The adventures of a new ope service writer

Avgas (100LL) is $5/gal here...no way I'd pay $8/qt!

 

I haven't priced Aspen 2 premix this year, but it was a $1 cheaper per can than Motomix and a 5 liter (1.3 US Gallons) jug was about 1/2 price per liter compared to the 1 liter cans. Esso and Shell have e-free high octane 15 miles away, and a 5 Imperial gallon (6 U.S., 22.7 liter) jug lasts me for months. I add an ounce per gallon of Seafoam as soon as I get it home and mix with Stihl 2 cycle oil if
required. A 100 ml bottle of Stihl Canadian orange top 2 cycle oil in a 4 litre oil jug = a 40:1 mix. Aspen has very few dealers in the USA but have a look.
Aspen 2

 

We finally got an eth free station in town. Woot.

 

By me e free at stations but you need to run a couple gallons out first as the delivery system only has one hose -therefore you need to purge the line to get only the good stuff. No dedicated e free pumps.
Years ago on a service call - intermittent operation of unit- when I pulled the covers 1/2 dozen electrocuted mice behind them. Then there are always a few engine problems that occur in the spring- yep mouse nests in air cleaners, recoil units , course there was the one with a pretty good sized Hornets nest in there, that cleared the shop out for bit, the complaint was it only made a buzzing noise when trying to start. Or just recently a friend complained about his refrigerator seems when ever they opened it it made a buzzing sound- Timber rattler enjoying the warmth of the coils- getting it out with out getting nailed was a bit of a challenge. Dispatched very quickly.

 

This is what happens with the right combination of disposable income, lack of knowledge, and the need to feel validated (by doing things DIY).

 

Not really. I purchase 5-gallon cans of VP Racing's SEF94 premix from my local dealer, for $88. You can do the math for price per gallon or quart. I also grab a few cans of the Tru-Fuel when it's on sale occasionally. Before I started using that stuff, I was mixing my own fuel with 94-octane gasoline, Stihl HP-Ultra synthetic oil, and either Sta-bil or Star-Tron fuel stabilizer. Add up the costs of the gas, oil and stabilizer (not to mention the time spent doing so) and it worked out to be $30-$40 for five gallons of mix-yer-own (an amount I use annually). I have two saws, a mini-tiller, weedwacker, portable water pump and a leaf blower that all use premix, and I was bringing one or more of them in to the dealer every year for new fuel lines, filters and/or carb work, to the tune of $80-$120 or more per visit. Since using the canned premix, I haven't needed to bring any of my power equipment in for repairs, and it all starts and runs after a winter of sitting in an unheated shed or garage.

What that tells me is that the $50 or so that I was "saving" by mixing my own fuel was offset by the repairs I continued to have to make. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe for a minute that the pre-mix is foolproof, but it has yet to fail me. I've been running only pre-mix for at least four years now, and have not needed to repair a single small engine. I look at it as an insurance policy. Pay now, or pay more later. I simply don't have the time or inclination to screw around with anything else.

 

I leave non-stabilized, 87 octane, corn liquor infused fuel in all of my OPE year round and have never had a fuel related issue in the past 10 years. I figure swapping a fuel line, if I ever have to, is a lot cheaper than burning through all that high dollar fuel.

 

lukem I wonder if it is worse in areas that get colder longer?? I just had to put a new carb in ferris z turn with 88 hours on it!!!

Straight up all winter equipment gets close to run dry, stabil added and I still have problems. I think gas sits longer at stations here too..

 

That makes 2 of us. 10 plus years and I've been thru exactly 1 fuel line on my exmarks....that's it. All the stihl handhelds get new primer bulbs each year as prevatitive maintenance. No problems with carbs at all.

Genny gets drained and tested once a year. That's the only equipment I actually drain annually. It never gets used though. Been 3 years since I needed it...but when u need a genny, that's not the time to be screwing around and working on chit in the dark.

 

Could be. All my stuff sits in my shop all winter. It is insulated, but not heated unless I'm working out there about once or twice a week in the winter. It gets below freezing in there a few days a year when it gets really cold out (below zero for a good stretch), but not often.

My mower is a 2008 with 400 hours. Umpteen gazillion gallons (Kawi 31HP is thirsty) of cheap gas thru it, sitting all winter, and fuel lines look and feel like new.

 

I think part of it lukem is inside storage not heated easily gets to 90 in barn in July, but weeks of double digits below 0. Might cause condensation to freeze and crack.. Heck, I have had good windshield washer (-25) freeze and crack tank..

 

Kaw...nuff said. You won't see fuel problems in 999 of 1000 motors. And when you do, they don't cover them under warranty. They blame the fuel.

I'm a kaw fan on mowers. Says the guy who tracks numbers on warranty claims.

Kohler....im pointing at you here

 

Yes.
I was really surprised! I've bought some there but still use avgas mostly.

 

I wish I had e free fuel close! Closest to me is an airport about an hour away. I usually go and fill my 2 5 gal jugs for my generator, snowblower, and saw when I'm in the area for work.

I hate my lawn tractor, that pos gets fed E10 and left.to sit all winter with nothing more than taking the key out after its final use...runs like a top every spring. It just wont die like I want it to!

 

some of this could be regional problems- ethanol is added at the distributor level not at the refinery. Awhile back the was a expose on ethanol - they covered a lot of territory, percentages ranged from2% to over 30% of ethanol added to gas. Al I know is it wasn't worth squat in the 1930's ( and still isn't in my book)- and it cost more quite a bit more to produce than it saves. Ain't a fan of them screwing with the diesel fuel either let alone the DEF crap. most of the ethanol production plants would not survive if it wasn't for the gov. handouts.

 

Finally got to meet our stihl reps today. Got signed up for their icademy which is basically online training for their products. Pretty easy stuff so far.... how to select the right saw for a customer, how to rewind a trimmer, how to prune, etc. I'll get into the more technical stuff later.
I also got signed up to go to my stihl distributor in September for 2 days of hands on product demos, a little classroom stuff, and free food and beer. My shop owner is picking up the bill for the travel and dog sitting!

Oh yea, I talked the rep out of a nice stihl polo shirt also

In October I get paid to go to the GIE (green industry expo) in Louisville. GIE+EXPO: The Green Industry & Equipment Expo - Home

I'll hit up dealer only day as to avoid the crowds. I hear there's lots of free food and beer there too.

 

It's all about the swag!