Chainsaw Fuel...

[MoonshinerPSD]

Probably been covered before, but I've been running premium fuel in my saws for years without any issues... its 92 octane with I assume a 10% blend of ethanol added.
I've talked with recent professionals on fuel and they have told me to stay away from the pump premium and go with non-ethanol gas.
My question is what does the 10% ethanol blend do to saws in particular my Stihls?
If I go with a non-ethanol fuel what octane level should I be after? 92, 100, 110 or 120??

 

[roostersgt]

92, the higher octane won't do any more for your saw's performance. Watse of money. I now buy the canned 40/50 fuel pre-mixed. $3. 97 at Wallyworld and 92+ octane w/no ethanol. Stays potent for 2 years.

 

[MoonshinerPSD]

What sized container is that coming in? last I check a gal on 92 non-ethanol was going for $4.50/gal

 

[RandyMac]

What sized container is that coming in? last I check a gal on 92 non-ethanol was going for $4.50/gal

Crappy reg/eth gas is nearly that at the pump here.
I use the mix in a can, TruFuel, my saws haven't seen pump gas in years.

 

[jeeptj19992001]

there is booze in gas, no really, you are kidding me......, can you name those pro's .....pro what ? baseball? football? napcar?

 

[Rookie1]

I think the biggest problem is when ethanol gas sits around. It will go "bad" and also collect moisture in it. So if you leave it in your saw for a long period without running it may corrode the carb and degrade the other parts of your fuel system. If your using the gas your buying at a quick rate and buying fresh,not buying 20 gallons and leaving it sit,then you should be alright.:msp_mellow:

 

[Mad Professor]

What sized container is that coming in? last I check a gal on 92 non-ethanol was going for $4.50/gal

I think that is per quart;too pricey for me.

 

[cowroy]

Does anyone know why they don't just make carb kits for ethanol? I know they do this for four barrel carbs, so whats the deal with everything else. All it should be is a different material for the diaphragm, needle, ect.

 

[Hank Chinaski]

I think that is per quart;too pricey for me.

for 5 year shelf stability, 2 year open/saw stability, oil in the mix?

Get a gallon of prem, add 2cyc oil, and good fuel stabilizer, then divide all that up by 4...

plus factor in convenience and the fact that the mix is the same all the time, and it's not bad IMHO.

 

[Mad Professor]

for 5 year shelf stability, 2 year open/saw stability, oil in the mix?

Get a gallon of prem, add 2cyc oil, and good fuel stabilizer, then divide all that up by 4...

plus factor in convenience and the fact that the mix is the same all the time, and it's not bad IMHO.

I get all that using 100LL AV gas that is a little over $5/gal right now plus the cost of premium mix oil. Divide that by 4.

Whoops, 100ll is only $4.97 /gal right now.

 

[mayhem100]

The ethanol gas has a much shorter good shelf life than the non ethanol pump gas. Octane drops just sitting on the shelf, IIRC its a couple points per month or some such degradation. Ethanol also tends to wear on the rubber and silicone bits in the fuel delivery system (fuel lines and carb diaphragms), so my solution is to run my OPE dry and put it away instead of storing it with fuel in the tank and lines. I also add some seafoam to my mix to help stabilize it. I go through about a gallon of fuel a year in the saw give or take...if the saw starts acting funny the first thing I do is dump whats left in the truck's fuel tank and get some fresh gas.

Ethanol in the fuel has been a fact of life around here for decades now. Never had a problem with it.

 

[2dogs]

The ethanol gas has a much shorter good shelf life than the non ethanol pump gas. Octane drops just sitting on the shelf, IIRC its a couple points per month or some such degradation. Ethanol also tends to wear on the rubber and silicone bits in the fuel delivery system (fuel lines and carb diaphragms), so my solution is to run my OPE dry and put it away instead of storing it with fuel in the tank and lines. I also add some seafoam to my mix to help stabilize it. I go through about a gallon of fuel a year in the saw give or take...if the saw starts acting funny the first thing I do is dump whats left in the truck's fuel tank and get some fresh gas.

Ethanol in the fuel has been a fact of life around here for decades now. Never had a problem with it.

A gallon per year? Heck I would run 50 Fuel in your case.

 

[mayhem100]

A gallon per year? Heck I would run 50 Fuel in your case.

I don't know what that means...is the the permixed cans? I see no point in it myself. Can't see any reason to spend $20+ a year on saw fuel when I can only spend $4 and meet all my needs.

Its harder to find too. Gas station is right there and I go there all the time. Premixed fuel I gotta go hunting for.

