Oil ratio

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Paul B

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I read some of the posts concerning oil ratio and realize it is some what of a joke because of the amount of times it comes up. I just have one question. I have a 245A Poulan saw, I bought it about thirty years ago. The recommended fuel/oil ratio was 16:1. My brother says that with the oils available now days a mixture of 40:1 could be used. What do you folks think?

Paul
 
Your brother is right. Todays oils are far, far advanced. Just stay away from (IMO) Oil mix bought at WalMart such as poulan or weed eater. Stick with a brand that produces a true pro saw. The oil argument could get sticky...lets see where this goes.........has anyone heard of the "new" Stihl synthetic oils called Ultra and Super??????????

Take it away gentelmen..........:blob2:
 
SawBum said:
Your brother is right. Todays oils are far, far advanced. Just stay away from (IMO) Oil mix bought at WalMart such as poulan or weed eater. Stick with a brand that produces a true pro saw. The oil argument could get sticky...lets see where this goes.........has anyone heard of the "new" Stihl synthetic oils called Ultra and Super??????????

Take it away gentelmen..........:blob2:

Don't want to go there, I'll leave that up to the "oil gurus" But this could get intresting :givebeer:
 
I use nothing but genuine BRAMCO oils in all of my 2stroke equipment!


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OK, in my older saws I use valvoline oil @ 32:1. A friend uses it in his high-strung dirt bike and has good results.


If I had a more modern saw I would probably run a better oil.
 
If you stick to 16:1 ratio on all old saws you'll most likely never have a problem. If you switch to a ratio with less oil then you roll the dice and play the odds.

I'll stick with the 16:1 mix.
 
If you want to learn about oil go over to www.bobistheoilguy.com They do have a forum http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php

Mobil Mx2t is what I use. Dont worry about what the saw say to mix it at. I have an old Chrysler Westbend 80cc engine on my gocart and it says to mix Straight 30wt oil with the gas. I mix it up at 40 to 1 and dont worry.

Check out that site and read a little, you will probably be surprised on some of the things you learn.
 
Paul B said:
I read some of the posts concerning oil ratio and realize it is some what of a joke because of the amount of times it comes up. I just have one question. I have a 245A Poulan saw, I bought it about thirty years ago. The recommended fuel/oil ratio was 16:1. My brother says that with the oils available now days a mixture of 40:1 could be used. What do you folks think?

Paul

Old 16 : 1 Non-Detergent oil mixes went out the window about 25 years ago.
Back then, it was better to store the mix in a gallon vinegar jug so you could see when your done shaking, it separated constantly, fouled plugs and collected in crankcases, never did run real well compared to modern mixes.
 
Klotz Flashback

begleytree said:
LOL, I too use Klotz.
nothing better than the smell of klotz in the morning!
-Ralph

You guys are causing me to have a flashback to the early seventies and my dirt bike racing days...didn't even realize they still made Klotz, is it still red?
The only thing that smelled better in a two stroke was the old Castrol R bean oil!!!:cheers:
 
Lots of oils, lots of good brands, everyone has a favorite. I can say this for sure, Outboard 2 cycle oil is for water cooled, lower RPM engines only. They ARE NOT designed for high RPM and HOT engines, the ash content will eventually kill your saw. (carbon,clogging,hot spots)
 
I stopped by the local Poulan dealer this morning. They say to use the 40:1 ratio. I think I will stick to the 16:1.
 
Paul, If you are set on a 16 to 1 ratio it is advisable to use oil made for that ratio. I would not use the new oils ( better quality oils we use today) but I'd try to find some old oil maybe that was made in the 1960's. If you are going to live in the 60's and go by that advise then do so.:laugh: I believe now that we know more about lubrication and our oil qualities have improved so much that you never need a mixture that rich. I have never ran an engine on anything richer than 32 to 1 in my lifetime and see no reason to do so, Unless you just love Smoke.
 
preparing for a beating....

well here i go....i use tanake one mix oil in everything....weedwacker, saws,blowers....it starts well, no smoke, and saves me from having ten cans of mix around the shed. i mix a gallon at a time, give it a shot of stabil and off i go. i'm sure alot of guys have a lot to say about one-mix oils, but i have had no trouble at all with them in the last five years, i can let the saw, wacker, blower, etc. sit for months and it'll start on two or three pulls.
that's my story and i'm stickin to it!!!
 
