bill18163 wrote:BG,
I know that even with me keeping fresh fuel for my small equipment with stabilizer in it that you can still have problems with the ethanol. So the only thing left that I could think to do was tear the carb down and clean and rebuild it. That cured the problem and the blower runs fine now. One question that I have is about fuel. I have run across information about using higher octane fuel and put stabilizer in it. Have you heard of this? Other thing is can you use old fashion leaded fuel in two cycle engines? There are a few places where I can get it. I know guys that use it in their outboard motors on their boats.
Thanks,
Bill
helps to understand gasoline and chemistry a bit... octane is, to put it simplest , resistance to volatility - higher compression engines will require higher octane rating to prevent ignition problems - burn quality, flame spread, combustion pressures, spark knock (pre-ignition) among many other factors.. Typical gas you buy at the pump containing 10% ethanol (pretty much a given these days unless they actually *specify* ethanol free) , that ethanol is a contributor to the octane rating of the fuel.. Now, if you get water in the gas, (that's because ethanol absorbs moisture from the air to a saturation point, water/ethanol mix drops out of fuel) .. that loss of ethanol is gonna cut your octane rating 10% or so..
That said, Echo recommends minimum 89 octane fuel (93 would be fine too) , and if you use Echo power blend or red armor mix oil, there's already fuel stabilizer included in the mix oil formula. In a tightly sealed storage, out of direct sunlight and excess humidity, should be good for as long as 2-3 years (at most) ..
For example, I have a small chainsaw of my own I keep around for the once-in a while times I need one.. so far has had the gas (of course we use 89 octane and Echo Red Armor) for the last 3 years, just fired it up a few days ago to demonstrate (I have a couple new boxed units of the same model for sale, so I use mine for a demo unit) and still no problems - Fuel still smells "fresh" (after 30-plus years in this business, I seem to have developed a "nose" for gas.. just a whiff and I can pretty accurately judge how old it is, if it wasn't stabilized fuel to start with..) although I have it on a shop ticket to drain it and change fuel filter and pressure test my fuel lines (only 4-5 hours on the saw, but fuel systems do not age well..)
I would NOT use leaded fuel in a 2-stroke - Most especially not one with a catalytic muffler.... (which is why back in the 70's when Cats first showed up in car exhaust systems, is also when No-Lead fuel became an actual thing at the fuel pump.. I can still remember those 18 gallon fill-ups, and getting change back from the $20 bill handed to the pump jockey..) Also you wanna be sure to not use a outboard or snowmobile 2-stroke oil for high revving modern 2-stroke handhelds.. 2-stroke oil is NOT all the same..
How poor are they who have not patience. What wound did ever heal, but by degrees? - Iago (Othello Act II, Scene 3)