 

[roostersgt]

Expensive yes, but what price to put on "peace of mind" when it comes to my saws performance and health. I probably will only use a gallon or two per year also. Consider that your saws cost too much to risk exposing them to ethanol damage. Walmart carries the TruFuel 40 mix for $3.97 and HD carries the same stuff in 50:1 for $4.97 per quart. Convenient to carry / store too.

 

[Gologit]

That pre-mixed stuff is probably a blessing for you guys that don't use a lot of fuel. If all I was using was a gallon a year I'd probably buy some.

A gallon of fuel usually lasts me part of a morning. By day's end I might have burned through two or three gallons. It just doesn't pencil out for serious cutting.

 

[ndlawrence]

My local station has 93 grade ethanol free that's what I run in my saws.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[Harold W]

50 Fuel

You have to know what your fuel use is and go according. If your saws are going to sit a while before us, or you just pull it out to saw a limb or tree and put it back, you better be using 50fuel. It just a plain fact of life now---the fuel we have today will go bad in just weeks--anything after 3 weeks and you are taking a chance on toasting your top end. The problem I'm seeing is on our Wildland fire engines, they carry a chainsaw fueled up and ready to go, months later, they pull it out to get a tree out of the way and within a min or so, its toasted. We now have a warehouse full of Stihl 039 and 390s with toasted top ends. The State says 50 fuel cost to much also---I wonder what the cost of 20 or so new 390s goes for these days??

Now, if you are going to cut fire wood and know you are going to burn up a gallon or two, mix up a fresh batch and go for it, then dump what is left in your lawnmower when your done. The thing to remember is to factor in HOW long is the fuel going to sit and HOW old is it when you go to use it. You can't afford to burn just 50 fuel on high use days---but it pays for itself on those "now and then" jobs.

 

[Dennis Gauge]

There's got to be more to it than just the ethanol.

Last summer a tree blew down in the next door neighbor's yard. I pulled out the old Mac 10-10 and a gallon of 87 octane, 10% ethanol mix that was at least a year old.

Note that at the time the Mac 10-10 had the original fuel line and original carburetor gaskets from 1975 in it.

Ran that whole gallon through that old Mac 10-10, and another gallon after that.

This spring I decided to give Dad's old 10-10 a little love, so I put in a new fuel line and a carb kit. The original line was still like new, and I kept it for a spare. The gaskets in the carb were still soft and supple.

 

[Eccentric]

I get all that using 100LL AV gas that is a little over $5/gal right now plus the cost of premium mix oil. Divide that by 4.

Whoops, 100ll is only $4.97 /gal right now.

AV Gas is basically a no-go here in the 'enlightened' state of Ca........at least in the Bay Area. Wish I could still get it for $5.00/gal. I cleared out the local Wally World's shelf of 40-Fuel (TrueFuel) back when they had it on clearance for 2.50/QT. Got 4 gallons on the shelf right now. Still too pricey for heavy use, but it's MUCH better in the saws than the crap we're forced to buy here. When I'm doing a bunch of cutting at one time, I'll buy just enough pump gas to do the job, and put the rest in my Scout. The 40-Fuel is for GTG's and saw storage in my case. Again, I WISH I could get 100LL localy...:bang:

My local station has 93 grade ethanol free that's what I run in my saws.

Aaron's jealous. Local 93 Octane ethanol-free pump gas would be fantastic. The VP guy wants stupid money for SEF94. TrueFuel is spendy at HD (and the WallyWorld doesn't carry it anymore).

 

[mayhem100]

Expensive yes, but what price to put on "peace of mind" when it comes to my saws performance and health. I probably will only use a gallon or two per year also. Consider that your saws cost too much to risk exposing them to ethanol damage. Walmart carries the TruFuel 40 mix for $3.97 and HD carries the same stuff in 50:1 for $4.97 per quart. Convenient to carry / store too.

If I could actually see a benefit to buying canned premixed fuel versus buying a gallon of gas I'd be all over it. I run my stuff (saw, mower, string trimmer, blower, etc.) dry when I use it so there really isn't any significant residual ethanol mixture in the tank, lines or the carb. But I've been running the stuff for a good 15-20 years now and I'm still waiting for damage to occur. I've never even had to replace a fuel line or rebuild a carb.

I checked the wallyworld and TSC websites for fuel but couldn't find any references. Seems reasonable that they'd carry it, but I had no idea if they actually did.

I'm just Joe Woodburner, so I don't cut professionally. A gallon, maybe two is the most mix I'll go through in a year between the saw, string trimmer and rarely used blower. Gas can holds a gallon, if it still has gas in it after 3-4 months I usually dump it in the truck and refill it with 93, mix oil and some seafoam. Been working well for me for years...not sure why it works for me and Harold's guys are going through MS390's like I use toilet paper though. Maybe because I run my equipment dry...dunno.