[Yardman]

I brought this up in the Lawnmower forum, so you guys from there, please bear with me; there may be some guys with chiansaws who haven't discussed this.

I talked with my dealer about gasoline and he told me basically, any 2-stroke engine and anything with a carbruator should NOT use ethanol formulated gasoline. It's fine in your modern fuel injected automobile, but your 2 stroke chainsaws and string trimmers and most lawnmower engines will be adversly affected in the long run. I used ethanol last year and I havn't noticed any problems, but I switched to straight unleaded this year. I figure the extra 1.00 I spend on 5 gallons of gas is worth the peace of mind.

 

[SonnyT]

I think I have seen a slight difference, not sure because I try not to buy gas with corn in it. When I have had trouble, it seems to be in my Weedeaters, but they are junk anyways. Not going to buy Corn gas if I can help it.

 

[tractornut]

there is only one or two stations around here that have ethanol and i don't go to either and thankfully i never have problems with bad gas although gas never sits around that long i go through a bunch of gas in my mowers, tractors, and power equip something like 10 gallons a month.

 

[Ironmower]

Around here,they all claim to have ; up to 10 percent ethanol. And over half of the equipment I get in, is usually due to a rotted fuel line or carburator related problems. Some have bin less than 16 months old.
I really need to get me one of those ethanol test kits.

From what I gathered is; ethanol has an adverse affect on the 2-stroke mix oil. Another words, it doesn't let it lubricate the bearings as intended. And it attacks the rubber/plastic in the fuel system.

Maybe someone else can elaborate on this, that has the facts?


As for now, I've had no problems with my personal saws, trimmers or mowers. But mine see regular use, I don't know if thats a factor or not. I run a synthetic mix and 93+ octane at 40:1, in all my 2-stroke equipment. Some call for more and some less, but I've never had a failure on this ratio/mix.

 

[junebug1701]

I'm using the Sta-Bil blue marine formula. It is more concentrated than the red formula and they state that not only is it a fuel stabilizer but also an ethanol treatment. You can find it now in the small bottles for around 9 bucks at Wal-Mart. Treats 80 gallons!

 

[esnb74]

I run premium in my 2 strokes, GT's, & classic car/pickup. I do run E10 or E85 in Tahoe.

 

[tractornut]

welcome aboard esnb74

 

[tractornut]

just read through the manual for my new saw and it says that any gas containing corn is not approved for use in the saw glad i don't use the crap anyway

 

[theirrationalist]

I wonder if there is anybody working on fixing the 2 stroke to work with ethanol?

 

[89yt12]

not that i have seen, maybe something we all can look into

 

[tractornut]

oddly enough the only thing i have had trouble with so far was my tractor today it has sat about a month with what i believe is e85 gas in it and it was having troubles running when i decided to fire it up and drive it around the yard. but go figure all my 2 cycle stuff can sit for 6 months with the crap gas in them and will fire up with no problems

 

[SonnyT]

I have found several places here that doesn't sell ethanol in their gas, so I should be okay. Would like to buy it in Missouri, where gas is 10-15 cents cheaper(6 miles away)but all of Missouri gas has ethanol and they don't have to mark the pumps. So Kansas gas it is for me.

 

[SonnyT]

Has any of you guys tried this in your ethanol gas?
Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment - Star Tron Gasoline Additive

 

[LarryF]

I'm in NJ where ethanol-mixed gasoline is in every gas station in the state, so I'm stuck with using the mix in my 2-cycle equipment. So far, the only ones that have been affected are two of my chain saws. One had the plastic fuel line almost disintegrate. When I started to remove the line, it was in 6 short pieces. The carb in the other had to be rebuilt, so that meant buying kit over the Internet. I guess having to do such repairs is a fact of life today. I've gotten into the habit of draining the tank on my string trimmer, chain saws, blowers and mini-tiller if I know I'll not be using the machine for a few weeks or more. Not sure it will do much good, but that's about the best I can think of.

As you can imagine, I'm very much opposed to this ethanol plague, and I don't believe it's necessary. I've read somewhere that it has driven the cost of gasoline up about 50 cents a gallon and causes unnecessary mechanical problems.

 

[chuckster]

I used to use the red Stabil but now have switched to the Stabil Marine blue formula which is supposed to treat ethanol. So far no problems but then I never had any problems using the red Stabil either