the money peed away on fuel additives and even $6 a gallon is lookin' cheap, to say nuthin' of the wasted time and curses. Just wish I had an airport closer by.

Local Stihl dealer is sellin' some kind of 90 octane holy water by the quart - sumthin' like $6 or $8 a bottle. What a bargain.

Rearden said:

Haven't had a chance to check it out yet but somebody told me that Sunoco's top octane blend didn't have the evil corn crud in it. Might swing by there later today to find out. Probably close to the cost of the avgas even if it's true.

Got caught needin' a carb replacement on a back pack blower and didn't have the time to fool with it. Took it to the only Echo dealer around (probably $15 in gas round trip...times two once it was fixed). $100 later, plus the money peed away on fuel additives and even $6 a gallon is lookin' cheap, to say nuthin' of the wasted time and curses. Just wish I had an airport closer by.

Local Stihl dealer is sellin' some kind of 90 octane holy water by the quart - sumthin' like $6 or $8 a bottle. What a bargain.

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Exactly, go by and get say 15 gallons of 100LL AV gas and be down for say a year to two, store it in good jugs, and no more problems. Those crappy/cheap fuel realated problems aren't free, as you can clearly see, plus the aggrevation of it all.

Sam

Amen bruva'

Also switched to usin' the blue plastic kero cans. Haven't measured but the ones I got feel a lot heavier than the same shaped red ones, and the color keeps even my absent minded butt straight.

Slamm said:

Exactly, go by and get say 15 gallons of 100LL AV gas and be down for say a year to two, store it in good jugs, and no more problems. Those crappy/cheap fuel realated problems aren't free, as you can clearly see, plus the aggrevation of it all.

Sam

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Are you storing the AVgas with or without stabilizer in it?

SCHallenger said:

Are you storing the AVgas with or without stabilizer in it?

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No stabilizer needed. It is designed to have a shelf life of years, properly stored.

I store mine in tightly capped metal cans, jerry jugs work well.

When I mix some the mix gets put in individual 1-gal metal coleman fuel cans. The mix seems the same 6 months later , as the day i mixed it.

Mad Professor said:

...metal cans.

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I had heard that plastic isn't good for long-term storage. I believe it after seeing what happens to plastic gas tanks on motorcycles that have sat for a while with gas in them. Often the plastic gets permanently discolored. At the least, the stickers discolor or fall off.
That seems to be evidence that plastic is porous.

Rearden said:

Also switched to usin' the blue plastic kero cans. Haven't measured but the ones I got feel a lot heavier than the same shaped red ones, and the color keeps even my absent minded butt straight.

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just as long as you dont make a mistake and put some 100LL in a kero heater or use it to cut some diesel for the winter,.... catastrophic results either way !!!my 2 cents ,buy a new red can and label it unmistakably jk

JRepairsK70e said:

just as long as you dont make a mistake and put some 100LL in a kero heater or use it to cut some diesel for the winter,.... catastrophic results either way !!!my 2 cents ,buy a new red can and label it unmistakably jk

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I agree, but I don't have anything that is Kero, where as, I have many different 4stroke and 2stroke things, and the odds of me or worker burning up a 2 stroke is quite high, burning up $1,000 saws is more likely to happen than putting mix gas in a kero burner. The smell is obviously different and it pours very, very different.

My opinion,

Sam

Thanks for the concern. Already had a nitwit "help me out" and get crossed up on fuels. We use a little of everything so the labeling is LARGE, and I trust no one to handle it but me.

Rearden said:

Thanks for the concern. Already had a nitwit "help me out" and get crossed up on fuels. We use a little of everything so the labeling is LARGE, and I trust no one to handle it but me.

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Good plan. I was doing a week-end job for some friends, had two 660s and a 460 in the back of my pickup. While I was on the Cat the friend's kid gassed up my saws for me. I'm glad he told me about it...he filled them with straight gas.
He didn't know what he'd done and he meant well but that would have been an expensive hit.

AV gas is better than pump gas.I use motor sports fuel sunoco.The sports fuel is better suited for the saws.The AV gas has an additive package designed
for elevation. Your not cutting at 30,000 feet.

