Opinion on fuel removed from saw

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ijpom

Dude, where's my saw?
Joined
Mar 26, 2021
Messages
349
Reaction score
975
Location
Illinois
I bought a used saw. Lets say it was from someone more of a newb than myself. "The saw doesn't work" they say.

So in checking out the saw, I pull the spark plug, checked for spark, confirmed the air filter is clean and drained the fuel (red/brown liquid in fuel receptacle).

Ignoring the low quality containers (which were clean enough to put fuel into) left to right is:
Old lawnmower fuel without oil (useful when rebuilding carbs)
Unknown fuel from used saw
Fresh 16:1 fuel for other saw

Anyone seen that color before? Could it be an OK oil, but a few years stale? Is 2 stroke oil made in red tones?
I fear the saw ran gas/motor oil mix before I got my hands on it. Maybe that's the color?

Any input welcome.

PS: the saw runs but smokes on 40:1 more than my Craftsman smokes on 16:1. Could just be oil in the exhaust that will burn off. Time will tell if my $40 purchase was wasted.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20210429_194918135.jpg
    IMG_20210429_194918135.jpg
    4.5 MB · Views: 69
Rule to live by- never trust another's fuel mix.
That and a secondhand saw is not a new saw, you pay your money and you get someone elses leftovers. Only way to beat that is to buy your saws new off the shelf.
You cannot reverse what has been done to a saw in the past- you can only hope it has been fairly treated in its previous lives.
Dump the drained fuel mix, clean the carb out, clean the saw up, mix your own fresh fuel and go cut some wood. Could well be the muffler is full of oil and will burn clean eventually, or you could take the muffler off, inspect and clean as best you can (if it is a sealed muffler) and rinse out some of the crud.
Maybe the saw was run on some kind of engine oil gas mix, but that is better than straight gas.
 
I would suspect it sat for a long time, most the fuel evaporated & the stale stuff that was left was half oil. That would explain it not working & then smoking due to the excess oil build up in the crankcase.
Make some fresh mix, run a tank through it & it'll probably be fine
 
16:1? You’re gonna burn it up kid. I use a 1:1 ratio. More oil is more better, manufacturers these days are just shooting from the hip with their 50:1 recommendation. Go big or go home, now hold my beer and watch this...
Hi Thomas,

I'm getting that advise from many of the members of AS.
My Craftman 2.0 from 1980(?) calls for 16:1 in the manual and on the fuel cap, so I gave it that ratio. And it runs. As I newb, I followed those directions.

Since wandering around AS, I've seen a few of the ratio debates, asked a few questions regarding my particular saw, and have mixed a 40:1 fuel for my second gallon.
This should make me happier with less smoke produced, and please the more experienced saw guys too. I'm advised the saw will be fine too, after re-tuning.

Keep felling the trees!
 
Hi Thomas,

I'm getting that advise from many of the members of AS.
My Craftman 2.0 from 1980(?) calls for 16:1 in the manual and on the fuel cap, so I gave it that ratio. And it runs. As I newb, I followed those directions.

Since wandering around AS, I've seen a few of the ratio debates, asked a few questions regarding my particular saw, and have mixed a 40:1 fuel for my second gallon.
This should make me happier with less smoke produced, and please the more experienced saw guys too. I'm advised the saw will be fine too, after re-tuning.

Keep felling the trees!
Yep saw will be fine, likely the 16to1 was a carry over from 30 weight days. I have saws much older then yours that run happily on 40 to 1. Cheers
 
I dump the mix out of any saw I aquire before I even pull it over.....

+1

And, I’ve found:

Almost four tablespoons of water. (026) That one was the all time champ.[emoji848]

Full tank of diesel. (MS460). Tree service saw can you believe.[emoji2955]

Weird **** that separated in two distinct layers. (021)

Lots of loose fuel filters. (too many, really)

And saw chips, naturally.

Dark green synthetic mix 16:1 if not 10:1. [emoji2960]
 
So, not to give everyone ammunition regarding 2 stroke oil, but here's what I've got.
Should I go back to 16:1, because it's so bad?
 

Attachments

  • SuperTech oil.jpeg
    SuperTech oil.jpeg
    3.1 MB · Views: 15
FVP two-stroke oil is red.
Myself, I never use any brand of red two-stroke oil.
I only use full synthetic Amsoil two-stroke oil... and it is dark blue. This way, you can tell at a glance that you remembered to mix your oil into your container of fresh saw gas.


.
 
Back
Top