What is with all the straight gassing?

[Coloradobum]

I have a blue can for mix, the rest are all red. Oil goes in immediately upon refilling the can with gas. Makes it hard to mess up.

I'm still surprised how many stories there are.

 

[thomas1]

I have friends at a couple of different dealers and they say that easily over 50% of the saws that come in for repair have been straight gassed. Based on the saws I see for sale I have no reason to doubt them.

 

[blsnelling]

I never put gas in my mix cans unless the oil's already in there.

 

[Coloradobum]

I fly.

There are two kinds of pilots; those that have landed with their wheels still up and those that will.

It's remembering this that has kept me in the second category.

Same with mix.

The man that taught me to fly told me that one. Over 50 years as a pilot and he never landed wheels up. I haven't either and I'd like to keep it that way. He made it part of my routine to do a visual confirmation EVERY time. What type of bird do ya have? I've had everything from 172's up to my current Ovation2 gx.

 

[Sheriff420]

The only gallon can I have is for the saws. I have a few 5 gallon cans and they're for the weed hacker, mowers, filling the one gallon can and getting my mom to the gas station when her gas gauge won't move at all upon starting her car (why do so many women have an issue with filling up their cars?).

 

[lone wolf]

I read over and over how people picked up saws to fix that have been straight gassed, and they're on Ebay all the time too. In 30 years of running saws I have never done this in thousands of tanks. It could concievably happen, I am human, but I like to think it would take some crazy circumstance to make it happen. Are there that many clueless saw owners? Seems like if nothing else you would notice the difference in the exhaust pretty quickly and shut down before serious damage occurred. I know a bozo my dad lent his woodsplitter to sent it back with mix in it, and it took about 2 seconds to realize the exhaust was not right for a four stroke. What gives? Wish I could find a 3120 that was siezed, that would be a cheap way to end up with one.

Do you have people working for you who gas them up or do you do it your self?

 

[RobertN]

Using the wrong fuel is pretty common. My Dad was a Dodge parts man for 45 years, mostly working the mechanics counter. Since the beginning of the Dodge/Cummins RAM's, he said they got them in regularity with blown motors. Or, with a tank of diesel/gasoline mix.

People would get in hurry, be on the cell phone ect. Grab the wrong nozzle.

Some were fortunate, and catch their mistake before starting the truck. My Dad said it was about $600 just to drain the tank because of disposal fees, hazardous mix ect.

The unfortunate ones, had a huge bill to replace the motor...

My 2-stroke is in a 1gal can, with a big silver duct tape stripe around it. I never add gas unless the oil is already in the can(mostly so it mixes as gas is added). My regular gas can, is a 2.5 gallon can. Marked as regular.

My diesel is in the yellow diesel cans too. I'm more concerned about gassing my tractor; that motor would cost a lot more than a P/C for my saw.

 

[Coloradobum]

Do you have people working for you who gas them up or do you do it your self?

I don't have people working for me but I've shared cans many times. My dad, grandfather and myself cut together for years and none of us has ever straight gassed anything. We shared gas all the time.

I wouldn't want to hire someone to run a chainsaw if they were too incompetent to take gas from the blue can, not the red one. If I had a crew one guy would be in charge of getting fuel and mixing it. Problem solved.

 

[bullittman281]

I never have and have zero intention of it ever happening. I'm THE only one that touches the saws. My final line of defense is if the fuel isn't died it Doesn't go into my saws. I visually verify this at every fueling. I also won't use an oil with out a die. Maxima 927 come to mind. Good oil, no die though. Thats how I roll.

Bullittman

 

[teatersroad]

I fly.

There are two kinds of pilots; those that have landed with their wheels still up and those that will.

It's remembering this that has kept me in the second category.

Same with mix.

bingo man..boasting that you'd never make such and such mistake is foolhardy. Haven't yet is a better way to put it.

 

[Guido Salvage]

When I was a kid I was playing filling station, and I filled up the tank in my mom's Buick with the garden hose. It didn't go over too well.......

