Gas choice

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by The Real BigGuy

I just had my leaf blower serviced because of carb issues. I asked the tech if I should use the canned ethanol free. He said he uses premium gas mixed 50:1. The key, he said is to only buy as close to what you use as possible. If you can’t use up all your gas/oil mix store the left over somewhere where the temp is constant. This will slow the breakdown and “sugar” formation in the fuel can. The sugars are what creates the “varnish” in the carb. Also, try and run the equipment tank to empty. (Unfortunately, my blower doesn’t have a fuel shut off so I can’t shut off the fuel and run the carb dry.) He also said he never uses stabilizers. Good suggestions since the canned 50:1 mix was priced at $33/gal.


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“Sugar”?….Really? Never heard that and don’t believe it. Hmmm…not sure I would be taking any advice from this so called “service tech”.

Dan

[bobkatfly]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

“Sugar”?….Really? Never heard that and don’t believe it. Hmmm…not sure I would be taking any advice from this so called “service tech”.

Dan

Yeah, no sugars form in stored gasoline. The "varnish" only forms from hydrocarbon oxidation.

[The Real BigGuy]

Originally Posted by bobkatfly

Yeah, no sugars form in stored gasoline. The "varnish" only forms from hydrocarbon oxidation.

Gasoline also contains “gum” (sometimes called “sugar”) which is the residue left over and measured after evaporation.

It can be the result of higher boiling oils that were not removed during the refining process or particulate from bad fuel handing. It can also be created by oxidation during storage or the chemical reaction of some fuel components.


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[bobkatfly]

Originally Posted by The Real BigGuy

Gasoline also contains “gum” (sometimes called “sugar”) which is the residue left over and measured after evaporation.

It can be the result of higher boiling oils that were not removed during the refining process or particulate from bad fuel handing. It can also be created by oxidation during storage or the chemical reaction of some fuel components.


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I think it's just semantics. Varnish, sugar, gum... all the same thing that clogs orifices. I think names originating in the trades should have their own dictionary.

[bobkatfly]

Originally Posted by The Real BigGuy

Gasoline also contains “gum” (sometimes called “sugar”) which is the residue left over and measured after evaporation.

It can be the result of higher boiling oils that were not removed during the refining process or particulate from bad fuel handing. It can also be created by oxidation during storage or the chemical reaction of some fuel components.


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I think it's just semantics. Varnish, sugar, gum... all the same thing that clogs orifices. Names originating in the trades should have there own dictionary

[NH.Solar]

In my past I made my living as the operator of a small engine dealership and I can tell you for sure that when ethanol became mandatory in the late 80s it totally changed the scope of the chainsaw business. My dealership in Concord was at that time selling about 400+ Jonsered units per year and all of a sudden many were coming back with hard starting engines with little compression. The culprit was generally that the alcohol was causing the combustion to run extra hot and that would cause the piston on the exhaust side to melt at at its edge and run down and seize the compression ring. This was easily and simply determined in front of our clients by removing the 2 or 3 bolts that held the muffler in place and looking at the piston in the bore. If you have a engine that is hard starting do that before looking any further for problems. If the piston looks to be just slightly siezed (look for "cat scratches on it) it might still be possible to relatively cheaply save it ...so contact me directly and I'll walk you through the simple steps..
As pointed out in some of the other posts the newer brand name oils all have additives that address both ethanol and storage, so no other supplements should be neccesary and may in fact actually be harmful. I do recommend using non-ethanol high test and I personally but all of my two stroke gas at the aforementioned gas station just before the Neck road ...and I burn more than ten gallons a month in my very demanding high performance "hot" saws. If you check with any other good professional wood cutters you'll probably find that they too are using both non-ethanol high test and a brand name 2 stoke oil as it is cheap insurance against engine failure and the high cost of down time.
For your four stroke engines that might sit for a long between running (generators for example) I would still recommend using non-ehthanol because it takes longer to spoil, but it is not forever forgiving of spoilage so change out that gas every sixmonths or so and mix that aqed fuel in your vehicle next time you are going fill up.
Small engines with plastic tanks are best left empty for long term storage, but metal tanks are best left full and then the fuel recycled through your car. Why? Metal tanks in New England are subject to frequent daily extreme temperature swings and over time the condensation that will result will settle in the bottom of the tanks and rust them out. I bet that in my life time I have braised hundreds of old cylindrical metal tractor tanks to seal the leaks!
Last, as mentioned it is always a good practice to run carberators dry when an engine might not be run for any long length of time, so get in the habit of shutting your machine down every time by shutting off the fuel rather than the ignition

[John Mercier]

Originally Posted by NH.Solar

In my past I made my living as the operator of a small engine dealership and I can tell you for sure that when ethanol became mandatory in the late 80s it totally changed the scope of my business. My dealership in Concord was at that time selling about 400+ Jonsered units per year and all of a sudden many were coming back with hard starting engines with little compression. The culprit was generally that the alcohol was causing the combustion to run extra hot and that would cause the piston on the exhaust side to melt at at its edge and run down and seize the compression ring. This was easily and simply determined in front of our clients by removing the 2 or 3 bolts that held the muffler in place and looking at the piston in the bore. If you have a engine that is hard starting do that before looking any further for problems. If the piston looks to be siezed (look for "car scratches on it) it might still be possible to relatively cheaply save it ...so contact me directly.
As pointed out in some of the other posts the newer brand name oils all have additives that address both ethanol and storage, so no other supplements should be neccesary and may in fact actually be harmful. I do recommend using non-ethanol high test and I personally but all of my two stroke gas at the aforementioned gas station just before the Neck road ...and I burn more than ten gallons a month in my very demanding high performance "hot" saws. If you check with any other good professioanl wood cutters you'll probably find that they too are using both non-ethanol high test and a professional 2 stoke oil as it is cheap insurance against engine failure and the high cost of down time.
For your four stroke engines that might sit for a long between running (generators for example) I would still recommend using non-ehthanol because it takes longer to spoil, but it is not forever forgiving of spoilage so change out that gas every sixmonths or so and mix that aqed fuel in your vehicle next time you are going fill up.
Small engines with plastic tanks are best left empty for long term storage, but metal tanks are best left full and then the fuel recycled through your car. Why? Metal tanks in New England are subject to frequent daily extreme temperature swings and over time the condensation that will result will settle in the bottom of the tanks and rust them out. I bet that in my life time I have braised a hundred old cylindrical metal tractor tanks to seal the leaks!
Last, as mentioned it is always a good practice to run carberators dry when an engine might not be run for any long length of time, so get in the habit of shutting your machine down every time by shutting off the fuel rather than the ignition

Hot Saws are specific.
Off the shelf, commercial grade (professional grade is just a higher end residential with better marketing) had problems because loggers like my father would run high octane fuel. With the addition of ethanol, this would raise the octane rating even further causing overheating.