I use 91 octane unleaded gas and Stihl oil in my chainsaw mix, never tried leaded fuel but I've heard it's not as good. We used to use leaded fuel back in the 60s and 70s since that was about all we had back then..
De-ethanoling your fuel
- Thread starter cemiii
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
Same, I have always used 91 in my saw with the Stihl oil. I haven't had an issue yet with any of my saws and 91, it might be best to stay with what's working.
astnmacgto
Carnac The Magnificent
I use 100ll from my local airport just like @Mad Professor does, yeah you can get around the effects of ethanol gas by dumping them out and running them dry, not keeping gas more than a month and so on, orrrrr, just buy the 100ll for about 1 dollar more a gallon and forget about all that other bs. Oh and @Boomer 87 has a service bulletin from poulan in the mid 70s 80s that says DO NOT under any circumstances use "gasahol" which is their word for ethanol fuel. Just a thought.
Tenderfoot
ArboristSite Guru
This may just be me, but I would rather deal with the problems of ethanol then deal with exposure to lead when it can be avoided. Draining the saws is not much trouble, as is RUNNING them. Just buy a gallon at a time if you do not use them a lot. The idea of exposing myself to lead when I have other options is strange.
Tenderfoot
ArboristSite Guru
Not worth being unable to poop or have kids, become retarded, and have headaches.
astnmacgto
Carnac The Magnificent
We have had this conversation in another thread on avgas, I'm not sure who it was that actually had the research to back it up but they stated that according to actually testing done in a lab, the lead content of the exhaust is less harmful than the carbon monoxide that is expelled from any internal combustion engine.
astnmacgto
Carnac The Magnificent
Let us also not forget about lead bullets, wheel weights, and solder. But to each their own, Ive never seen any Ill effects of using avgas, no headaches or anything abnormal, I understand your hesitation and your point of view, I however am not that worried about. Not to be a jerk, just honest.
Tenderfoot
ArboristSite Guru
I have not said anything I can remember on avgas, but CO is nasty stuff, but so is lead. If I can remove one long term hazard to my health that will accumulate I would prefer to do so. I also understand lead can foul plugs, but that is hearsay. Over the years I have had to deal with an incredible volume of lead. Used to work for a gunsmith and melted 1000's of bullets and bore slugs. I know how to handle the stuff and have 'safe' levels even after all my exposure. I understand that at the levels it can be considered 'safe' but it is still there.
I also think that the talk of how bad ethanol a crock. I have run, in a pinch, year old mix for 5 gal with no issues. Just shake it first. The only time I hear about ethanol being a terror and SOOO terrible is on the internet and from people who sell fuel stabilizer. I wont tell folks how to run their saws. If it works for you it works for you. I just wont go through the trouble. My gas sits for a week or two at most so shelf life is a non issue. Saws never go dry either, they sit for a week at most year round.
Boomer 87
Addicted to ArboristSite
Fuel stabilizers suck BTW seen first hand sta-bil gummed the carbs on antique tractors so bad the had to be removed and completely disassembled bc it was everywhere i wont use it. 100ll however stays fresh forever so as a collector is great for me bc i run dozen and dozens of saws but not everyday
astnmacgto
Carnac The Magnificent
Sorry for my poor choice of wording, I meant that the conversation we are having had been discussed previously in another thread. I cut occasionally throughout the year and I have alot of saws and some that may only run once a year, that is when avgas becomes my shining star, but it is up to every person to make their choice about what type of fuel to use, I just wanted to give the op my two cents (which means very little) about his question.
Tenderfoot
ArboristSite Guru
No offense taken. Its my opinion and you have yours. I think if you are not cutting often just run the things dry. I have a saw where I forgot about my fuel in it and left it for 6 months (ethanol fuel) and it fired and ran in 5 pulls. Still on a factory fuel line when I sold it after 6 years of use and neglect.
A while back when California was changing over to "Unleaded only gas" at the pumps , I read an article saying the unleaded gas had only 1 gram less lead per gallon than the previous leaded gas. A friend of mine was the inspector (mechanical type) at a local small private airport and I asked him about running LL avgas and he said it had about 20 times the amount of lead than the leaded gas had in it available at the car pumps. This was way before this ethanol BS.
danimal
ArboristSite Operative
100LL is low lead hi octane. Very lil in it.
Ran it for yrs. Aint dun nothing to me
...
Got a 70 yr old retired small engine mech- ex husky dealer near by..
Ask him bout E10 and the money he made because of it.
Ran it for yrs. Aint dun nothing to me
...Got a 70 yr old retired small engine mech- ex husky dealer near by..
Ask him bout E10 and the money he made because of it.
7sleeper
Addicted to ArboristSite
That is research I would actually really like to read. I have never heard of such a foolish concept before. CO just needs oxygen to be replaced from the binding to haemoglobin. Yep you guessed right that's the reason why the people saved by firefighters are inhalling from an oxygen mask.
To rid the human body of lead is a far more complex and much longer process.
7
Boomer 87
Addicted to ArboristSite
Am i missing something? I run 100ll but i dont make a habit of sticking my mouth and nose over the f#%$@&g muffler outlet. To each his own, something to think of as you take that long drag off your PALL MALLS
.
.
astnmacgto
Carnac The Magnificent
Mmmmmmmmm,
Them toxins tho.............Am i missing something? I run 100ll but i dont make a habit of sticking my mouth and nose over the f#%$@&g muffler outlet. To each his own, something to think of as you take that long drag off your PALL MALLS
Firemoore98
ArboristSite Operative
Great discussion gentlemen.
I am a firefighter/paramedic and the affinity of co to bind with hemoglobin is significantly higher than oxygen, correct. There are two types of co poisoning, 1) long term low level exposure and 2) short term high level exposure. #2 typically causes headaches, flu like symptoms, passing out, lethargy And death. #1 on the other hand is also extremely dangerous, recently studies have shown firefighters that have chronic exposure to low levels of co have a significantly higher rate of memory loss/dimentia and a whole slew of other medical conditions.
Not that anyone on here has ever advocating smelling exhaust, any and all products of combustion are bad for us... my firehouse recently received a very large grant to put in a full vacuum based exhaust removal system. We had our station air analyzed and they were below federal standards.
In summary CO bad... long term low level exposure is worse than we ever suspected and always run equipment in well ventilated environments. If you smell exhaust, reconsider what you can do to make it such that you aren't breathing it in.
Jason
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
astnmacgto
Carnac The Magnificent
Yes it is a fairly slow process ridding the lead from the body but, I have yet to see specific research stating how much lead the human body will readily absorb from the air after the minute amount that is in the fuel has been dispersed through the engine, dispersed into the atmosphere, then sucked into your lungs, and then be circulated into the blood stream. I live where the air is pure, I figure that I gotta suck some kind of toxins into my body to be able to compete with all that delicious smog them city people are getting. It just doesn't seem right that they get all the bad stuff and won't share it.
