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Which type of gas would you buy for your 2 cycle equipment?

#1

davbell22602

davbell22602

Regular non ethanol or 93 with ethanol?


#2

exotion

exotion

I run 89 with ethonol should add.that to vote


#3

lawn mower fanatic

lawn mower fanatic

exotion said:
I run 89 with ethonol should add.that to vote
Click to expand...

Added. :smile:


#4

Carscw

Carscw

89 with ethanol In everything


#5

Ric

Ric

I run 93 with ethanol in everything including the truck.


#6

Mike88se

Mike88se

I've never had a problem with 87 but I've only been mowing for 3 to 4 years. Are these engines designed for premium gas? Coming from a car background, the only engines that need premium are high compression/high horsepower engines. The reason for that is to deter pre-detonation. Higher octane gas burns slower. In a car this might mean incomplete combustion and deposits and frequent cat and o2 sensor replacement. Premium gas needs high compression to burn completely. Running premium in the average car/truck engine is not only a waste of money, it also has a possibility of harming your engine with carbon deposits etc.
Back to the point... I don't know that these engines are high compression. I'd guess that the fact they are air cooled and have oil mixed in the fuel would affect things too.
Bottom line, I do think that the ethanol is a bigger factor than the octane rating.


#7

briggs

briggs

high test all the way


#8

Parkmower

Parkmower

Mike88se said:
I've never had a problem with 87 but I've only been mowing for 3 to 4 years. Are these engines designed for premium gas? Coming from a car background, the only engines that need premium are high compression/high horsepower engines. The reason for that is to deter pre-detonation. Higher octane gas burns slower. In a car this might mean incomplete combustion and deposits and frequent cat and o2 sensor replacement. Premium gas needs high compression to burn completely. Running premium in the average car/truck engine is not only a waste of money, it also has a possibility of harming your engine with carbon deposits etc.
Back to the point... I don't know that these engines are high compression. I'd guess that the fact they are air cooled and have oil mixed in the fuel would affect things too.
Bottom line, I do think that the ethanol is a bigger factor than the octane rating.
Click to expand...

This is why I run regular old 87 in everything. This is another topic like "what oil or brand mower" but your explanation is the reason I run what I run.


#9

jekjr

jekjr

I run 87 with Ethanol in my Kubota ZG most of the time. I run non ethanol in my hand held and my Crapsman tractor. I also have run both in my generator and in my Tiller.


#10

P

panabiker

I use 87 octane with unspecified amount of ethanol (hopefully less than 20%).


#11

R

Raw Dodge

Never use ethanol gas when you have non ethanol available in
priced close...especially in small 2 cycles.. Ethanol drawers water and moisture and quickly deteriorates gas lines and carburetors sometimesin as little as 30 days of nonuse...


#12

Ric

Ric

Raw Dodge said:
Never use ethanol gas when you have non ethanol available in
priced close...especially in small 2 cycles.. Ethanol drawers water and moisture and quickly deteriorates gas lines and carburetors sometimes in as little as 30 days of non use...
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When you say never use ethanol gas when you have non ethanol available is fine but what do you do when you can't find it or E10 anymore. Then what?


#13

exotion

exotion

Ric said:
When you say never use ethanol gas when you have non ethanol available is fine but what do you do when you can't find it or E10 anymore. Then what?
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Lol all machines will crumpled into nothingness not a single carb remaining all will be forced to.buy all brand new top.end equipment with new technology because all the older carbs will be destroyed all cars pre 2015 will be junk or people will learn.how to maintain


#14

davbell22602

davbell22602

So is the 93 vpower with ethanol safe to use on small engines without harm?


#15

Ric

Ric

exotion said:
Lol all machines will crumpled into nothingness not a single carb remaining all will be forced to.buy all brand new top.end equipment with new technology because all the older carbs will be destroyed all cars pre 2015 will be junk or people will learn.how to maintain
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Your LOL but I kinda have too laugh with you because what you say with the exception of all cars pre 2015 will be junk and maintaining them is about right. I don't agree with the car thing because the FFV's have been out since around 2008 and as far as working on one :laughing: that would be a nightmare.


