New Advice: Fill Tank With Pricey Premix Before Storage?

[dmb2613]

Duce , you will only catch heat from those that don't know. I too think of it as snake oil
a 93 oct e free gass with good oil, I use Stihl orange bottle, will be fine for storage if you don't store it too long, for very extended periods of time,[ I have saw that have not been run in over a year ] For longer storage I use about 3 oz of moto mix , drain the tank and run it out of the carb, but in the moto mix and run a min or so . You are gold then
David

 

[Canyon Angler]

I just run them out of fuel before storing them. On larger engines, I remove/replace the bung to drain the carb bowl. Never had a problem that way.

 

[STIHL the BEST]

Our work saws that get run every day get 91 octane non oxygenated gas from Kwik Trip and whichever STIHL oil is handy. Silver or orange.

My PERSONAL saws don’t get run all the time. Sometimes as long as a year or more depending on what is going on with work and home.

I run them out of fuel and put ‘em away empty.
I’ve never had a problem.

I DO run premixed fuel...
The “other” orange...
I like the Husqvarna premixed because it’s 95 octane.
The STIHL is 93.
I’m sure it’s just splitting hairs and physically I probably couldn’t tell the difference. But it’s been working for me, so I’m not going to change anything.
They’re both 50:1, so the mix is correct.
Fleet farm has a gallon for $18.99 and the STIHL dealer has the STIHL premixed for more. I can’t recall how much but I just did the $ comparison and the Husqvarna was cheaper.

STIHL

 

[Mad Professor]

Our work saws that get run every day get 91 octane non oxygenated gas from Kwik Trip and whichever STIHL oil is handy. Silver or orange.

My PERSONAL saws don’t get run all the time. Sometimes as long as a year or more depending on what is going on with work and home.

I run them out of fuel and put ‘em away empty.
I’ve never had a problem.

I DO run premixed fuel...
The “other” orange...
I like the Husqvarna premixed because it’s 95 octane.
The STIHL is 93.
I’m sure it’s just splitting hairs and physically I probably couldn’t tell the difference. But it’s been working for me, so I’m not going to change anything.
They’re both 50:1, so the mix is correct.
Fleet farm has a gallon for $18.99 and the STIHL dealer has the STIHL premixed for more. I can’t recall how much but I just did the $ comparison and the Husqvarna was cheaper.

STIHL

Local airport has 100LL for $4.55/gal. Mixed it comes out to about $6/gal when you add mix oil $

 

[STIHL the BEST]

Local airport has 100LL for $4.55/gal. Mixed it comes out to about $6/gal when you add mix oil $

Nice!

I used to work with a guy years ago that raced cars. And every so often I would buy 5 gallons of 110 race gas from him. But back then I didn’t understand nor realize that was far and above the point at which you stopped seeing benefits and start causing problems...

ETA: Obviously somebody running hot saws or saws that have been modded, may very well see some type of benefit from that. But I typically leave my STIHL’s just the way they designed them.
Well mostly. I’ve taken out a spark arrestor or two...

 

[Okie294life]

Two of my three chainsaws (and my generator) had problems after some down time, and running the generator dry before storage didn't help, so I am learning everything I can about keeping engines clean in the era of nanny state, vote-buying ethanol gas.

I thought I had the problem fixed when I found ethanol-free Sunoco and an additive which, unlike Sta-bil, works. Now I've found a Youtube guy who claims saws will gum up even with ethanol-free gas. He says olefins gum up carbs, and benzene ruins diaphragms.

Here is what he recommends: buy Gucci gas (premixed, like Trufuel). When you're ready to put your saw away, dump the gas station fuel, fill the saw completely with Gucci gas, run for 5 minutes, and put the saw away.

Here is my question: how could having half a gallon of Gucci gas IN THE TANK, where it can't possibly get to the carb, do my saw any good?

I'm considering buying a six-dollar can of Trufuel and running one ounce through each engine before storage. Seems to me that ought to work as well as half a gallon. I don't have once-yearly "winterizing" here, so it could cost a lot to put saws away over and over, full of $20/gallon fuel.

He has some good advice in his videos. He says to use wire-gauge drill bits to clear carb jets.

