[GrassMaster]

My mechanic told me that 2-cycle manufacturers have started to recommend using mid-grade or premium gasoline this year. Has anyone else heard this?

My older trimmer manual says specifically NOT to use premium gas because it causes carbon build-up.

What gives?

 

[jeepersmitty]

I bought a chainsaw last year and it specified regular.

 

[rscurtis]

Stihl has recommended the use of premium, or at least mid-grade gas in their tools, and they are considered "high performance" engines. The days when power equipment engines only had 5 or 6 to one compression ratios, where you could almost burn kerosene, are long gone.

 

[Croc]

Yeah, I guess it depends on the age of the engine in question. My newest 2-cycle is from 1990, my oldest from 1959 and many others in between. I only use regular in them because they are all low compression engines and don't need premo. I even have a 1960's 2.5 horse Tecumseh I've been running camp fuel in, around octane 50. It doesn't mind it and It still runs great.

 

[jas11964]

I just bought a new Echo weed whacker last week and they told me to use at lease mid grade gas in it.

 

[HydroHarold]

My Stihl 026P is about 8 years old and the book sez "89 octane or above" as does my new Stihl leaf blower. Hey, nobody's going to go broke buying mid test gas... or are we?

 

[Ironmower]

I've personally run 93 octane in all my 2-strokes. I figure it's because of the ethanol thats in our gas now.
Are there any real benifits of ethanol, other than lining the pockets of the politicians that pushed for it? I understand it is supposed to cut down on greenhouse gases, but it sure plays heck on our small engines. I've heard that; studies show that mowers, chainsaws, weedeaters and such produce the most greenhouse gases. OK, this might be true, but has anybody heard how much emissions all these big jets put out? It would seem to me, they would have too be more harmful. After all, those jets are puttin rite in the atmosphere. What about our space shuttle, pokin holes in the atmosphere?

Sorry, not tryin to rant. But it seems too me, big corporations get a free pass. Us poor SOB's are the ones who are gonna pay.

Just-a dumb country boys point-of-view.

 

[Paul J]

I live out in the farm country and the closest station to me is a Conoco. They advertise, "No Ethanol". I use their regular in every gas machine I have and have had no issues with any. I guess it might depend on what station and what brand of gas you use. I've heard that there's quit a difference in some. But I also agree, if the manufacture states a certain octane, I'd use it whenever possible. Could have an affect on the warranty.

 

[Doubleh]

I bought an Echo trimmer this year. Owner's manual specifies 89 octane gasoline.

Ethanol is scam or feel good product. When the energy consumed to raise, harvest and transport corn and the energy used to distill it into ethanol are added up it requires more energy to make the ethanol than the finished product contains. Add in the fact that ethanol contains less btu's than gasoline and you come up with lower mileage in your vehicle. The higher the percentage of ethanol added to gasoline, the more your mileage drops. Only farmers raising corn see any good from this stuff as they receive a higher price for their product. It actually costs every one of us because the government has to provide subsidies to the ethanol producers for them to be profitable. That's our tax dollars at work. I didn't figure all this out on my own. I'm just passing on facts as reported in several publications.

 

[rscurtis]

Times two.

 

[G-1]

It is clear that higher compression ratios require higher octane. In the past, all the experts have said that using higher octane in an engine that did not require it was a waste.

Question: Is there anything new going on (maybe due to ethanol) that makes using a higher octane fuel beneficial for reasons other than compression ratio?

 

[Tractor-Holic]

Higher detergent maybe..???...less likely to go "sour" as quickly??..

I thought alcohol would raise the octane some myself,seeing you have to advance the timing when using it as a main fuel source ,and the engine doesn't spark knock,but will if you ran it on gas with the timing advanced that far..

Maybe the small engine manufacturers simply get a kickback from the oil companies from reccomending us to buy higher octane fuel,when in fact there is no "benifit" to doing so...not for US anyway..

 

[theCOOP]

PartsTree has safety tips, etc that load at the bottom of each page at randon.

This is one of them

Fuel Selection
Today's gasoline breaks down quickly. When it does, it leaves behind a thick varnish-like residue that adheres to the walls of its container, including the inside of the fuel system in your lawn equipment. Further, "regular" gas may have 10%, or more, alcohol, which attracts and blends with water, causing carburetor problems and the breakdown of lubricating mix-oils in 2-cycle equipment. Lawn equipment is especially prone to these fuel problems because the equipment is not run daily allowing time for the fuel to deteriorate and absorb water. For best results, avoid alcohol-blended fuels in 4-cycle lawn equipment and never use high-alcohol blends in your 2-cycle equipment. "Mid-grade" and "premium" fuels generally are not blended with alcohol.