#16

exotion

exotion

Ric said:
Your LOL but I kinda have too laugh with you because what you say with the exception of all cars pre 2015 will be junk and maintaining them is about right. I don't agree with the car thing because the FFV's have been out since around 2008 and as far as working on one :laughing: that would be a nightmare.
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I don't know if e85 goes mainstream and we can't find e10 anymore I'm not sure older carbed cars can stand up I know my old 82 celica.wouldn't


#17

Mike88se

Mike88se

davbell22602 said:
So is the 93 vpower with ethanol safe to use on small engines without harm?
Click to expand...
I don't think it's gonna hurt anything Dave. Maybe your wallet a bit ;)
I don't know if gas is available here w/o ethanol unless you get it at the race track or one or the stations that carry race gas. Not putting $10 a gallon 115 in my small engines :O
exotion said:
I don't know if e85 goes mainstream and we can't find e10 anymore I'm not sure older carbed cars can stand up I know my old 82 celica.wouldn't
Click to expand...
We could write our congresscritters but mine only listens to oil companies and the corn lobby. Yours too most likely.


#18

Ric

Ric

exotion said:
I don't know if e85 goes mainstream and we can't find e10 anymore I'm not sure older carbed cars can stand up I know my old 82 celica.wouldn't
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Well I don't think there's much doubt that E85 will be mainstream and E 10 will disappear. With more than 3000 stations throughout the US already selling E85 I'd say It's already here. The Only reason your not seeing it in more stations is because they don't have enough pumps at the moment for all the stations in the country. In actuality from what I can gather E85 will be a better fuel alternative as they say than the E10. As far as your older cars go without a major conversion I would guess they wont burn the E 85. If you go to a gas station and you see Gas pumps with the yellow handles, that will or should be your E85. I do believe with the amount of the FFV you see now in dealerships and on the road it will be our mainstream gas sooner than most think.


#19

P

panabiker

Ric said:
Well I don't think there's much doubt that E85 will be mainstream and E 10 will disappear. .
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I cannot imagine that the mainstream gasoline supply will become E85. How much corn would that require? And according to many analysis (except those funded by ethanol lobbying), making ethanol from corn is very inefficient and requires up to half a gallon or more of fossil fuel to produce one gallon of ethanol. It's not overall greener than gasoline. Besides, the US is producing more oil than it can consume now.


#20

Ric

Ric

panabiker said:
I cannot imagine that the mainstream gasoline supply will become E85. How much corn would that require? And according to many analysis (except those funded by ethanol lobbying), making ethanol from corn is very inefficient and requires up to half a gallon or more of fossil fuel to produce one gallon of ethanol. It's not overall greener than gasoline. Besides, the US is producing more oil than it can consume now.
Click to expand...


It sure looks that way, seeing that most all the car dealers now have or are prepared for E85 with there FFV's there selling and with the stations popping up more and more all the time I'd say there's a good chance especially if they do away with the E10. It just doesn't make sense to me that if it wasn't going that way why Ford, GM, and Chrysler are already selling FFV's and have been for a while?





#21

S

SRJMow

I had problems after using some five month old gas for my Craftsman chainsaw and had to replace the spark plug and fuel filter. From now on I plan on using Craftsman 40:1 2-Cycle Fuel Mix.
It only costs $5.49 a quart. That is enough to meet my needs seeing I never use up the gallon that I mix. I only use the chainsaw to remove a few old bushes, small trees or fallen branches. Other than that it sits around for a long time between uses.
The pre-mixed fuel lasts two years and uses synthetic oil. I will update everyone on how it works in the spring when I remove a couple small trees in the back of my father's place. It will be nice to not worry about the fuel going bad after only a few months!

The spark plug I removed was fouled up a bit. Also Craftsman stuck a Chinese plug (Torch) in it instead of a Champion plug that they recommend in their manual. What's up with that?
It looked cheap.
I replaced it with a new Champion plug.


#22

davbell22602

davbell22602

SRJMow said:
I had problems after using some five month old gas for my Craftsman chainsaw and had to replace the spark plug and fuel filter. From now on I plan on using Craftsman 40:1 2-Cycle Fuel Mix.
It only costs $5.49 a quart. That is enough to meet my needs seeing I never use up the gallon that I mix. I only use the chainsaw to remove a few old bushes, small trees or fallen branches. Other than that it sits around for a long time between uses.
The pre-mixed fuel lasts two years and uses synthetic oil. I will update everyone on how it works in the spring when I remove a couple small trees in the back of my father's place. It will be nice to not worry about the fuel going bad after only a few months!

