Pre mixed fuel vs mix it up yourself

[GearHead36]

Was it WOG ?
ask or look for WOG stamped on the hose . water / oil / gas

No idea. It was clear line, at least, when new. At the end of the season, it had yellowed. As I recall, pretty much all my competitors used the same stuff.

 

[7394]

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

IMO, ethanol can damage small engines, but the issue is over-hyped. Under most circumstances, the use of E10 gasoline in a small engine does little to damage it before the equipment fails for other reasons. Buying gasoline in only 60-day quantities is all that's needed and stabilizer can help if stored longer. It also helps to fully clear the gasoline at the end of the season.

To say that using 10% corn gas (ethanol) in small engines is overhyped, is the understatement of the decade. A lot of the fuel I drain from customer equipment has water in it. Fuel that they claim in non-ethanol fuel. Ethanol has become the go to excuse for why some equipment won’t run or start right. On handheld equipment especially, keep your gas fresh (30-60 days). After draining many tanks of gas over the years, you start seeing patterns. Old gas and water in gas is often a much bigger issue than ethanol.

 

[TonyPrin]

To say that using 10% corn gas (ethanol) in small engines is overhyped, is the understatement of the decade. A lot of the fuel I drain from customer equipment has water in it. Fuel that they claim in non-ethanol fuel. Ethanol has become the go to excuse for why some equipment won’t run or start right. On handheld equipment especially, keep your gas fresh (30-60 days). After draining many tanks of gas over the years, you start seeing patterns. Old gas and water in gas is often a much bigger issue than ethanol.

I agree. The fact is that ethanol, itself, does not cause water in a gas tank. Water is introduced primarily by condensation and secondarily by water in the gas station storage tank or as water vapor. Ethanol actually helps eliminate water by attaching to it. The problem comes when the gasoline becomes saturated and phase separation occurs. As Tiger Small Engine and I stated, keeping gas fresh (under 60 days) together with proper storage techniques can virtually eliminate this issue.

 

[7394]

Yep,, ok.

 

[xj61975]

Before ethanol free gasoline became widely available, I used a bit of true-fuel at the end of each season to prep my two stroke motors for winter storage. My "ritual" went like this: Line up all the two stroke devices on the garage floor; dump the fuel out of all the tanks; add a small amount of true-fuel to the first tank; start the engine and run for a minute or so until warmed up; shut off and dump the true fuel into the next machine; restart the "warmed up" machine and allow it to run out of fuel; repeat until all engines are done. I probably used a cup of true-fuel per year, and the machines always started and ran well the next spring. Now that I can buy ethanol free, I mix and run that all the time and don't use true fuel. I still dump out and run dry each fall. I've been doing this probably 15 years with no two stroke carb issues.

 

[Gebo]

Well, I’m the outlier. I only use the Stihl Motomix in all my 2 strokes. Yep, it’s expensive but I’ve never had any problems. Chickanic has multiple videos on premixed fuels. Some are bad and cause problems. But I only use about 1 gal/year.

 

[rhiebert]

Ok, thanks. I was told by a guy at ace hardware that the ethanol in reg gas destroys these small engines. But they did always seem to run ok on it

Ethanol creates/attracts water in the fuel. I suppose it could be a problem if the engine isn't run longer and heats up, as in a car.

 

[whaning]

I had always run my echo weed eater and husqvarna chain saw with my own mix of fuel and oil . as soon as i switched to the cannned pre mix fuel neither would start. Then i went back to the self mix and my echo starts and runs but not as good as it did. I have not tried the chsinsaw yet. Does this make any sense or is it a coincidence?

there is a website chickanic on youtube, she says the premix is junk

 

[Gord Baker]

I suggest you find out for a fact. Take two coffee cups, place the diaphragms and the rest of the carb in the cups. Fill one with forty dollar a gallon "true fuel" and the other with pump gas and allow both to fully evaporate. let set for a week, repeat the process for a year and then see if there is any difference between the components in each cup. We inquiring minds want to know. Alternately, you can watch YouTube videos and you decide. Hint: Gasoline turns to varnish and leaves behind said on components, ethanol does not. But being that it is only 10% ethanol, which leaves zero varnish, there will be zero difference. Using Sta-Bil WILL make a dramatic difference, period. As you see in the picture, I have a "couple" of restored or original machines around. Ethenol hasn't sent them to the heap yard yet.

Ethanol Free gasoline has been banned in Canada thanks to Feds. Ethanol absorbs moisture. Keep containers full and tightly capped. Gasoline does not evaporate to Varnish. Try to use it in 30 days, then get fresh fuel.