Premixed fuel in a can

[crazyal]

I'm just finishing up may annual fall firewood task for another year. Normally I pick up two gallons of ethanol free super to complete the task. Normally that's enough gas but this year (last week) I ran out with about a half cord to go and I didn't have any oil. So I asked my GF to pick up some 2 cycle oil while she was at Lowes. She came home with the premixed Husky fuel. Today I finally got a chance to use it. It smells like the VP racing gas I used when I was dirt track racing. Over all I liked the stuff.

It's too expensive to use every day but after reading the can today I realize this stuff is good for up to 3 years. I'm thinking of getting a can so I don't have to keep premixed gas on hand in case I need the chainsaw. Usually a tree or two will fall and I'll need to cut it so I can remove it. Last year I had a 1/2 gallon of super mixed ready to go but this fall it had gone bad. How many here have use the stuff? Has anyone actually tested it out after a year or two of storage?

 

[adventure bob]

Hard to find non ethanol gas in C springs so when the saw will sit I mix stabil into some and run it through the saw. That way theres no ethanol breakdown, its 92 octane and mixed right. I do caution that if you use tru fuel its pink, not blue and if you have to take your saw to the dealer they will say "bad gas" a accuse you of putting straight gas in the saw.
Tru fuel dies their 50:1 pink. Husky dies theirs blue. Mix em and they turn clear, really complicating the "did you put oil in this?" questions.

 

[crazyal]

I repair all my equipment so I don't have to deal with dealer BS. Of course the warranty has long expired on every saw I own. I was a little disappointed that the can doesn't have a seal under the cap.

 

[joshuabardwell]

You can increase the shelf life a lot by putting Sta-bil in the mix. The label says something like three or six months... I don't remember.

 

[murphy1244]

Ever use 110 fuel?

 

[Bluegill2]

I keep a few cans of pre-mix around, but don't run it much because of cost.

I have a source here for non-eth 91 and my saws love it. I also store some just in case, add a little sta-bil and the stuff is good for well over a year.

 

[houstonscott]

Since I found it, I use it exclusively. All the two cycle stuff runs better now. Found Brigs brand that has stabilizer too.

HS

 

[kg7il]

I was pleased to find that several local gas stations provide ethanol free high octane (92 or so) at the pump.
One place sells Av gas, haven't tried it.

While visiting Arizona, the Yuma guys all run $10/ga Av gas in their high performance sand rails (dune buggies to the ill-informed).

Still choices out there, just costs a bit.

It always seems like what-ever gas I set aside for the saw or weed-eater always get's thrown in the John Deere riding lawnmower. So much for special gas!

 

[Soundguy]

I used it 1 time. got it at walmart. Like you i was in the middle.. er.. at the last 10m of a small job and it was the fastest way to finish.

neat lil metal can. got mine at wallymart.

worked fine.. don't plan on buying anymore. I only chainsaw infrequently.

 

[Will_C]

I have a can in the toolbox on my truck. I burn 1-2 gallon of pre-mix a month, so it would be too expensive to use all the time. I have never used the can, but I figured an unopened can would keep long term for an emergency, if I ever ran out of fuel with just a bit of work to do and I wasn't home to mix up fuel.

Will

 

[frogfish]

The guy I bought my chain saws from told me about it, since I don't run the saws weekly or even monthly sometimes, he said this would work better in my case. Yes a bit more $$ but I figure in the long run less $$ in repair. I've used this now about 3.5 years and the saws all start easily and run just fine.

 

[fish1552]

The only issue I see with the fuel in a can, is when was it mixed and canned? If it says 2-3 years, how old is it when it is bought off the shelf? Much like batteries, there is a shelf life and batteries (like those for phones, etc) run about 5 years and you have no idea how long it was sitting in the warehouse on a shelf before shipping to the store.

I'm not saying it isn't good in a pinch, but just be sure to keep it on the shorter side of that time rather than longer. If it gets towards the end of that, it might be better to give it as a gift to your buddy.

 

[GGB]

I have used Stihl's version of premix fuel when I was also in a bit of a hurry, and also wanted fuel I knew was clean to help clean out a bit of fuel in a trimmer that I was concerned might have had some ethanol in the tank. No problems, but can't address the shelf life since I used it within a month or less. I have tried to use nothing but ethanol free premium for some time, but have recently begun using 100 octane racing gas for my premix fuel.

Because of hearing numerous stories of plastic jugs allowing moisture to get in, I also bought a metal safety can for the premix, with the Stihl Ultra premix (silver bottle) and the racing gas. I've also been using the racing gas on the small engines which don't get used very often rather than running dry as I used to do. From what I've been hearing, on some gas engines you may be better off to store wet to keep carb gaskets from drying out. Stay tuned.

 

[houstonscott]

The problem with the fuel today is the ethanol. It's highly corrosive and will destroy the engine parts. It absorbs water, not good. Worst of all it separates out of the gas and destroys the engine and carburetors after sitting, and start up with separated fuel can destroy and engine straight up. Small two cycle stuff like weed-eaters, chainsaws, outboard motors, that sit are most at risk. I would never store a small two cycle powered tool again with ethanol fuel in it, not even over night. They are just to expensive to replace to run or store them with ethanol fuel.

HS

 

[joshuabardwell]

I found that I got much better results when switching to 93-octane over 87-octane in my 2-stroke engines. This doesn't really make sense to me, as I don't think the compression in the 2-strokes is high enough to require the higher octane, but they would constantly have a problem where they would die out when hot, and once I switched to 93-octane, that went away. Anyway, I use 93-octane with Sta-bil in it, and have had no problems with storing the items with gas in them during the regular season. I always run them dry before longer-term storage, however. I think the Sta-bil makes a big difference.

 

[Bluegill2]

I found that I got much better results when switching to 93-octane over 87-octane in my 2-stroke engines. This doesn't really make sense to me, as I don't think the compression in the 2-strokes is high enough to require the higher octane, but they would constantly have a problem where they would die out when hot, and once I switched to 93-octane, that went away. Anyway, I use 93-octane with Sta-bil in it, and have had no problems with storing the items with gas in them during the regular season. I always run them dry before longer-term storage, however. I think the Sta-bil makes a big difference.

Could be that the 87 was just poor quality, or had too much ethanol? A lot of 91-93 octane premium has no ethanol and this will make a better running 2 stroke. You're right 2 strokes do not have that high compression and will make more power on lower octane gas.

 

[murphy1244]

Could be that the 87 was just poor quality, or had too much ethanol? A lot of 91-93 octane premium has no ethanol and this will make a better running 2 stroke. You're right 2 strokes do not have that high compression and will make more power on lower octane gas.

So Racing Gas would not be a good idea?

 

[Bluegill2]

So Racing Gas would not be a good idea?

Yes...
The only good thing about racing fuel in a stock 2 stroke, is no ethanol. Higher octane makes less power.

 

[torch1]

Good day Gentleman,

Not sure if this is valid for the US but in Canada, Stihl and Husqvarna both include fuel stabilizer in there premix 2 stroke oil. Normally I use a minimum size can (1 gal max) for my premix so the gas does not go stale due to be refilled more often, if I know the premix has not been used for a while I will dump it into my gas vehicle tank as the small amount of oil is not going to hurt anything when mixed in with the large quantity of gas in the vehicle tank. Keeps my small engine gas fresh and eliminates a lot of gas related issues.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Could be that the 87 was just poor quality, or had too much ethanol? A lot of 91-93 octane premium has no ethanol and this will make a better running 2 stroke.

No clue...