The spark plug I removed was fouled up a bit. Also Craftsman stuck a Chinese plug (Torch) in it instead of a Champion plug that they recommend in their manual. What's up with that?
It looked cheap.
I replaced it with a new Champion plug.
Click to expand...

Theres nothing wrong with Torch spark plugs. You might have ruined it when using that 5 month old 2 cycle gas. 2 cycle gas stays fresh for only 60-90 days without using stabilizer.


#23

pugaltitude

pugaltitude

SRJMow said:
The spark plug I removed was fouled up a bit. Also Craftsman stuck a Chinese plug (Torch) in it instead of a Champion plug that they recommend in their manual. What's up with that?
It looked cheap.
I replaced it with a new Champion plug.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt worry about the Torch spark plug. I find them very reliable and will out last most popular brand named plug.
Briggs and Stratton own brand plug is a Torch plug but everyone still thinks they are Champions.

I can honestly say iv had none fail over 2-3 years supplying.


#24

davbell22602

davbell22602

pugaltitude said:
I wouldnt worry about the Torch spark plug. I find them very reliable and will out last most popular brand named plug.
Briggs and Stratton own brand plug is a Torch plug but everyone still thinks they are Champions.

I can honestly say iv had none fail over 2-3 years supplying.
Click to expand...

Same here. I havent had one fail me yet either. Had many champions fail me in past.


#25

S

SRJMow

davbell22602 said:
Same here. I havent had one fail me yet either. Had many champions fail me in past.
Click to expand...

Never heard of Torch before. Thanks for the info! I am pretty sure the problems I had were caused by trying to use up the old fuel. I will not do that again. :ashamed:

The old fuel no doubt helped to foul up the plug and possibly restrict the flow of fuel through the filter. Good to know that the Torch plug is a good brand. I use NGK for my Honda mowers and Echo string trimmer. Currently my snowblower has a Briggs platinum plug in it that I will change at the end of this season.

Let me know if you have a recommendation for the best spark plug to use in my Simplicity snowblower (1524p). I had planned on replacing it with another Briggs platinum plug (5066k). Is that platinum plug a Torch? I would welcome any advice regarding the most trouble free brands. I don't mind spending a premium for that sort of stuff. I hope that using pre-mix fuel will help to eliminate future problems with the chainsaw. I use 50-1 fuel with my Echo trimmer, and I think I will try out a pre-mix fuel with that as well. I have not had any issues with the Echo trimmer, but I use that on a more regular basis. But I usually have to switch to using my electric trimmer towards the end of the summer rather than mixing up another gallon at the end of August and tossing more than half of it out in the fall. The pre-mix seems like a possible solution, if it works.

Additional Info: Nobody commented on whether the Briggs platinum plug is any good or not so I did a little research of my own. Seems like the regular spark plugs that Briggs sells are made in China (country of origin). Probably a rebranded Torch as pugaltitude stated. And the quality is supposed to be good. The platinum plug that Briggs sells is made in the USA, at least for now. I have not had any problems using the platinum plug, and it gets good reviews. The snowblower starts up first pull and runs smooth. So I still plan to replace my spark plug with the Briggs plug it came with when I tune it up this spring.


#26

P

panabiker

Ric said:

It sure looks that way, seeing that most all the car dealers now have or are prepared for E85 with there FFV's there selling and with the stations popping up more and more all the time I'd say there's a good chance especially if they do away with the E10. It just doesn't make sense to me that if it wasn't going that way why Ford, GM, and Chrysler are already selling FFV's and have been for a while?
Click to expand...

Maybe not quite yet
Ethanol makers face obstacles to expanding

The E85 FFV had been in development for quite a few years and the added cost of accommodating E85 is not that much for new vehicles so the auto makers are doing it as a selling point since it can use non-ethanol fuel just as well. And the dealers are telling the potential buyers that FFVs are better because non-FFVs have reliability problems with ethanol additives while the FFVs "LOVE ethanol".


#27

wjjones

wjjones

My blower, and trimmer both say to use 89% or higher octane.


#28

Carscw

Carscw

This old rally I run 115 octane has a 17.5 Tecumseh been bored 40 over with a Keith black piston. Getting about 25 hp

image-2001382729.jpg


#29

P

panabiker

Carscw said:
This old rally I run 115 octane has a 17.5 Tecumseh been bored 40 over with a Keith black piston. Getting about 25 hp

View attachment 18533
Click to expand...

115 octane? That's definitely not gasoline. Toluene or pure Ethanol may go that high.


