Machine storage

[Paul B]

I know its been talked about before but I didn't find a thread with my lazy search. I have a few 2 stroke machines that will likely be laid up for 2 months or more, any tips on storage? They are in a heated public storage type facility, some with fuel in the tank, some pretty much dry. I use the Stihl 50:1 mix that says it has stabilizer with premium pump gas.

 

[rskybiz]

Sea foam and fill.

 

[Al Smith]

A couple months won't make much difference .Just dump the fuel before you start them back and more than likely you're good to go .

 

[SkwerI]

Moisture is the enemy, because the ethanol in the gas absorbs moisture out of the air and then separates out of the fuel, leaving water in the bottom of your fuel tank. Depending on the fuel and environment, you may be just fine doing nothing. I never once drained a fuel tank and never had any problems with any fuel until about 4 years ago during the last fuel crisis. The subsidized ethanol was cheaper than gas, so the cheap gas stations were using much more ethanol than they should have. Rubber gaskets and carb materials dissolved and I personally lost 3 machines to bad fuel that year. No major problems since, but I try not to use fuel more than 4-6 weeks old. I also switched to full synthetic mix oil for added protection.

So anyway, if your storage area is dry and humidity will remain low then you probably won't have to do a thing. If they won't fire up in the Spring then dump the fuel and use fresh.

edit- Al cuts to the chase quicker than I.

 

[Paul B]

Thanks guys, that appeals to my general lazy temperament. Hurry up and do nothing.

I have to try to time my late season fuel purchase better next fall, I ended up with a 5 liter can full of 50:1 and a 10 liter full of premium which I can just dump in the truck fuel tank I guess.

 

[Al Smith]

Ah yes the chase not to be confused with getting the horse ahead of the cart .

Really though I've had saws sit for years and they lit right off with new fuel .Of course I had to prime them first sometimes . That's probabley not a good thing to do though .

 

[Paul B]

likely I will switch from a 5 liter mix can to a 10, I will dump the old in and fill with new, sounds like it wont hurt much.

 

[squisher]

Paul in the interior here I've found the gas to be excellent. Never had a problem from it and I've let some fuel sit for probably 4-5 months before.

 

[brendonv]

I dump 'em, then run them at idle until they die. I really hate cleaning carbs.

 

[HolmenTree]

Paul in the interior here I've found the gas to be excellent. Never had a problem from it and I've let some fuel sit for probably 4-5 months before.

Same here on the prairies. I always buy Esso premium gas for my saws. The Esso dealer swears there is no ethanol in the premium gas, but then I heard some other local so called experts that ethanol is added to premium to raise the octane.
Which one is giving me a line of b.s ?

Willard.

 

[Al Smith]

Long time ago Standard oil of Ohio ,Sohio ,had this stuff they dumped in their high test gas ,Boron .Called it "ice guard " guaranteed no fuel line freeze ups .I suspect it to have been ethanol although they realy never said .

 

[Paul B]

Willard, I do the same, Esso supreme for the machines and regular for the truck, I have a fleet card with them via the provincial landscape association. 2.9cents a liter off the sticker price too.

 

[Chisel Tooth]

All fuel up to 91 octane contains some amount of ethanol, there is not suppose to be more then 10% but in the lower the octane fuel there tends to be more ethanol. Any fuel that is rated at 93 or above octane does not contain any ethanol. Remember that the fuel companies also change their blends during the winter which tends to break down faster, a shorter shelf life. We are looking into this more and more because it is really having an impact on the small engine industry. Alcohol draws moisture and when a fuel can sets for any amount of time it goes through what is call "phase separation" in other words the the can has water on the bottom, alcohol, and the oil and gas mix is on the top. So when you fill your tank to will tend to get what is on the bottom of the can, the water alcohol mix and not the gas oil mix. This is a real mess along with the EPA forcing the manufactures to make the new units run leaner and leaner, I'm seeing a real increase in lean run failures this year.

 

[Al Smith]

They've experianced problems with auto engines as well .O rings on fuel injectors etc .

On modern auto engines the ECM (engine control modual ) and the associated control components pretty well take care of different fuel mixes ,some as far as E-85 .

I would also suspect that older carburated engines have had a fair amount of problems as a result of blended fuels . We're just stuck with that damned high tech moonshine like it or not .

 

[Cobleskill]

I am not a fan of alcohol, but I guess it is better than the oxygenator MTBE. It ended up in the water, and is banned or being banned in most places. Good work on safeguarding the environment DEC. Can the government do anything right, other than collect money?

 

[CurSedVoyce]

See Jay's IRS thread... They screw that up too..

 

[HolmenTree]

All fuel up to 91 octane contains some amount of ethanol, there is not suppose to be more then 10% but in the lower the octane fuel there tends to be more ethanol. Any fuel that is rated at 93 or above octane does not contain any ethanol.

Thanks for explaining that Chisel Tooth, I guess what my Esso gas station owner says is true. That his Esso Supreme Premium gasoline has no ethanol in it.

Willard.

 

[SkwerI]

Here in the lower 48 the ethanol is used as an octane booster so it would be logical that the more ethanol is added, the higher the octane. Once ethanol became prevalent here in Florida (nearest non ethanol fuel is about 40 miles away) I switched back to regular for everything. That's also when I began using the synthetic mix oil for extra protection.

 

[arborworks1]

I am blessed to have an Indian run gas station. His fancy sports car will not run on ethanol blend, so there for he stocks all 100% pure gas. He is the cheapest in town as well. Saws sure have been running a lot better since I started buying there and running synthetic mix

 

[MasterBlaster]

I fuel up at a pure gas store. I can't say as I've noticed any diff one way or the other.

 

[stihlbro]

I store trimmers and blowers from about Nov. to 3rd weed of march. Towards the end of the season I start mixing the seafoam with the mix on the last few tanks. I dont run the tanks dry. If i have the time I try to start each one once a month. Sometimes that dont happen because its too cold. Beginning of the season I pour all mixed gas out and start with fresh. I havent had any issues over the last 3 years. My stuff sits in a building out of the weather. With all the talk of ethanol, I have no choice but to run it. Chainsaws I do the same way. I dont like to run them out because the last few seconds of running is like leaning a engine out. If it matters any, last year I purchased 87 bottles of 2 stroke mix, so 87 gallons of gas for the year on 2 stroke ope with no real issues. I havent add up this years, other than I ran stihl ultra and dont know if the extra money is worth it yet. Hope this helps.

 

[SkwerI]

You'll save a fortune on the Stihl Ultra buying it by the gallon jug. I picked up a sealable measuring bottle at the local boat dealer so I can accurately measure the oil using a dedicated, clean container. A gallon of mix oil lasts me about a year.

Sounds like a very good strategy for keeping the machines in shape through the winter, though.

 

[stihlbro]

Here's a 2010 redmax 2650 that has run from april to about the 1st week of august on ultra.

 

[stihlbro]

I was alittle disappointed reading all the internet talk of how well synthetic oil is.
But this may have contributed to the issue.

It didnt go back together that way.

 

[Cut4fun]

SB, the last case 10 qts of Klotz original I bought this year was $109 total shipped to my door UPS. Talked to a Klotz tech and he stated the 100 200 stays mixed with ethanol blended gas.


On another note he stated: He dont recommend the r-50 due to not mixing (staying mixed) with ethanol and anything above 10% you might run into problems. They have a warning on it now.