There are many brands of 2 stroke oil on the market and most are good, some are better.
However the difference between them is mostly anecdotal.

If we forget about straight mineral oil SAE 30 and Castor oil, what is left today are semi-synthetic and full synthetic oils with some variations in the additives that help to mix, stabilize and avoid ash.

Most semy-synthetics are a mixture of mineral and synthetic. The higher the price, the lower the mixture claim, the higher the content of synthetic oil.
Fully synthetic oil like the one used in racing and jet sky engines is the dearest and claims are you can use it at 50:1 and even 100:1

So if there would be a contest as to which oil is the best, it would be a contest among the full synthetic to start with, and the difference would be in the quality of the synthetic base used and the additives.

Yet when such contest may be fun, I must wonder why on earth would I want to use the best possible oil on the planet and then thin it out to the astonishing 100:1.
Am I trying to save money? If so thre are better ways to do that.
As for less pollution, a leaner mixture does not necessarily equate to less pollution. The oil additives used to achieve such low ratio can be nasty stuff and as far as pollution goes, a well tuned carby with the right grade plug good compression and decent fuel will do more for the environment than the difference between 40:1 and 50:1 and even 100:1

As for the 16:1 saw, I have a couple of them and this is what I think.
When the saw was manufactured we used SAE30 mineral oil and the saw would run OK, conceded with some carbon build up and bad plugs galore. Yet the engine is the same, it survived because of the ratio recommended of 16:1. If someone would have switched to 25:1, the then recommended mixture for lawnmower, the saw would have most probably have perished.

Today we have a choice of oil that deliver better lubrication with less carbon build up. So my question is why lean the mixture? If the saw ws designed to burn 16:1 SAE30 how much better will it run with 16:1 Synthetic? Answer a lot better.

Can one lean it to half that? Probably. What about 40:1, may be. 50:1? You can try but again the question is... why?

What is to be achieved with a lower ratio? My 40 Years old Homelite xl12 does not smoke one bit with fully synthetic 16:1 and is still screaming and cutting through bone dry Blackbutt and Jarra like there is no tomorrow. And let me tell you that our hardwood makes your oak feel like pine.

PS
My tip is to add 0.3 fluid Oz of pure acetone to a gallon of mix, and that with any mix and with any oil. The improvement is very noticeable. You can try it in your (petrol) car, 3 ounces to ten gallons. For diesel, 2 ounces to ten gallons.
Use only PURE acetone and keep it away from the paintwork.
I keep a bottle of 2:1 Acetone / Synthetic oil in my diesel 4x4 and put 2 ounces of acetone (plus one ounce of oil) per 10 gallons each time I fill up. The synthetic oil compensates for the lack of lubricity in the modern low sulfure diesel and when mixed with oil the acetone is not so harsh on everything in case of a spill.
 
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I run Stihl or Echo, or other reputable air cooled oil at the recommended 50:1 or sometimes a little closer to 40:1. It might be nice insurance to run an old 2-stroke at the correct ratio. The consensus here seems to be that the 2-stroke oils of today are good enough to lube well on anything out there at 32:1 to 40:1. You gotta do what makes youf eel comfortable, and don't worry what we all think about it.
 
Paul B said:
I stopped by the local Poulan dealer this morning. They say to use the 40:1 ratio. I think I will stick to the 16:1.


Run 32:1 and adjust the carb as needed. Any of my old Macs, Homelites and Poulans have done fine at that ratio. Even the Poulan 86 and the 36. Although, I must admit those to saws do not see a lot of use. Novelty and to scare off would be borrowers off saws is their main purpose. Fire up either one and people tend to leave.
 

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