#30

Carscw

Carscw

panabiker said:
115 octane? That's definitely not gasoline. Toluene or pure Ethanol may go that high.
Click to expand...

No it's gas.
We can get 120 at the track


#31

D

de dee

panabiker said:
I use 87 octane with unspecified amount of ethanol (hopefully less than 20%).
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our gas is limited to 10% so far<> read the manual and see what gas you need, my new tractor says regular gas ,.old roto tiller reg. gas lawn mower reg. gas murray tractor reg. gas,. 29 hp. scooter high compresion, 89 oct. or 94 oct. O ethenal, 94 for winter storage,.


#32

Mike88se

Mike88se

I'm changing my answer because the Tanaka machines both say 89 octane if you want your warranty. Not that warranties are worth much ;) I don't think it's worth the bother or money to buy another 5gal can and fill one with 87 and the other with 89 so all the machines will get 89 now.


#33

P

paul11

I go for Regular Non Ethanol....:thumbsup:


#34

reynoldston

reynoldston

What ever is the cheapest gas pump, runs just fine with ethanol in the gas.


#35

Retiredcarguy

Retiredcarguy

AKI 87 Regular


#36

Ric

Ric

Mike88se said:
I'm changing my answer because the Tanaka machines both say 89 octane if you want your warranty. Not that warranties are worth much ;) I don't think it's worth the bother or money to buy another 5gal can and fill one with 87 and the other with 89 so all the machines will get 89 now.
Click to expand...

That's the reason I run 93 octane. Everything I run is Stihl and says 89 or higher and I'm like you I'm not going to bother with trying to keep 87 for the mowers especially when I can get up to a dollar off a gallon on premium.


#37

exotion

exotion

Ric said:
That's the reason I run 93 octane. Everything I run is Stihl and says 89 or higher and I'm like you I'm not going to bother with trying to keep 87 for the mowers especially when I can get up to a dollar off a gallon on premium.
Click to expand...

Ya I just run 89 same reason. Found out however that I cannot run 89 in my truck. I started using it a while ago my check engine light came on. 02 sensor #3 is bad. Reading the manual it says use 87 only :/


#38

E

echostar

No alcohol premium. That is all that is aviable here without the lousy alcohol. The exceptions are canned fuel, Stihl and others put it out. Another good one is no alcohol avaition gas. Don't get the low lead stuff. Another is gas at a marina. -- no alcohol.

Ed


#39

Ric

Ric

exotion said:
Ya I just run 89 same reason. Found out however that I cannot run 89 in my truck. I started using it a while ago my check engine light came on. 02 sensor #3 is bad. Reading the manual it says use 87 only :/
Click to expand...


I don't have to worry about what goes in the Truck, it's an FFV so it will take and run anything. The higher the octane the better it likes it. The Stihl equipment is the same the higher octane the better. I think that's why in eight years I've never had any issues with any of my lawn equipment.


#40

Nwatson99

Nwatson99

93 in everything it burns cleaner.


#41

X-man

X-man

87 w/ ethonol. Anything higher is a waste of money.


#42

jekjr

jekjr

X-man said:
87 w/ ethonol. Anything higher is a waste of money.
Click to expand...

Stihl and others recommend 89 or more if you want your warranty you run what they recommend. We try to run 93 or higher No ethanol in all of our handheld equipment.


#43

X-man

X-man

jekjr said:
Stihl and others recommend 89 or more if you want your warranty you run what they recommend. We try to run 93 or higher No ethanol in all of our handheld equipment.
Click to expand...

Around here it's either ethanol or you're s**t out of luck.


#44

R

Ryan Rognstad

Anything with ethanol gumms the crap out of small carbs on a larger vehicle it is probably ok but you have to worry when Germany fought for the longest time to prevent the import of ethanol in worries that it would damage German engines and I'm guessing Mercedes knows what they are talking about. I always use PRE Mix 93 or 94 octane Echo or Husqvarna brand I mean its worth it in the long run. Also you can still purchase ethanol free fuel at marathon and most shells just go in and ask which pump is ethanol free I always try to anyways corn doesn't belong in an engine it belongs in the belly of that piece of NY strip Im going to have for dinner tonight :):cool:


#45

X-man

X-man

Ryan Rognstad said:
Anything with ethanol gumms the crap out of small carbs on a larger vehicle it is probably ok but you have to worry when Germany fought for the longest time to prevent the import of ethanol in worries that it would damage German engines and I'm guessing Mercedes knows what they are talking about. I always use PRE Mix 93 or 94 octane Echo or Husqvarna brand I mean its worth it in the long run. Also you can still purchase ethanol free fuel at marathon and most shells just go in and ask which pump is ethanol free I always try to anyways corn doesn't belong in an engine it belongs in the belly of that piece of NY strip Im going to have for dinner tonight :):cool:
Click to expand...

