Canned pre-mix fuel

[bwalker]

Not to start a rumor, but there was speculation that a small number of unscrupulous individuals, would buy a can of pre-mixed fuel, and take it back to an easy-to-return / no-questions-asked type retailer, filled with pump gas.

I have no direct knowledge of this. Could happen with any brand. Maybe less likely at a full service dealer than a ‘big box’ store?

I have seen used, dull, dirty, grungy chains returned in those clear, plastic, clamshell-type packages. The clerks take them back. I saw them at a place that sold returns and closeouts.

Tamper-evident seals on the cans would discourage some of this, or, at least give alert purchasers a ‘heads-up’.

Philbert

Canned fuel smells totally different and is of a different color than pump gas.

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

I have noticed that all the cans of Red Armor at Home Depot have some evidence of seepage around the cap. All the caps are barely tight. If nothing else I would call this a safety hazard.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Canned fuel smells totally different and is of a different color than pump gas.

You know that, Philbert knows that, I know that. Average homeowner, maybe not.

Could easily see a homeowner thinking they were doing right by their little gas doohickey, putting the good fuel in it. Doohickey blows up, shop says homeowner straight gassed it, homeowner swears up and down they put the expensive good stuff in it, everyone is unhappy.

I do wish TruFuel put more dye in their fuel. Looks almost like water.

 

[bwalker]

You know that, Philbert knows that, I know that. Average homeowner, maybe not.

Could easily see a homeowner thinking they were doing right by their little gas doohickey, putting the good fuel in it. Doohickey blows up, shop says homeowner straight gassed it, homeowner swears up and down they put the expensive good stuff in it, everyone is unhappy.

I do wish TruFuel put more dye in their fuel. Looks almost like water.

I've never been a fan of red dyed oil to be honest. It's to hard to see in a red gas can. Deep blue or dark green is the way to go dye wise.
As for people replacing canned fuel with pump gas and then returning. It wouldn't suprise me if some low rent trash does this, but I also think its probably very uncommon.

 

[Cedar Row]

My comments / ‘findings’ in this thread:
https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/stihl-ms261c-chainsaw-and-trufuel.368956/
Philbert

I recently had a problem with a 261 not starting. Took it to a stihl dealer since it was under warrenty. They said it was the fuel (no warranty coverage for fuel problems). I have been using local gas and Stihl oil mix for years, but the local gas seems to have changed somehow. I got the Stihl premix and the saw runs fine. Premix is expensive, but seems to be reliable and more stable over time. I cut firewood for myself, so I don't use a large amount of gas in a year. It is worth the extra cost for me.

 

[bwalker]

I had a problem with my 400c starting and I was using alkykate fuel. Problem turned out to be a bad ignition coil. A first for me with a Stihl.
My point is hard starting issues can be caused by many things and blaming fuel, while a staple of dealers is often not right.

 

[Philbert]

Just one of the things to check:
Fuel
Air
Spark
Compression

Each has its’s own list.

One of the things I like about my electric saws: much easier to troubleshoot ’no start’ conditions!

Philbert

 

[OM617YOTA]

One of the things I like about my electric saws: much easier to troubleshoot ’no start’ conditions!

Only thing my electric saw has tricked me on has been the chain brake; I actually returned one saw thinking it was defective because it was just bricked. Completely unresponsive. Wish there was a red LED that lit up when the chain brake is triggered, instead of the whole thing just going stone dead.

 

[bwalker]

Just one of the things to check:
Fuel
Air
Spark
Compression

Each has its’s own list.

One of the things I like about my electric saws: much easier to troubleshoot ’no start’ conditions!

Philbert

I can say with some expiereance that trouble shooting electric motors and devices is just as difficult as a simple two stroke and very often more so.

 

[Philbert]

I can say with some expiereance that trouble shooting electric motors and devices is just as difficult as a simple two stroke and very often more so.

