What oil is best? and what ratio?

[lilspenny]

Wouldn't the baseline fuel also affect the results? It's not like we all have access to the same fuel.

Edit: Or is it reasonable to assume that there is enough parity in average pump gas that the results would have broad application?

I got some non-ethanol 91 octane from my Valero dealer in Athens, AL that was so bad it messed my sparkplugs up and no amount of carb adjustments made any difference so it went into my zero turn and my truck. The gas I buy now is 30 miles away but it's really good. Knock on wood.

 

[MtnHaul]

I got some non-ethanol 91 octane from my Valero dealer in Athens, AL that was so bad it messed my sparkplugs up and no amount of carb adjustments made any difference so it went into my zero turn and my truck. The gas I buy now is 30 miles away but it's really good. Knock on wood.

For whatever it's worth I've used 91 w/ethanol from a local chain, Rotten Robbie, in lawnmowers, generators, chainsaws, hedgers, blowers, and a pressure washer but I've never had an issue. I think I found a place to buy that Swift 94 non-ethanol but I don't know if the nearby airport will sell to the general public. I'm tired of paying ~$16/gal for Sunoco 98 non/ethanol.

The only time I've seen the truly terrible corrosion and damage from fuel sitting was in the carb of a 14hp Kohler on an older Cummins/Onan generator--but even then it still cleaned up and went back to work. We have an old Champion generator that has had pump gas w/ethanol sit in it for a year and she still fires up. I have no idea why some setups are so much more sensitive than others.

 

[lilspenny]

Wouldn't the baseline fuel also affect the results? It's not like we all have access to the same fuel.

Edit: Or is it reasonable to assume that there is enough parity in average pump gas that the results would have broad application?

Different oils combustion differently and require different tuning.

Different oils combustion differently and require different tuning.

Bwalker I have been from oil to oil and sometimes back and forth just to try to feel the difference and sometimes I can hear the difference and sometimes I can feel the power difference. I often but not always need a high speed adjustment but so far no low speed adjustment. I always adjust each time I swap oils just to make sure, but about half the time the needle is put right back where it was. Your point is indeed a good one. For those who buy a new Stihl blower or trimmer or even a replacement carb for an older 4-mix the carb tool #2307 is now an octagonal #2314. Why Stihl changed this can only be chalked up to their infinite wisdom. Getting caught with the new tool is a mandatory 10 years in the Stalag 13 cooler.

 

[davidwyby]

@lilspenny look up eggshooterist

 

[lilspenny]

@lilspenny look up eggshooterist

Yep I saw something on some testing but they aren't available without permission.. is that correct?

 

[bwalker]

Wouldn't the baseline fuel also affect the results? It's not like we all have access to the same fuel.

Edit: Or is it reasonable to assume that there is enough parity in average pump gas that the results would have broad application?

Absolutely the fuel has an effect.

I make gasoline for a living. The recipe for the soup that we call gasoline changes by the hour. What you buy at the pump meets a set of performance and epa specs, but its composition varies greatly.

 

[davidwyby]

Yep I saw something on some testing but they aren't available without permission.. is that correct?

He has a PM group chat thing on FHC

 

[jakethesnake]

This is the official 2 stroke oil thread. I think we should can the other one. If anyone wants any opinions over the last decade I think they should look here. I accidentally posted in the other one


My current oil is red armor. I think it’s one of the better air cooled oils out there that’s easy to get your hands on.

 

[lilspenny]

Absolutely the fuel has an effect.

I make gasoline for a living. The recipe for the soup that we call gasoline changes by the hour. What you buy at the pump meets a set of performance and epa specs, but its composition varies greatly.

Bwalker... As consumers buying non-ethanol gasoline how do we know when and where to get what's good?

Would buying, say.. Shell or Chevron with ethanol increase our chances of getting an overall better product?

What about buying, say...Shell or Chevron high octane with ethanol?

and... when we buy from a Shell or Chevron station that has top tier stickers on the w/ethanol pumps but not on the non-ethanol pumps does that typically mean that the non-ethanol gasoline does not have the detergent type/level to meet top tier standards?

 

[MtnHaul]

It sounds like gasoline and 2-stroke oil are similar in the sense that their respective compositions can vary quite a bit but still meet a given specification, and I have to wonder if that's why there seems to be such variance in the anecdotal results/evidence that individual users report. E.g. user 1 mixing local fuel with 2-stroke oil #7 gets different results than User 2 mixing a different local fuel with oil #7.

It's like Cuervo Gold meets the specs to be called 80 proof tequila but it's not the same as some good 100% blue agave 80 proof tequila. Cuervo Gold is usually just under 50% fermented cane sugar last time I checked, but the Mexican govt. only requires a minimum 51% agave content to be called tequila.

 

[lilspenny]

It sounds like gasoline and 2-stroke oil are similar in the sense that their respective compositions can vary quite a bit but still meet a given specification, and I have to wonder if that's why there seems to be such variance in the anecdotal results/evidence that individual users report. E.g. user 1 mixing local fuel with 2-stroke oil #7 gets different results than User 2 mixing a different local fuel with oil #7.

It's like Cuervo Gold meets the specs to be called 80 proof tequila but it's not the same as some good 100% blue agave 80 proof tequila. Cuervo Gold is usually just under 50% fermented cane sugar last time I checked, but the Mexican govt. only requires a minimum 51% agave content to be called tequila.

I suppose most of us have known that about 2 cycle oil, but recently since I have been testing various oils and it has become irritatingly clear that some certified FD oils should not be in the same category as other certified FD oils and at least one non-certified oil that just claims to meet FD is better than some that are certified FD.

 

[MtnHaul]

I suppose most of us have known that about 2 cycle oil, but recently since I have been testing various oils and it has become irritatingly clear that some certified FD oils should not be in the same category as other certified FD oils and at least one non-certified oil that just claims to meet FD is better than some that are certified FD.

I think so much of this discussion essentially boils down to: If it works for you and performs as needed then just run it.

 

[dangerousatom]

I think so much of this discussion essentially boils down to: If it works for you and performs as needed then just run it.

I would not be surprised if that statement in general has been stated 20x in this thread .

Threads like this tend to turn in to the proverbial snowball rolling down hill getting larger and larger but only picking up the same stuff cuz that all there is.

 

[lilspenny]

I think so much of this discussion essentially boils down to: If it works for you and performs as needed then just run it.

It does. Agree 100%.

 

[MtnHaul]

I would not be surprised if that statement in general has been stated 20x in this thread .

Threads like this tend to turn in to the proverbial snowball rolling down hill getting larger and larger but only picking up the same stuff cuz that all there is.

With over 1000 pages I would bet at least 20x. But we all reach our own conclusions in our own time. Some people can take another's word as gospel while others need to learn by their own trial and error.

 

[pbillyi69]

if you but quality oil and good gas it will be just fine as long as you mix enough oil into the gas

 

[EFSM]

This discussion reminds me of when I attended my first Kohler technical school at age 15. We were having all kinds of trouble right then with a certain Kohler model leaking oil from its cork valve cover gasket. Some other technician at the meeting was talking about how at his shop, they didn’t bother buying gaskets; they just cut them out of cork. I could hardly sit on my hands, but the seasoned co-tech/mentor that was with me later told me that maybe they did work for him, maybe they didn’t; but it wasn’t worth sacrificing my time, energy, and sanity to fix everyone else’s lives.