canned gas thoughts and opinions

[pigpen60]

I have a mantis tiller that has run crappy since i bought it but worked well enough to do the job. I was talking to the fella I bought my dolmar saw from at the lumberyard, he told me to try the canned gas/oil see if it helped. well I did and it did, like day and night. dumped the old fuel out and refilled and 2 pulls(one on choke, one off choke) and it ran like a different machine! so I bought 8 cans from baileys on sale for the previously mentioned dolmar. just thought id let you in on my experience.

 

[Thornton]

I've used the stihl motomix and trufuel both worked great for me I use it if I'm not going to run my saws long enough to mix a gallon I also use it if I'm going to store them awhile since its ethanol free and that's what the high price is about and the convenience. If they sold ethanol free gas here I wouldn't bother with it

 

[Deleted member 83629]

if you can afford to pay it, run it. it wouldn't be cost effective if i used it i burn 12-15 gallons of mix per month between using a 2 stroke mower,chainsaw and string trimmer blower.
i just buy the ethanol free they sell at the pump it is 3.88 for 90 octane.

 

[sunfish]

I have a mantis tiller that has run crappy since i bought it but worked well enough to do the job. I was talking to the fella I bought my dolmar saw from at the lumberyard, he told me to try the canned gas/oil see if it helped. well I did and it did, like day and night. dumped the old fuel out and refilled and 2 pulls(one on choke, one off choke) and it ran like a different machine! so I bought 8 cans from baileys on sale for the previously mentioned dolmar. just thought id let you in on my experience.

In Missouri here Conoco 91 octane is E-Free. If you aren't burning much, the caned stuff is great, if not get E-Free and use a quality oil.

 

[Whitespider]

I was thinkin' like sunfish.
I'm bettin' you'd get the same performance improvement by simply using an ethanol-free, 91-92 octane fuel... and it would be a whole lot cheaper.
I know the Mantis manual specifies minimum 89 octane gasoline (as do most 2-stroke manuals that I've seen)... and none of my 2-stroke OPE runs worth sour owl crap on 87 octane anything.

That said, "canned" gas does have one advantage over pump gas... it ain't oxygenated, it will store much longer in the equipment fuel tank (like a year, or maybe a bit more).
Still, an ethanol-free, 91-92 octane pump gas mixed with a good oil containing fuel stabilizer (most do now-a-days) will keep for a few months without issue.
*

 

[Deleted member 83629]

the non ethanol has stayed fresh for up to 12 months for me in a full air tight container with no stabil but my shed is climate controlled so that might have been the reason it stayed fresh that long.

 

[sunfish]

the non ethanol has stayed fresh for up to 12 months for me in a full air tight container with no stabil but my shed is climate controlled so that might have been the reason it stayed fresh that long.

Same here. I have some E-free two years old that seems to be fine. Just experimenting.

 

[zogger]

If I didn't have a source of non E fuel I would use the canned stuff. Hopefully soon at least one gallon jugs of the stuff will be for sale at a less insane price. It's a niche market that could be filled if they would just get real on their prices. A lot more folks would run it.

I burned five of the quarts when I got them on sale and saved the cans, it is excellent fuel (I got trufuel 40:1). The handy sized fuel cans are a nice bonus.

As it is I can get 93 e-free very close to me locally so that is what I use. I know as two stroke mix it lasts more than a year, as does it straight right in the tanks of the mowers and tillers. I don't even think about worrying about leaving fuel in machines now.

 

[066blaster]

I have one of the mantis tillers. Left gas in it over winter and the fuel line in the tank disintegrated. I replaced it and won't run I don't really need it so it's been sitting ever since. It seems some 2 stroke machines are more prone to failure with the bad gas. Maybe some were designed with the ethanol fuel in mind. I have 3 echo trimmers a stihl trimmer a big red back pack blower and a mantis tiller that all need new carbs. I never had a problem till the last few years. The new 2 stroke oils are supposed to have a stabilizer in them. Doesn't seem to help.

 

[Whitespider]

The new 2 stroke oils are supposed to have a stabilizer in them. Doesn't seem to help.

Gasoline stabilizers slow the rate of gasoline oxidation, they cannot counter the bad effects ethanol has on small engine carburetors and fuel systems. Ethanol draws moisture from the atmosphere in warm humid weather, which separates out when temperatures turn cold (phase separation)... the combination of free water and ethanol (which washes away any protective oily coating from gasoline) creates a highly corrosive condition to metals. Ethanol contains a lot of oxygen molecules; that oxygen rapidly feeds the corrosion through a unique chemical process... I've seen it eat clean through a float bowl over a single winter. It only requires a tiny amount of free water (like a drop or two) in combination with free ethanol to destroy a carburetor... and I've thrown away a small pile of them and/or parts of them (not mine, I won't use the stuff). Think of what it's capable of doing to the insides of a two-stroke engine, especially if a little extra fuel is allowed to sit in the crank case for a time.

