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Chain Saw Fuel

W

woodwish

Joined
May 7, 2004
Messages
370
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Location
Lynn Haven, FL
Got inspired by all the bowl turning at the symposium so today I grabbed my trusty-but-rarely-used chain saw. I realized the fuel in the tank and the fuel can were both probably a year or more old, and fuel that old causes more problems than it's worth. I poured the fuel out of the tank into the fuel can, used a new fuel can and new fuel to put in the chain saw and life was good. Lots of bowl blanks ready to go so that's not the problem.

The problem is my half-full can of old fuel, what do I do with it? Can't throw it away safely, can't use it in any other engine, can't just pour it out, can't burn it, and it isn't good for anything I know of. Thought about pouring it in a shallow pan and letting it evaporate if I can keep the dog, cats, and raccoons out of it, but that doesn't seem right either. Any suggestions? 🙄
 
Why Not?

woodwish said:
... can't use it in any other engine, ... Any suggestions? 🙄
Click to expand...

I usually use a half gallon at a time in my truck. The little bit of oil mixed in with 15 gallons of gas, or so, doesn't hurt anything and gets rid of it painlessly.

Clem
 
In this area there is a company that disposes of dangerous chemicals. The cities fund this service for their residents. You might want to check if there is such a thing where you are.
 
I wish that an old can of chain saw fuel mix was all that I had to worry about! If you burn it in your saw you may have to adjust the air/fuel mixture somewhat. If you want to toss it over the hill....I'll never tell!.....Why not mix it with a fresh can of mix. If it is the environmental stuff that worries you, get a bow saw and some elbow grease and sell your chain saw.
 
Gas "shelf life"

This May when I used the log splitter, had to keep it going by leaving the choke on. Took it to my fix it (lawn mowers, snow blower, rototiller, etc)place, and they said the carburator and fuel line were caked with green dried junk-they figured it was bad gas (may have been in the can from last winter.) None of my other machinery (knock on wood) has had the problem using the same gas.They said the info given to the ""fix it" place (manufacturers?)was not to use gas stored over 30 days old. They also told me that they had many more carburator problems this spring than they have ever seen.
A retired transmission engineer from Gen'l Motors said that was "bunk".
Anyone have any insight? 😕 I am not going to throw away liquid gold!!!! Gretch
 
Y'all,
Get a product called StaBil (or the equivalent) at the local "mart" store and use it year round in all your small engine fuel. I say "year round" cause it's hard to tell which will be the last can of mower gas (or whatever) for the season. Keeps the carb clean and keeps the gas from turning into goo.
 
old gas

Another great product that keeps moisture out of gas is Sea Foam. I buy it at the local auto parts store and use it in all my mobile equipment.
 
Two-stroke fuel

Please help out a memory-impaired old geezer.
How can you tell if a can of 'two-stroke' actually has the oil added? Are there any serious consequences of trying to run the chainsaw engine on regular gasoline, or on two-stroke fuel with twice the amount of oil? Is it better to just start over?
P.S. I'm just asking for a friend 🙄
 
A two-stroke engine requires oil in the fuel for lubrication, since it has no oil in the crankcase. If run on straight gas the engine will sieze and/or grenade. Double the "correct" amount of oil will tend to foul the spark plug, but should not hurt anything else.

I add StaBil to my gas can as soon as I get it home so I won't forget. Then mix fuel for 2-strokes in labeled plastic one-quart oil cans. One ounce of oil in a quart can makes close to a 32:1 mix. Another wants 50:1, and that's a bit less than one ounce per quart. Just make sure if it's not exactly right, that I err on the side of too much oil rather than too little.

Might be able to tell the difference with/without oil by the color, but that's too iffy for me. Better to have dedicated containers with labels.
 
Stabil

Texian said:
Y'all,
Get a product called StaBil (or the equivalent) at the local "mart" store and use it year round in all your small engine fuel. I say "year round" cause it's hard to tell which will be the last can of mower gas (or whatever) for the season. Keeps the carb clean and keeps the gas from turning into goo.
Click to expand...

I usually use stabil in the fall, but as you suggest I should put it into every 5 gal container as I buy it. I thought there was a shelf life on it too-a year as I recall-, but just read my current jug and it doesn't say. My splitter got into trouble with stabil in it. But maybe the problem was brewing before the insertion of the stabil;. Gretch
 
Terry Fox said:
Please help out a memory-impaired old geezer.
How can you tell if a can of 'two-stroke' actually has the oil added? Are there any serious consequences of trying to run the chainsaw engine on regular gasoline, or on two-stroke fuel with twice the amount of oil? Is it better to just start over?
P.S. I'm just asking for a friend 🙄
Click to expand...

The color sometimes helps, if you know what color the oil was before you put it in.

"Any consequences?" Not for a few minutes. The engine will run OK and then it makes funny noises and screeching sounds and then--Nothing! :-( DAMHIKT

If the engine will run well with double oil it might even be better for it. It will smoke more but you know that it is getting lubrication. I don't think that double oil will hurt it for one tank full but it would be overkill.