I've decided I should go ahead and buy Chinese carbs every time I buy new yard tools. The quality is the same, they're dirt cheap, and sometimes they're easier to work on because they don't have Big Brother devices on them to keep me out of them.

Chinese carbs are like Russian roulette its a guessing game, so much crap out there. If you can catch a deal on an OEM carb or buy an OEM rebuild kit you are better off. They “F” up on the jet sizes a lot, so something may starve or get too much fuel. Starving a 2 stroke for fuel isn’t a good idea. Put new high octane non-ethanol gas in it with decent mix and fill the tank up for the winter. I’m a nerd so I’ll go out and start my stuff up 2-3 times during the winter, other than chainsaws which get ran...just to clear gas sitting in the carb.

 

[Okie294life]

But why leave the tank completely full of premix? That's the part I don't understand.

You leave the tank full of premix to prevent moisture draw.

 

[CR888]

For long term storage you really want ALL fuel removed from the saw, this will involve more than just running saw dry, you need to open the carb and clean all fuel out.

 

[Canyon Angler]

Wow, that sounds involved!

 

[Mad Professor]

You leave the tank full of premix to prevent moisture draw.

Old method used on cars/trucks. Air in a tank will get heated/cooled and when cooled moisture can condense, E10 fuel it will just dissolve condensation until the mixture gets saturated, then a large volume of ethanol water will phase separate.

Less air in tank, less moisture, and less volume of moist air moving in/out when cooled/heated

 

[1Alpha1]

I use 40:1 TruFuel in all of my equipment. They've never tasted anything else.

When I'm done using my equipment, it gets cleaned before it gets put away. I then empty the fuel tank and start it up and let it run until it dies.

The only piece of equipment that has fuel left in it's tank, is my blower (SH-86 C-E), as it gets used much more often than the other equipment does.

I've been doing this for as long as I can recall. Never a problem or an issue. One nice thing about the TruFuel is, it doesn't turn the fuel tanks yellow. It comes out of the can clear as water.

 

[stihl86]

Fuel stabilizers have a metal conditioner in them to coat metal surface when drained.
Stabilized fuel can/will go sour after a year or so, but you wont have the corrosion you'd get without them.
Some of the long term fuel have been leaving a waxy substance in the carb. Clogs the pick up in the tank and strainer on the pump side. Some research, and quite possibly bias explanations from them, were some brands request additional refining to remove these additional olifins?? from that fuel.
I've seen the residue. It feels just like wax. It doesn't harden much when dry. I've seen many forms of stale fuel over the years. Green, brown, black, gel. Especially in first aid / fire company's equipment. The fuel they use is not Stihl. Cant comment on Husky. It might be better than Stihl. But the Stihl fuel doesn't smell anything like gasoline. Either in the can or when burnt. I'm told it's NOT aviation fuel.
This debate will never be settled. Find what works best for you.
I don't cut wood regularly. I work on saws every day. I have an MS290 that I modified just as a project.
It sits, sometimes for a year. I only run it to run it. MotoFuel when it runs, then an ounce of stabilizer in the tank, then run it dry. It starts perfectly.

 

[Okie294life]

I like the idea of running everything dry and putting moto mix or something similar for the last tank full, since it’s supposed to last like 2 years, but that stuffs expensive and I know that regular mix of any decent quality has a small amount of fuel stabilizer in it already. That should be good enough last through the winter as long as it starts off fresh. If something was going up for six months or longer maybe go for the good stuff.

 

[holeycow]

Lots of good, common-sense info in this "storage" thread.. for once.

I just fill everything to the brim with non ethanol premium and some stabilizer thrown in. It's good for at least a year in this dry, cold-in-winter and moderate-in-summer climate here. I generally just run the old gas through on restart.

I think your local climate has a lot to do with what will work best for storage.

 

[STIHL the BEST]

Lots of good, common-sense info in this "storage" thread.. for once.

I just fill everything to the brim with non ethanol premium and some stabilizer thrown in. It's good for at least a year in this dry, cold-in-winter and moderate-in-summer climate here. I generally just run the old gas through on restart.

I think your local climate has a lot to do with what will work best for storage.

I would agree that local climate affects our saws and other 2 cycles differently.

Excellent example being desert regions where it’s one hundred degrees in the sun but drops to near freezing in the night.

Unless of course it’s just a “dry heat”...