Some of the "super" stabilizers claim to eliminate this problem by surrounding the free water and ethanol with a barrier, keeping it in solution with the gasoline... it's nothing but snake-oil. Once the ethanol becomes saturated... it's flat saturated... and just because the "super" stabilizer reduces, or slows the corrosive effects does not change the fact that the fuel has turned flat azz bad... it's still doing horrible things to the insides of a two-stroke engine when you run it. Treating one of the symptoms does not treat the disease... it's like putting a band-aid where a tourniquet is required.

Your best defense is to empty the fuel tank and run the carb dry when not in use... and never keep ethanol-blended fuel for more than a month (dump it in the wife's mini-van), especially during spring and fall when temperatures vary greatly.

When people tell me they've never had any problems with ethanol-blended fuel I always tell them the same thing...
It ain't that you've been lucky so far, you just ain't be unlucky... yet.
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[Gravedigger]

I've been running VP SEF for threes years and have no issues including engines run once a year. 2yr shelf life. I only run around 5-6 gal a year though. If going to use alot (milling) I'll get e-free fuel but won't leave in a tank. VP is only a mile out of my way home from work and I buy it 5gallon can.

 

[svk]

Another big variable for fuel life is the amount of humidity in the location where the gas is stored, especially for any equipment with metal tanks as they are constantly picking up minute amounts of moisture via "sweat".

We used to store our hunting cabin saw on the wood floor of a building that was on blocks but over very moist soil. The gas would be shot within a few months and smelled completely stale and had yellow gunk in the tank (ie when you buy a piece of equipment that has been sitting for 10 years). OTOH I've left a saw in a dry location for two years and the gas was still fresh and it fired right up.

 

[pigpen60]

my mantis was about a year old when i had to replace the fuel lines, then my poulan had to have the lines replaced not a month later. hard and brittle. are the pumps marked no e? ill have to look around. im north of st. charles south of hanibal? we did have a station that sold race gas, they said it had lead in it. if you tried to pump it and they thought it was goin in the vehicle fuel tank theyd shut the pump off on you, had to fill a portable can or tank.

 

[zogger]

Another big variable for fuel life is the amount of humidity in the location where the gas is stored, especially for any equipment with metal tanks as they are constantly picking up minute amounts of moisture via "sweat".

We used to store our hunting cabin saw on the wood floor of a building that was on blocks but over very moist soil. The gas would be shot within a few months and smelled completely stale and had yellow gunk in the tank (ie when you buy a piece of equipment that has been sitting for 10 years). OTOH I've left a saw in a dry location for two years and the gas was still fresh and it fired right up.

Just a thought..maybe if you had stuffed the powerhead inside a plastic bag, squished the air out and twist tied it, no extra daily moisture? Perhaps also drop an oxygen absorber packet in with it.

 

[svk]

Just a thought..maybe if you had stuffed the powerhead inside a plastic bag, squished the air out and twist tied it, no extra daily moisture? Perhaps also drop an oxygen absorber packet in with it.

Certainly wouldn't have hurt. We don't store mechanical stuff in there any more after it rusted the inside of the tank on our Yamaha generator too.

 

[sunfish]

my mantis was about a year old when i had to replace the fuel lines, then my poulan had to have the lines replaced not a month later. hard and brittle. are the pumps marked no e? ill have to look around. im north of st. charles south of hanibal? we did have a station that sold race gas, they said it had lead in it. if you tried to pump it and they thought it was goin in the vehicle fuel tank theyd shut the pump off on you, had to fill a portable can or tank.

Your problems are caused by ethanol... No, you don't want race gas. Like I said earlier, Conoco stations in Missouri have 91 premium that's E-free. Not marked on the pumps around here. I had to hunt and do my homework to find it.

 

[pigpen60]

found the conocos in my area, 15 miles is the closest. will have to remember when i run outta the canned stuff.

 

[sunfish]

found the conocos in my area, 15 miles is the closest. will have to remember when i run outta the canned stuff.

I drive around 15 miles one way for E-free. Usually get 15-20 gallons at a time.

 

[pigpen60]

if i fill the tractor up with the good stuff i can tap off it. i dont run a lot of fuel through the year so i add stabill to all the cans i fill. still be okay to run through the saw?

 

[sunfish]

if i fill the tractor up with the good stuff i can tap off it. i dont run a lot of fuel through the year so i add stabill to all the cans i fill. still be okay to run through the saw?

Yes, that would be fine.