I wish I had started over before I burned up my gas blower. I should have dumped the questionably mixed gas into the nearly full tank on the pickup.

Clem
 
Seem to recall something about the shelf life. Will go look. Meanwhile, the standard dose of StaBil is supposed to keep the gas stable for up to one year, and a double dose is supposed to keep it good for as long as two years.
 
Gretch said:
This May when I used the log splitter, had to keep it going by leaving the choke on. Took it to my fix it (lawn mowers, snow blower, rototiller, etc)place, and they said the carburator and fuel line were caked with green dried junk-they figured it was bad gas (may have been in the can from last winter.) None of my other machinery (knock on wood) has had the problem using the same gas.They said the info given to the ""fix it" place (manufacturers?)was not to use gas stored over 30 days old. They also told me that they had many more carburator problems this spring than they have ever seen.
A retired transmission engineer from Gen'l Motors said that was "bunk".
Anyone have any insight? 😕 I am not going to throw away liquid gold!!!! Gretch
Click to expand...

What did the engineer say was bunk, gas over 30 days old, more carburetor problems, bad gas?

My next door neighbor who manufactures vegetable harvesting equipment came over one day a couple of years ago when I was having trouble keeping my shredder running.
He took the gas cap off smelled the gas, and said I had stale gas and that was probably part of my problem along with a dirty carb. Had never heard of stale gas before that. (And at 64 not too much I haven't heard at least once) 🙂

Stoppy
 
I would think gas 30 days old going bad would be bunk. I know from personal experience that the old time leaded gas would last at least 5 years. I don't think the new junk we've got these days has that kind of a life span, but 30 days is short.
As far as chain saw mix goes, the new saws often say use 50:1, but I've got a 4 year old Stihl and I always keep it 40:1. 50:1 is just too lean and the boys over to the chain saw repair shop say they get in a lot of blown engines since the 50:1 mix came out.
 
Well, if we can believe the oil companies rather than just the after-market people, gasoline contains antioxidant compounds to reduce gumming. Further, a lot of proprietary two-stroke oils list one on the label.

As to mixes, the synthetics seem to believe that one size fits all, so that's somewhat less of a problem now as well. Lots of folks here, including myself ran rich oil mixes during blackfly season to help the skin-so-soft with the insects. With the saw revving a lot, didn't seem to foul. Life of a spark plug now that there's no lead in the fuel is pretty remarkable overall.

I feed the chainsaw from one-gallon cans now, because it used to take forever to burn a two gallon can when I wasn't actively making wood, but only cutting here and there. Seemed fine for at least a year as it was. Mixture and gas life are not a big topic of concern among the local loggers, so I have a feeling that near anything will work. Should put that past tense. Very few chainsaw loggers or piececutters out there any more. Specialty cuts only, the bulk of the harvest being done by machines.
 
"Too old gas" (whatever that means), does indeed have a distinctive stink that can be smelled directly from the gas, or even in the engine exhaust if you are fortunate enough to get it started.

The Stabil container states that it can be used up to two years. Don't know if this means that if you use the last double dose at the end of two years, the gas will be good for two more years. Probably irrelevant anyhow.

M.M.- That's why I use one-quart plastic oil "cans". Sometimes must mix fuel more frequently than I would like, but know the fuel is relatively "fresh" that way.
 
gas shelf life

Stoppy said:
What did the engineer say was bunk, gas over 30 days old, more carburetor problems, bad gas?

That the gas would only be good for 30 days.
What is different (other than outrageous prices) with gas today than a year ago? Gretch
Click to expand...
 
After reading the suggestions I went out and poured it into the four trucks and SUV's in my driveway, I figured a little in each one wouldn't hurt 😉

Living in Hurricane Alley each May I buy about 30 gallons of cheap unleaded in containers for our generator (in reality it wouldn't run that long on 30 gallons but who can afford any more?). At the end of the season I usually start pouring it into our vehicles, but even after just those 6 months it picks up a diSTINKtive bad smell. And yes, I do add Stabil. It still runs the generator when needed but smokes worse the older it is. I always joke that it runs off the after-hurricane misquitos. 🙄
 
Use that fuel in any four cycle gasoline powered internal combustion engine. You will not have to adjust your air fuel mixture on a carburated engine and the same applies to a fuel injected engine. I guarantee you there will be no problems encountered. The thing with gasoline is that it doesn't wear out over time but alga seems to propograte in it, stabilixer will help but won't totally eliminate the alga.
 
old chain saw fuel

My SUV diesel engine has no problem burning the old mix, as long as there is no water in it. A gallon of the old mix in with 40 gallons of fresh diesel, and I never know it is there.
 
Lol he's worried about burning it yet he's going to burn it in his 4 gass guzzlers. 😛

As for gas going bad, my chainsaw sits for several months sometimes, such as in the winter. Starts up just fine every time. 🙂
 
pyrocasto said:
Lol he's worried about burning it yet he's going to burn it in his 4 gass guzzlers. 😛
Click to expand...