Yeah, but in the field, it’s almost always a loose plug, a tripped breaker, dead battery, or a chain brake cut out ( as @OM617YOTA noted). Easy stuff to check.

Could be a switch, but not pulling out the multi-meter stuff. Not in 35+ years with my electric chainsaws.

Philbert

 

[yo_marc]

Late to the party, but I’ve been using TruFuel in my trimmer and blower for 10 years without issue. I don’t even winterize them, yet they still fire up in the spring like I just ran them last week.

I doubt I’d have that experience with pump gas… and the only other non-ethanol fuel I can get is Sunoco 110 like, 40 minutes away.

 

[Eman85]

I've never been a fan of red dyed oil to be honest. It's to hard to see in a red gas can. Deep blue or dark green is the way to go dye wise.
As for people replacing canned fuel with pump gas and then returning. It wouldn't suprise me if some low rent trash does this, but I also think its probably very uncommon.

Around here you have to be careful when you buy motor oil. The low lifes put the old oil back in the jug and return it for credit.

 

[Todd Noel]

Is there any magic in the cans? I hear people carry on about using the can like it's something you can't duplicate. I've never used the canned fuel always mixed my own. I understand the non-ethanol higher octane part but that's readily available and I have used Stihl and Echo oils.

This is my first post I hope it is helpful:
As others have mentioned, canned fuel is almost a pure alkylate. More like race gas (probably why VP is one of the major producers). Similar to what pump gas was like decades ago. The oxygenation of motor fuel started a long time ago and is primarily resposible for what gasoline now does to carbureted engines. Alcohol is only part of the problem. Using engineered fuel is a very good idea even if you only use it to shut your engine down with for long term storage...

 

[glenintenn]

interesting four-way compare of Stihl vs Husqvarna vs VP vs Tru Fuel 50:1

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

No Red Armor in that test? Not gonna make it.

 

[jellyroll]

red armor premix wasn't available when that video was made.

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

red armor premix wasn't available when that video was made.

The dark ages.

 

[sean donato]

That hasn't been my experience, but I'll definitely keep an eye on it.

By "fresh cans" do you mean just unopened, or actually fresh? They can be unopened, and still 5+ years old. There's a date code on the top of the cans.

There was an issue with tru-fuel not that terribly long ago, but I thought it was an isolated incident. My uncle sends every small engine and two stroke out of his shop with at least a quart can of tru-fuel in it. Outboards, weed whackers, pressure washers doesn't matter. He calls it his insurance policy when he fixes something and then it sits for 6 months and won't start feom regular gas going bad. Anyway, he got a shipment of tru-fuel in and had all sorts of starting and running issues with it. After contacting his distributor they sent another skid from a different batch and a call tag for the remainder of his first shipment. Zero questions asked. Which is abnormal from what my uncle says. So I can believe cookie when he said he had issues with it. (Side note, no issues with the replacement fuel they sent.)

 

[jellyroll]

There was an issue with tru-fuel not that terribly long ago, but I thought it was an isolated incident. My uncle sends every small engine and two stroke out of his shop with at least a quart can of tru-fuel in it. Outboards, weed whackers, pressure washers doesn't matter. He calls it his insurance policy when he fixes something and then it sits for 6 months and won't start feom regular gas going bad. Anyway, he got a shipment of tru-fuel in and had all sorts of starting and running issues with it. After contacting his distributor they sent another skid from a different batch and a call tag for the remainder of his first shipment. Zero questions asked. Which is abnormal from what my uncle says. So I can believe cookie when he said he had issues with it. (Side note, no issues with the replacement fuel they sent.)

Super S brand premix has been problematic to say it is sold at rural king.

 

[sean donato]

Super S brand premix has been problematic to say it is sold at rural king.

I usually attribute can fuel.issies to it being old as fek from people not buying it, however in my uncles case it was a pretty current batch and a skid of regular fuel and 50 to1 mix. It all had issues. That lead me to think it was a batch quality issue.