fuel talk/discussion

I was watching a video the other day and the guy stated he dumps fuel out if it's been in the saw longer than 30 days.
It didn't make sense to me as to why he does this. With that said..
Now we all know ethanol is the bane of OPE.
Even pure fuel alone doesn't stay good for an extended amount of time.
Yet!!! quality 2 cycle oil has fuel stabilizers in it.
So if that last statement is true, 2cycle fuel shouldn't be going bad in 30 days regardless, correct?
I think that is true.

I personally use stabil in gas that I pump into my gas cans. (that fuel is used up in 3 months max)
Than I mix that gas into my 2 cycle mix with a good 2 cycle oil which has fuel stabilizers.
So that is 2 stabilizers being used. I also dose the gas with MMO.
In equipment I have owned a long time this has not ever been an issue.
I've let fuel sit in my 350's for longer than I care to admit and it has ran fine.
I fill up my cub cadet tractor with fuel before parking it for the winter.
It starts up and runs fine in the spring even with a dirty carb.
I won't deny using fresh gas is best, but why dump out good fuel that has been stabilized?
If it's a year old or more yes I see the point.
Gas creates varnish deposits in carbs when you let it sit for that long as well.
I generally let my equipment run out of fuel when I know I won't be using it for a few months.
Like my tractor, I shut off the petcock valve, let it run out of gas and that is that.
Tank is still full though. I like to do this to prevent the tank from rusting inside out.
Seems like a waste of perfectly good fuel if proper steps are taken.
Your opinions?

 

Following.. I go about six months with stabil in mowers etc

 

Eh.

30 days is a bit extreme to not use it in the saw.

3 months, sure. Then it goes in the splitter.

Fwiw, if you've got even a semi modern saw, it's designed for e10.

 

Ethanol is the bane of every piece of plastic, rubber, alum., and steel in your fuel system when it sits for long periods. Not sure if it messes with brass parts, but it does a number on the seals and seats.

 

Bought my saw in '07, and never run it dry. It sits sometimes (especially winter) for several months and fires right up when I want to use it. I use Stabil most of the time (Used it on the recent 5 gallon refill, and the 2 gal. 2-stroke fillup), but not always. I think the fuel filter's been changed once, and same for the spark plug. Might have changed the air filter twice.
Similar for the splitter, tractor, and trimmer.
I use whatever they sell at the BP in town. It's got ethanol in it.

 

I go with the non-ethanol 91 octane for all my OPE now that it is available. When it wasn't I used to run my saws out and leave them empty until I was ready to use them.
When they first started using ethanol I filled my saw and cut just a few pieces of wood then put the saw away for about four months, when I went to start the saw it wouldn't the fuel line was deteriorated I took it to the shop and had the line replaced. the mechanic said I was lucky that it didn't start as it would have been like straight gassing the saw because the ethanol breaks down the oil in the mix.

 

The problem with ethanol is it absorbs water out of the air fuel stabilizers work very good but they keep the water in suspension as the water content increases it actually leans your fuel /oil mix that is problem 1 , #2 ethanol is corrosive to aluminum parts ,#3 ethanol destroys rubber components in fuel system . last comment I see more problems with fuel systems come in to my shop than any other problem all from water in fuel JB

 

the higher the octane the less the ethanol. in my fishing boat I allways used prem to mix with oil never had a problem

 

Just the opposite...the higher the ethanol content, the higher the octane level.
Ethanol and Octane For Beginners

That was supposed to be a link...I'll fix it later...

 

Guess I already fixed it then, eh?!

 

I am fortunate in havng a very busy station in my end of the county, that has a pump for ethanol free. All my small engine operate on it. In warm weather, i take three five gallon cans with me.

My twenty some year old Stihl FS trimmer is notorious for carbs going bad. Hoping the switch over reduces that. My back up is I bought some ten dollar replacement carbs off Ebay. Came from China, so delivery was long, but the first one worked like a charm. Carb rebuilds at the dealer is pretty steep, and the mechanic doesnt care to mess with teeny parts.

 

I run 91 octane E-free in all OPE. Pump a couple gallons in the truck first to clear out the hose and pump before filling containers. Try to remember a little Seafoam in the can as well and keep the cans in the garage. Seems to work for me.

 

Three thumbs up .

 

most equipment made in the last 20 years are designed with ethanol in mind so the lines should be ethanol safe these days.
At the very least if a person is replacing their own lines, they should do the homework and make sure the lines are ethanol safe.
Can you even buy fuel hose that is not these days?
Alcohol/ethanol has been around in fuel for longer than most people realize as well. much longer than the last 30 years.
Keep your tanks in a dry location, keep the caps tight, and keep it filled up(or empty). plastic tanks don't condense nearly as much as metal tanks.
So I think that takes care of #1 and #3.
good 2 cycle oil has corrosion inhibitors in it. #2

 

Yeah...I bought some at the local hardware a while back to replace the line on my weed eater...only lasted about a year.

 

old stock or new stock?

 

Couldn't say for sure...I wouldn't expect it to have been too old...