Perhaps you didn't understand why I didn't "burn" it- 1. Our county has an outside burn ban due to severe drought, and this stuff will be smokey. Burning it would be irresponsible and illegal, and not smart. 2. Exactly how would you propose I burn it? Lighting gas on fire in any container or just a puddle is not smart, way too explosive for my taste. We're not talking lighter fluid or kerosene, this is still gasoline with a dangerous flash point.

Putting it in my vehicles seemed like a valid suggestion since it mixes with regular fuel in a very diluted form. So why do you refer my vehicles as gas guzzlers? You have no idea of what they are other than a truck and SUV's. They could be state-of-the-art hybrids or they could be older low-milage vehicles, don't be making assumptions on my lifestlye. I don't recall making any bad comments about whatever you drive, let's talk responsible fuel disposal and not my perceived lifestyle. 😎
 
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I wonder if you can recycle "old gas" in the same manner and place where you recycle used motor oil? Never tried it. In California (northern) they pick up used motor oil up on garbage day and leave me a new container to put the next batch in. It is all recycled (re-refined?).

About burning gas - when I was on the other side of the world with the Navy - they used to burn contaminated Avgas out in an open pit. Had flames hundreds of feet in the air. Do not know if they would get away with that now.

Solution is to run the saw often enough so you do not end up with any "old gas". Cut more wood.
Hugh
 
woodwish said:
Perhaps you didn't understand why I didn't "burn" it- 1. Our county has an outside burn ban due to severe drought, and this stuff will be smokey. Burning it would be irresponsible and illegal, and not smart. 2. Exactly how would you propose I burn it? Lighting gas on fire in any container or just a puddle is not smart, way too explosive for my taste. We're not talking lighter fluid or kerosene, this is still gasoline with a dangerous flash point.

Putting it in my vehicles seemed like a valid suggestion since it mixes with regular fuel in a very diluted form. So why do you refer my vehicles as gas guzzlers? You have no idea of what they are other than a truck and SUV's. They could be state-of-the-art hybrids or they could be older low-milage vehicles, don't be making assumptions on my lifestlye. I don't recall making any bad comments about whatever you drive, let's talk responsible fuel disposal and not my perceived lifestyle. 😎
Click to expand...

Lol burn ban is a good reason, now I understand.
😛

I wasnt making any bad comments about what you drive, I guess I assumed you meant burning it was bad, and thought that owning those vehicles would then be ironic. Nothing bad about a truck, as every wood turner needs one to haul blanks(like my truck for ex.).

I'm suprised about not lighting it in a puddle though. Ask the average apple farmer around here I'm sure they use gas to start fires. Not so bad when you be careful with it. 🙂 Pouring it over a little wood and over the end of a stick, using the stick as your lighter would be just fine IMO.

I'm a pyro though, could just be biassed. 😀
 
Old Gas

MY blower is not working these days and I figured tha tit was bad gas.

seeing as the thing only has about 3-4 hours of use, it has to be somethiung like that.

Any thoughts on how to get it working again?

Don.
 
Sundance - Try emptying out the old gas and putting in new gas. (You might also try cleaning the air filter.) My brother-in-law has a lawnmower that has this problem. The best idea after every use of gas power equipment is to empty the gas tank and run out the gas in the system. A real pain in the neck though. Some machines (my log splitter) has a shut off valve so you can run the carb dry when you are finished using it. This is better for the machine in the long run. Less tune ups and carb rebuilds.
Hugh
 
Speaking of gas & engines, I have an old Willys Jeep pickup that I plow snow & do odd jobs with -- 1955 with the old flat fender style. It has a hand choke and in the winter it's easy to flood it out and when it does the only thing that will get it going is to change the spark plugs. Years ago you could flood something and dry out the plugs and it would be fine. Last year early in the winter I flooded it with almost new plugs and had to change them. (Fortunately it's only about a 10 minute job.) I took the nearly new plugs down the basement and put them on top my wood furnace in an old cake pan and they sat there on the heat for 5 months. In the spring I put them back in the truck just as an experiment and it wouldn't even fire. I use a gas additive for the valves since it's unleaded gas, but why are the plugs no good after one flooding? Is the gas doing something to the plugs or are the plugs so fragile they can't stand flooding? I've tried different brands and it's the same story.
 
Section10 said:
Speaking of gas & engines, I use a gas additive for the valves since it's unleaded gas, but why are the plugs no good after one flooding? Is the gas doing something to the plugs or are the plugs so fragile they can't stand flooding? I've tried different brands and it's the same story.
Click to expand...

10,

Can't answer your "why" but will offer my solution(it works for me.) Clamp the offending plugs, electrode up, in a vise and use an acetylene or propane torch to heat the electrode and insulating ceramic tip. Be careful with the acetylene you can easily melt the electrode. Most often you will notice that the fouling actually burns away leaving a gray to brownish ash. Allow to cool and you are good to go.
 
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