Trimmers - discussion/pics

Eggshooterist you are correct on your thinking
Me personally I do use stabilizer in all my fuel cans. If I happen to still have fuel after 30 days I dump the cans out and start again with fresh non ethanol fuel

 

I don't dump it after 30 days though. I have 6 gallons one year old fuel every spring, from my generator, that looks, smells and works like new fuel. I burn it up in mowers and ope. I did this with marine staybil and now PRI-G the last 6-7 years.

I do start all my ope that has pump fuel in it. Every couple months, at most, year around.

 

My small engine mechanic before he retired said 90% of things that come in my shop can be made to run with;
fresh gas,
new plug,
and clean air filter
3 things ICE needs to run fuel, air and spark..
how is this a 6 month college course

 

To manufacture equipment well known to have 'stale' fuel issues then turn around and not offer mitigation in the lubrication you sell to maintain the equipment is either nefarious or extremely short sighted.

Read about gas and all a few years ago and came away with knowledge that higher octane chains take longer to separate (do not recall exact reason) . Which is the point of additives...to combat the breakdown of chains. They don't have to 'stop' it, just extend the length of time it takes to happen.

Lots of fans of Echo Red Armor oil here. The fuel additive that I use is also from Red Armor. Not put it to the 2 year test. Have some almost year long use as anecdote though. Makes the gas smell funny, but no running issues at all. It's mixed with regular 93 octane when used.

 

I've thrown away so many good plugs, just because they wanted a "tuneup" which they'd never accept without a new plug!
But there have been plenty of stinkers too...sometimes fairly new, usually say "Champion" on them...

 

Whatever works for you is all that matters. Ethanol is the problem, not a lack of stabilizers.

 

I had a new champion plug, in a 2 stroke toro snowblower, blow the center out while running. The threaded part with the hex was in the cylinder and the rest in the plug wire. Lol

 

My buddy built a 350 for his Monte Carlo...nothing crazy, run on pump gas...kept blowing the porcelain out of 1 cylinder even though it had the same compression as the rest. After this happened a number of times (NAPA store gave him the last (3rd?) warranty plug and said last one) he switched to Autolites (IIRC) then and that was the end of it!
At the bike shop that was the first thing we did if we had something come in for a no start or a running issue with Champion plugs in it...trash can 'em!

 

Not to start but champion spark plugs and 2 strokes don’t belong together .
As a teen with 250 2 strokes and snow mobiles I learned real quick why you run njk

 

I buy only ngk for ope unless there's none available.

 

Yep.

 

Good choice

 

That’s what Tom said; above mentioned OPE mechanic

 

I agree. With shop rates around $85/hr it quickly gets too expensive to repair. I do my own repairs, run the carbs dry, dump the fuel from the tanks, use Stabil in pump gas, switch to canned gas when my usage drops. I bet not many regular people do all that. I'm coming around to the idea a lot of "normal" people would be better off with battery powered at this point.

 

Two more without stabilizer. Neither does Maxima K2, not pictured.

No stabilizers in this either.

 

I hate bamboo. Every year I spend about 5 tanks of 2 mix beating this down. I burned a big pile of it 2 years ago and 3 days later it rised from the ashes. Get it when it’s still soft and it’s not too bad.

 

There is a vacant lot we pass on the way into town that is literally a jungle of bamboo. It got all cut up with either a forestry mulcher or some other machine several months ago. After it was cut you could see big chunks of concrete littered throughout the lot! Happened to glance at the same lot a couple of weeks ago and you cannot even tell the stuff had ever been cut. There must be a chemical to spray that will kill it back but will likely get anything else that’s there as well. Must be some prolific stuff! Sure glad that we don’t have any on our acreage.

 

It was a hard weekend for the trimmers. I used the Echo 3020 for most of the weekend until the trimmer head broke and spit out 5' of line. It no longer ratchets, just free spins. It uses the larger Super Feed 500 head, so hopefully it won't be a problem getting one. I switched to the Husky 335 and noticed about 15min in it wouldn't idle down all the way. Uh oh! Listened carefully to the high end and sure enough it sounded a little hot on the high side. All of the fuel lines are hard and one was loose on the purge bulb. I replaced these lines last year with what the dealer swears is genuine Tygon. I even used canned Husky gas for the last week of trimming last spring. Ran it dry before cleaning and putting it away. Not sure what more I can do? Ethanol just plain stinks.