Sunoco makes several grades of fuel the supreme sunoco is designed for engines that run @7,000 to 10,000 rpm.

Gologit said:

Good plan. I was doing a week-end job for some friends, had two 660s and a 460 in the back of my pickup. While I was on the Cat the friend's kid gassed up my saws for me. I'm glad he told me about it...he filled them with straight gas.
He didn't know what he'd done and he meant well but that would have been an expensive hit.

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Here close to the city that breeds and bleeds, we leave nothing in the bed of our truck that we don't want to be rid of. I actually had somebody breeze past me while sitting in traffic in town and grab an old half worn out corn broom out'a the bed. I was so struck by the shear audacity over something of such little value that my mind just kind'a went numb and I didn't even react. That was my "Ah Ha Moment" when I decided never to venture in there again...and I haven't in years. Just wait'n for the whole wretched mess to collapse in on itself. Like Maggie Thatcher once so famously said..."the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money".

My advise to all is Don't Visit! Civilization ceased to exist there long ago. Now it's just a free range hunting ground for tourist victims that don't know any better. Poor unsuspecting visiting Yankee's fans. Sometimes I almost pity them.

Wish I had two 660's to fret over. My 460 is my big boy and I never let it out of my sight once I leave the shop.
I also had a helper once, who really sucked at math, prepare a jug of pre-mix for me. Thankfully I just smoked and old Homelite a'for I realized what was up. He swore up and down that he had graduated from high school, but I never did believe him. Another public education mill success story. Later discovered that he hadn't a clue what all of those little lines between the numbers on a tape measure were for either. That was just straight depressing.

I think he's working for the government now. Probably in charge of small business loans or something.

Went lookin' for the Sunoco special blend yesterday but no luck. Try again today.
I'm gettin' so paranoid now about it all that I might switch to metal gerry cans just to have something that I might be able to put a lock on. That'll fix me. Then I can just loose the key or forget the combination. :confused2:
It's always sumthin'...

I recently purchased 100ll and now my 036 and 026 seam to be running too rich. My 036 I leaned out a little but doesn't seem to have the same power when I run 93 octane pump gas. 028 and 200t seem t
o have the same issue.

Any advice?

100LL AVGAS Advice

12vdzl said:

I recently purchased 100ll and now my 036 and 026 seam to be running too rich. My 036 I leaned out a little but doesn't seem to have the same power when I run 93 octane pump gas. 028 and 200t seem t
o have the same issue.

Any advice?

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I run 100LL AVGAS in most of my gas engines. The thing I have noticed about 100LL is that its quality and consistency may help to expose existing issues with, or out-of-balance settings on, equipment which has been running on lower grade fuels. Because it is not prone to detonation, vapor lock or degradation, it may actually seem as though it reduces performance while it is actually showing limitations of combustion engines' configurations or conditions. Think compression, spark resistance, timing, etc. Keep in mind it is not a super-fuel which will magically change the output of one's engine to "rocket ship," i.e. it cannot change an engine's volumetric efficiency. 100LL also has a different specific gravity than other fuels, which must be taken into account for carburetor tuning. I run it in high-compression street/race auto applications where it is performs exceptionally well when settings and conditions are balanced to match the fuel's characteristics. It quickly showed me where I had been experiencing some mild detonation issues under heavy load which would have been difficult to detect without using a chassis dynamometer. Try using a chainsaw tachometer for initial tuning and then use the audible method for 4-stroke/2-stroke cycling to see if the settings provide reliable improvements (see more @blsnelling). Also, make sure you use a high-quality 2-cycle oil mix, like Stihl Ultra. My $0.02.... hope that helps.

12vdzl said:

I recently purchased 100ll and now my 036 and 026 seam to be running too rich. My 036 I leaned out a little but doesn't seem to have the same power when I run 93 octane pump gas. 028 and 200t seem t
o have the same issue.

Any advice?

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Higher octane fuel in low compression engines does not accomplish anything and can even make them run a little hotter from some data I have seen.
As the previous poster mentioned it usually will change the needle tuning due to listed factors.

We have no true high octane fuel here in the midwest that is ethanol free. So I mix 100ll av with regular 87 octane pump gas 50/50. It makes all my saws run great. I've done this for some time now with no ill affects.