Engine gas and additive

[tommyboy3]

My Honda lawnmower was working fine, but when I went to get a couple sparkplugs and other things, a long time employee told me I should switch to a mid-grade gas and he recommended additive called Mile-Hi RTU it is $15.95 for 1 pint...is this necessary? You use 2oz per 2 gal

 

[NJsnapper]

This? Never heard of it..

Certified Labs

 

[robert@honda]

My Honda lawnmower was working fine, but when I went to get a couple sparkplugs and other things, a long time employee told me I should switch to a mid-grade gas and he recommended additive called Mile-Hi RTU it is $15.95 for 1 pint...is this necessary? You use 2oz per 2 gal

Rather than an additive, just follow these steps:

--At the end of the mowing season, run the mower until it runs out of fuel, or drain all the fuel from the tank.
--After the engine stops, loosen the drain screw on the bottom of the carburetor and let the last bit of fuel drain out.
--Dump any leftover fuel in your fuel can into your car/truck tank---don't store gasoline over the winter.

The worst thing you can do is allow fuel to sit more than 30 days. Modern fuels, even mid-grades, will decay and slime/gunk will form, often clogging up the inside of the carburetor. Some fuel stabilizers or additives can delay this, but they don't always work. Better to simply get the fuel out of the mower and be sure not to have any problems in the spring.

 

[tommyboy3]

This? Never heard of it..

Certified Labs

Certified Labs is out of Dallas, Tx, have a web site, but don't show any distributors, our mowing season doesn't stop but a month or two, so it doesn't make since to go thru all that storage procedure and I was also using this gas in my Mclane edger, which has started better since I have been doing it. It is 30 years old. I may continue, how this farm and home place called Foreman's in Colleyville, Tx, got it I don't know.

 

[RockytheLacyDog]

Re: gas and additive, they work for me

I went through a couple of problems with my mower, boat motor and weed wacker (all 4 strokes) that were a direct result of the ethanol and crap now sold as gasoline. I now my run my boat motor out of fuel no matter how long it will be until I use it again. The last tank of gas I bought was less than a month old when I had starting problems and a rough idle. Checked the ignition and carbs they were OK. The fuel was trash and didn't smell right. Used the gas as weed killer and bought fresh fuel. Problem solved. I am now using Ethanol Shield or Stabil every time I fill my gas cans and only buy enough for one week. I have replaced the primer bulb and fuel line on my weed wacker twice in 3 years. The primer bulb disintegrated and fuel line rotted from the inside out and that plugged up the carburetor jets. My vintage motorcycle engine suffered the most with lower octane fuel and crumbling seals and gaskets. I replaced as many of gaskets with silicone as I could. Detonation also burned the valve stems and valve seats. I wasn't believer in additives until I tried them and they worked. I also checked around and can't buy ethanol free gas within 100 miles.

 

[jmcphail]

Non-ethanol fuel only and no additives, according to a couple different small-engine repair people I've spoken with, so that's what I do.

Also I use fresh fuel only, and use the fuel shut-off to run the line dry each time I put up the mower.