First time I have really posted here but I juts wondered what you guys thought about the issue of ethanol in regular petrol ,its effects on small engines and the best alternatives. Two and half years ago I bought a Stihl hedge cutter after two years of not very regular use , the carb broke down , which infuriated me.The service agent/dealer who sold me the machine told me that the more I used it the longer it would last me which kind of confused me .Anyway I had the carb replaced at considerable cost.
A similar situation occurred with my strimmer and in both cases carbon build up was held to blame.
Recently I went to another service agent to buy some Stihl oil and was told by them they no longer stocked it , instead they sold me some Ethanol shield B3C 2 stroke oil which the said would both prolong the shelf life of the fuel and markedly reduce the ethanol impact .I had no idea about any of this although I was aware that fuel does have a limited shelf life .
Since then I have being reading up bit about the whole issue of fuel suitability , paid a visit to the service agent /dealer I buy all my machinery from and after brief chat, he suggested using alkylate 2 -stroke petrol,which seems sensible except it cost 4-5 times the price of regular fuel. I am ,therefore, in a quandary .Do I bite the bullet and take the safer option with alkylate or take a chance with ethanol shield which ,I was assured, extends the life of fuel up to four weeks .As 5 litres last me about six weeks so I could consider just making 2.5 litre mixes at a time.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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not something I really think about as I use 10-15L a week so never had an issue, though I do know that if you leave modern ethanol mixed fuel in the tank over winter it eats alot of gaskets and fuel lines etc and causes blockages and damage.
Realistically the tools need to be fired up often to prevent this happeneing, how often? Who knows... my dealer advised me cant use them too much but in winter to give them all a good 2-min rev up and down then empty the tank each week.
With regard to carbon build up in total loss engines, use the best oil you can. We swapped to the Sithl green pro oil and it makes a difference especially to fumes if you're at the end of a strimmer all day. Cheap oil produces residue which needs to be burnt off by regular/prolonged use
Re: Fuel. Not so sure. We used to empty out the fuel tanks at the end of the season. We no longer bother as, you stand the chance of dragging foreign matter etc from the bottom of the tanks into the fuel line/filter. If machines stored in cool, darkish areas, then we've never seen an issue. Point in case, we pulled a honda powered mower out this season that hadnt been used since last Sept/Oct. It started after a couple of pulls :)
Unsure of the environmental benefits/issues of these fuels but as an individual 'business', I believe our use is negliable and would be hard to justify addtional costs. I am sure the makers would provide strong evidence to support their use.
I suggest regular & sensible use of machines, with some consideration for lay-up periods deals with most situations.
The service guy is right though machines like to be worked if they sit idle then you may have problems.
I have only bought cheap once and it failed in about 6 weeks (cheap hedge trimmer not fuel related)
I do always give them full throttle for a bit each time used though.
You hear some horror stories about carbs and stale fuel though.
Thanks for all the replies .
I have laws used Stihl oil until now but maybe I chose the work one i.e. the regular red one .I see they do 3 -regular Hp , super and ultra.The oil I bought recently is this one and its semi synthetic. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/251865824013?limghlpsr=true&hlpv...
I remember talking to the mechanic from the dealership and he told me the "four stroke" engine strimmers were not a good choice as the carburettors break done from carbon build up.Unfortunately I have one of those as well who he managed to repair but he strongly suggested replacing with w regular 2 stroke version.I think I will have a brief chat with Stihl and see what they can suggest