Use for old Stihl two stroke oil?

tinkertot

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I have at least 30 cans of old two stroke mix oil I recently found in my dad's garage. This oil is probably from the early to mid 1980's. Do you guys think this should still be used? Does it go bad? Is the newer oil that much better that using the old oil is a poor choice? If using it is still an option, should I stick with the suggested ratio on the can? Please don't confuse using this old oil with being cheap, but I would hate to go recycle all of it. Thanks?

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I wouldn't think once , Oil is fine for use. Same stuff as today's. Was once given a Gallon of same by a Customer , measured mixed and used w no problems.
 
Welcome tinkertot. Magnus who posts here will have an idea of its collectibles draw. And then between he and acresinternet.com you would be around all the collector type people you would need if you went that route. Magnus should check in soon.
 
Yes, I think this is bettor of on a collector shelf than in the newer saws. The saws today are different from the ones in 80's and this oil even in spanking new condition doesn't really stand the design of new saw engines.
It will work, for a bit..

If you sell these cans and get one you can use that should have you set with oil for a bit.
 
What are some of the changes Magnus?

Ignition system, fuel systems, engines combustion design / temperatures as well as fuels used to mix are all different.
I call these newer type engines fresh air engines as they get air in without oil, fuel that lubricate and cool.

Older oils have a hard time handling the heat from combustion as it is hotter and often burn longer time. This is to get a better emission reading so our environmentalists can sleep well on the plane to Bermuda for vacation a weekend.

Heat that is higher than the oil is meant to use cause it to carbonize before its done its done doing its job. Some times before its done any of its jobs.
Often this gets stuck inside engine on walls of ports, piston head, in case and on crank/bearings. The carbon buildup prevent cooling and lubrication, restrict flows and that is not good. Sometimes it sticks to pistons skirts as this is already too hot for the oil as it goes in to engine. This create friction = more heat.

You can see this when you tear them down after they gone caboom. Burned carbonized oil almost every were.
I often see this when they run wrong oils in older saws. When they broke they put them under bench and now 20-30 years after they bring it here for me to play with.
I have customers come with a bunch of 80's saws in boxes that did their job then back in the day. They ask me to get what I can going again so they can get their hands on something that work more than a couple weeks at the time.
 
As far as oil in a sealed can why would it go bad ? You could still use plain old motor oil if that's all you had mixed maybe 20 to one .I doubt it would harm the engine plus you could cut wood and fog for mosquitoes at the same time .
 
Interesting , had a customer give me Ten year old in a Gallon jug which came from his Snowmobile days long gone. I just ran it ...
Yes, I know many don't know much about this and thank I them for helping me earn a living.

Did you run this gallon oil in one and the same saw?
What oil was it: Semi sytnthetic/synthetic/dino oil??
What was oil for? Was it for aircooled snowmobile engine or water cooled?

Water cooled engines are better controlled in temp. They get hot and stay in same heat until cooling system fail.
Air cooled are running up and down in temps a lot more and put other demands on oils.
 
As far as oil in a sealed can why would it go bad ? You could still use plain old motor oil if that's all you had mixed maybe 20 to one .I doubt it would harm the engine plus you could cut wood and fog for mosquitoes at the same time .
Not all oils age well. Some do, but some need to be used up in a year or so to be sure they perform correctly.
It is often the mixed types that is aging in bottle. Sometimes you see and smell it as you open. Sometimes you know it when saw go kaboom.
You see it when you pull it down if lubrication was adequate or not...

Its not just the oil that you need to think about. It is to be mixed with something as well. If it isn't mixing as intended you run in to trouble..
 
Looked , Mixed , and Smelled just like old school mix , prob way before synthetic or water Cools ever even hit the market here.

Synthetic and semi synthetic oils is nothing new. But knowledge and awareness about oils is higher today.
Products are often a bit more sensitive to what you feed them.
There has always been different oils for water cooled two-strokes versus air cooled.
 
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  • #25
Thanks guys, I think I will sell it to some collectors. If anyone wants a can, message me, if that is an ok thing to do on this forum. That being said, is there a thread regarding using new oil in old Stihl (1980s) saws? What ratio should be used, etc.
 
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