But I was only 4 years old.

Best comment in this thread!!! (and rep sent).

 

[bobt]

I wouldn't feel very comfortable using an oil that wasn't dyed blue or green. I have always used Stihl oil in all two cycles starting from when I was a kid riding snowmobiles. I always check the color when I put the first drops of gas in the tank even when I know for sure that I am using a can of mixed gas. It is just like a reflex action for me. It has to be colored,,,period.

I learned this very early in my snowmobile days when a friend of mine straight gassed his Skidoo even when he thought he was using mixed gas and even after I had asked him if he had mixed oil in the can. See, his Dad had just bought two 5 gal cans of gas at the filling station. They used Itasca oil which at the time was pink colored. The straight regular leaded gas in those years was also pink, and it was very hard to tell if the mixed gas was pinker than just straight gas in poor light. It was near dusk at the time. He had mixed the Itasca in only one can. Yep, you guessed it,,,,,he poured the unmixed can into the Skidoo tank. It looked pink enough to him in the dim light as the gas was running through the funnel. Hence he gets about a mile from the barn, and Skidoo dies,,,,,,well his Dad was very proud of him to say the least....Haha!

Always check the color of your gas,,,do it every time even though you "KNOW" it is mixed gas.

Bob

 

[danl]

I bought some Novasolve blue fuel dye a couple of years ago and mix it with the oil before I put gas in the can. So if the gas isn't real blue I don't use it.
Also write Mobil T2 on two sides of the can with a black sharpie.

 

[teatersroad]

When I was a kid I was playing filling station, and I filled up the tank in my mom's Buick with the garden hose. It didn't go over too well.......

But I was only 4 years old.

that's funny..

I played 'poet' or something. Wrote in the side of my dad's truck with the tip of a ski pole, fortunately I realized what I had done and decided it best to scratch it out.

 

[discounthunter]

I have never done it myself, but I have seen it done. Some of them are folks who should not be using a saw anyway, like people who buy their saw at Wal-Mart. I work at Wal-Mart and do you know how many 2 cycle engines we get back that have been straight gassed? Not just chainsaws, actually string trimmers are the most common 2 cycle engines people try to return. Folks that know how to properly use a chainsaw do not shop for them at Wally world. The biggest saw we carry in my store is a Poulan Pro 4218, 42cc with a 18" b/c. A very typical homeowner saw that has little interest to anyone serious about saws. Not saying everyone that buys a saw at wal-mart is a guaranteed to burn it up, but it has been the largest majority of my experience. Things do seem to be getting better now that there is the quarts of 40:1 fuel, that we place right beside every 2 cycle engine we sale.

On a related note. I actually watched my uncle straight gas a new Husqvarna 50 special in the early 90's, it was the second or third tank of fuel. He reached in the truck bed, grabbed the can and filled er up. The ding dong had his mixed fuel and straight gas in identical containers and neither was marked. That is when I learned you bring your mixed fuel and leave the can of straight gas at home. I always keep my straight gas in a 5 gallon can, no matter how much there may be. The mix stays in either a 1 gallon or a 2 1/2 gallon can, depending on how much cutting I am planning to do.

so people that buy stihls and huskys are too smart to straight gas.

 

[John R]

so people that buy stihls and huskys are too smart to straight gas.

:agree2: :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[o8f150]

you can't fix stupid

 

[discounthunter]

i see alot of people using 2 1/2 gallon cans. most oil mixes are rated for 1 gallon of gas. eventually you will put more than 2 gallons of gas in ,leading to slightly lean conditions, keep doing than and you will eventually toast a piston. be real careful when posting avout things you have NEVER done,cause before long you will be posting about where to get a good oem P/C.

 

[rwoods]

Never say never. I too have been running chainsaws for over 30 years. Just like straight gassing, I couldn't understand all the posts about putting a chain on backwards. And then I did it. Ron

 

[wvlogger]

My mix stays in my 2 and a half gallon piggy back can. I will not get fuel if i am out of oil