For as much as I say "I hate ethanol", I honestly haven't seen a regularly-ran carburetor gummed up due to ethanol yet.


#46

O

over40mower

Ethanol free for me.
Run my outboard in Reg, but switch to Ethanol free when flushing motor.
On roto tiller not used very often, I shut fuel off, and run carb dry.


#47

D

Darryl G

Just to point out that you need to make sure you know what octane rating system the manufacturer is using in their recommendation. This is often overlooked. Most countries use a different rating system (RON) than the USA and Canada (AKI). So if the manufacturer recommends fuel with a RON octane rating of 89 or more, 87 octane fuel in the USA and Canada will easily meet that requirement. Basically, the USA/Canada octane numbers are 4 to 6 less than elsewhere in the world for the same fuel.

I run 89 octane with ethanol (UP TO 10%) in my mowers and my frequently used string trimmers and backpack blowers and non-ethanol canned fuel in my seldom used small equipment such as hedge trimmers and chain saws. Non-ethanol fuel is not available at the pump in my region and I'd go broke running canned fuel in all of my equipment at the rate I use it.


#48

Russ2251

Russ2251

Any regular pump gas suits me just fine.


#49

B

bertsmobile1

The age is far far far far far more important than what grade it is.
Most hand helds have small tanks so buying a gallon of fuel that will sit in the shed for 3 years is the big no no.
I no longer sell 1 gallon 2 stroke fuel cans and have gone down to selling 1 liter ( quart to some ) cans for customers to mix their fuel.
In high temp, high humidity enviroments some fuels will go bad in less than a month.


#50

7394

7394

jekjr said:
Stihl and others recommend 89 or more if you want your warranty you run what they recommend. We try to run 93 or higher No ethanol in all of our handheld equipment.
Click to expand...

X2 :thumbsup:


#51

N

nbpt100

This pol only gives 3 choices. the best choice is not mentioned.

The best choice is what the MFG specs for octane with out ethanol. If given only those 3 choices, I would meet the octane rating 1st and worry about the ethanol 2nd.

using non ethanol gas in 87 octane could be a disaster for some 2 cycle motors. I did not read all 3 pages here but I saw some have mentioned that at least one popular MFG specs 93 Octane. Many 2 cycle motors spec 89 or higher. So any kind of regular gas (usually 87 octane) would not be a good choice. Pre ignition can be a problem in 2 cycles.

If you are going to use up all the gas pretty quickly ethanol should not be a problem. Don't let it scare you. Just understand its limitations.

From the results so far in this pol, I think it scares a lot of people.


#52

D

Darryl G

Post Deleted. Didn't realize I had already replied to this thread.


#53

John R

John R

No corn gas in any of my outdoor equipment.
My 2 strokes start and run a lot better with plain gas, my 4 strokes start right up every spring and run great.


#54

Fat_Bollocks

Fat_Bollocks

Darryl G said:
...Didn't realize I had already replied to this thread.
Click to expand...
That's what happens when the alcohol didn't land in the tank where it was supposed to.
Seriously, I don't want alcohol in my fuel, if I can avoid it. You don't save much money from mixed fuel use and you lose a little horsepower.
The only 2-cycle equipment I have running at the moment is one of these of which i could use all the horsepower I can get for it:

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#55

B

bertsmobile1

Ethanol in petrol is just a gimmick to lower the percentage of CO2 in the exhaust because it has more hydrogen, which makes H20 when burned.
As with most "improvements that are mandatory, it cost you more in the long run because the energy content of ethanol is a lot lot lower than petrol.
When we used to race on dope, the carb jet was 4 times larger than for petrol.
The only advantage is it is harder to ignite so you can run higher compression ratios before the fuel self ignites ( diesels ).
Now most mowers run around 8.5:1 so the ethanol is of no use whatsoever.
If it was good and worked better it would not be mandated, we would all be using it by choice.

The most important thing, ethanol or not is the age of the fuel before you get your hands on it.
This is far more critical with ethanol blends that strait petrol.


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