Chainsaw fuel

Clay3063 said:
I can't believe I am saying this but since moving here to Colorado, and after we finally got a property and have started work on building the infrastructure, we've had to purchase a couple of new saws and a weed wacker, etc. and as such I've gone to buying the canned gas. At the price of premium pump gas these days, there is still a price difference but not as much as before. So far, we've done well, leaving the saws put up wet for two or three weeks at a time. But I guess time will tell. We're cutting at an altitude between 7100 and almost 9000 feet. The saws and the mill run pretty good at or below 8K but no so good above that. If I were going to cut above 8K more than I do I'd re-adjust the carbs again.
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Clay, Curious what is the price for your premium pump gas with added oil compared to the cost of the canned fuel per gallon?

For comparison, I just picked up premium ethanol free gas for $3.79/gallon (regular ethanol gas goes for $2.99 here) this last weekend. Adding Stihl High Performance Oil adds another $2/gallon for a total of $5.79/gallon of mixed fuel. Much cheaper than any canned 2 stroke gas by at least a factor of 3 to 4.
 
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Karl_TN said:
Clay, Curious what is the price for your premium pump gas with added oil compared to the cost of the canned fuel per gallon?

For comparison, I just picked up premium ethanol free gas for $3.79/gallon (regular ethanol gas goes for $2.99 here) this last weekend. Adding Stihl High Performance Oil adds another $2/gallon for a total of $5.79/gallon of mixed fuel. Much cheaper than any canned 2 stroke gas by at least a factor of 3 to 4.
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Keep in mind that it's not just the ethanol that is causing the damage, even ethanol free fuel has the other damaging ingredients in it. Fuel today isn't what it used to be. Even running ethanol free fuel you will eventually have carb problems and damage to anything rubber in the fuel system like carb diaphragms and fuel lines. Not worth the few bucks you might save with pump gas, it will cost you down time and repair cost.
Just sayin..........
 
woodtickgreg said:
Keep in mind that it's not just the ethanol that is causing the damage, even ethanol free fuel has the other damaging ingredients in it. Fuel today isn't what it used to be. Even running ethanol free fuel you will eventually have carb problems and damage to anything rubber in the fuel system like carb diaphragms and fuel lines. Not worth the few bucks you might save with pump gas, it will cost you down time and repair cost.
Just sayin..........
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I’ve not had to replace or rebuild carbs on my small engines in many years after switching to ethanol free gas. Maybe i’ve been lucky, or the ethanol free gas up North is lower quality than down here. I suppose it helps that I go through a bit of gas so it’s rarely more than 30 to 60 days old. In the winter it’s a different story so canned gas would be a good option for long term storage.

Still you say it’s only saving a few dollars more. I’d like to see your math on this. True fuel is $20 for only 110 ounce can at Lowes which makes it about $25 per gallon after tax which would make it 4x as much as what I‘m paying For ethanol free gas mix. The only way to save a few dollars is to use as little gas as Mike does each year.
 
Karl_TN said:
I’ve not had to replace or rebuild carbs on my small engines in many years after switching to ethanol free gas. Maybe i’ve been lucky, or the ethanol free gas up North is lower quality than down here. I suppose it helps that I go through a bit of gas so it’s rarely more than 30 to 60 days old. In the winter it’s a different story so canned gas would be a good option for long term storage.

Still you say it’s only saving a few dollars more. I’d like to see your math on this. True fuel is $20 for only 110 ounce can at Lowes which makes it about $25 per gallon after tax which would make it 4x as much as what I‘m paying For ethanol free gas mix. The only way to save a few dollars is to use as little gas as Mike does each year.
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Yep. And with small saw. Now diesel, I use a bunch of that. Last tractor was 30 hp. B7800. It was a fuel mizer. L3940 only 10 hp more, yikes it is a hungry beast. Between snowblower and lawn tractor I use 10+ gallons of ethanol free premium. Filled Saturday. $4.39 a gallon
 
Karl_TN said:
Clay, Curious what is the price for your premium pump gas with added oil compared to the cost of the canned fuel per gallon?

For comparison, I just picked up premium ethanol free gas for $3.79/gallon (regular ethanol gas goes for $2.99 here) this last weekend. Adding Stihl High Performance Oil adds another $2/gallon for a total of $5.79/gallon of mixed fuel. Much cheaper than any canned 2 stroke gas by at least a factor of 3 to 4.
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Our premium fuel is 91 octane and runs 4.39 cents I believe was the price I saw the other day. And it has ethanol in it. The only place around here to buy non-ethanol is the airport, buying 100 LL. I haven't even priced it. It's much cheaper to buy pump gas and mix until you have to replace a carb which I've had to do on two different 4 stroke engines in the last four years. I just decided to buy the high priced canned stuff for my saws and put a good quality fuel additive in the premium gas for my four strokes.
 
Clay3063 said:
Our premium fuel is 91 octane and runs 4.39 cents I believe was the price I saw the other day. And it has ethanol in it. The only place around here to buy non-ethanol is the airport, buying 100 LL. I haven't even priced it. It's much cheaper to buy pump gas and mix until you have to replace a carb which I've had to do on two different 4 stroke engines in the last four years. I just decided to buy the high priced canned stuff for my saws and put a good quality fuel additive in the premium gas for my four strokes.
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Oh and I've learned to cut the fuel and run the four strokes dry before putting them up.
 
Clay3063 said:
Our premium fuel is 91 octane and runs 4.39 cents I believe was the price I saw the other day. And it has ethanol in it. The only place around here to buy non-ethanol is the airport, buying 100 LL. I haven't even priced it. It's much cheaper to buy pump gas and mix until you have to replace a carb which I've had to do on two different 4 stroke engines in the last four years. I just decided to buy the high priced canned stuff for my saws and put a good quality fuel additive in the premium gas for my four strokes.
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That stinks. Pure-gas.org shows no ethanol free gas stations anywhere near your area. Maybe somebody could bring you back a 5 gallon can of ethanol free gas the next time they drive down from Pueblo.
 
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