Pre Mixed 2 Cycle Fuel

When I had a snow blower I used 40:1 in the spring after I did the tune up. Stored it that way through the summer and ran it once a month. One thing that it does is keeps the needle valve in the carburetor well lubricated. Ethanol gas eats away at seals throughout the fuel system.

The guy who told me about it was the dealer I bought it from. In the almost 14 years I had the snow blower I had zero engine problems and zero starting problems when winter came.

Sta Bil works if you have Ethanol gas. That's the only kind the state allowed, so I always put it in the gas. If you live in snow country, another trick is to not buy gas until the day before the snow is supposed to come. Even with stabilizer it won't last more than a couple of months. I used to put the "old" gas in my truck and get new snow blower gas every month or so during the winter. I also bought premium.

I used to help a couple of neighbors keep their machines running. Not just snow blowers, but lawn mowers as well. I found Motor Medic and Sea Foam worked well to get engines running.

The last thing you want when there's a foot of snow in your driveway is for your snow blower not to start.
 
When I lived in Belgium and the Netherlands 20+ years ago I noticed that many of their gas stations had separate pumps for premixed 2 stroke fuel for the many 2 stroke scooters and small motorcycles that folks rode over there.
I worked as a marine mechanic in the mid 70s, pumped lots of premix for those outboards.
 
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Does it work for Lawn Boy mowers? The other oil was strictly prohibited. My brother in law ruined my dad’s engine because he’s smarter than directions.
I use an EGO mower. It’s been fine for five years now, except for the blade.
 
No way would I pay those prices or the same for pre-mixed anti - freeze. Paying for 50% water is insane imo and the last I saw, it was actually more expensive than straight - up anti - freeze. I have 2 battery - powered trimmers and 2 Husqvarna 2 strokes. One Husky is 28 years old and has a heavily - used history. The other is only 5 years old and has a "subdivision - like" history. The only repair on the older one was a muffler replacement and a gas cap gasket replacement. If anything I "enrich" the mix just a tad to increase power.
 
Using ethanol gas in 2-stroke engines isn't a great ideal IMO. It is widely known to cause problems that are very expensive to fix. I've had it happen to an outboard motor and have a friend that owned a marine business for years who, when I mentioned my outboard problem to him, said never use ethanol gas in 2-stroke engines.
 
I had, back in the late 1960s, an early 60s 4-cylinder, 2-cycle SAAB. I'd pull into a gas station and say, "Gimme a quart of outboard motor oil and 7 gallons of regular." Had a pull knob in the dash to adjust lean/rich. When stopped, you had to keep it going by revving with the accelerator.

Sounded like a chainsaw gone beserk, so all of my pals knew when I arrived on the scene.

Had a flywheel (?) that one could disengage going down hills so that you'd just coast and save gas. On the downside, when it rained, one of the cylinders would conk out, which made for a rough ride.

Also, unusually for the day, had front wheel drive. I used to like to show friends how quickly it could go around corners...

Rolled it one night doing that, a block from the local police station, winding up on our side in a fraternity house yard, engine screaming away. We got out using the driver's door like a submarine hatch.

The brothers came running out and, after a brief consultation, righted us. Bracing my feet against the tire and my hands on the fender, I pulled the front driver's side fender outta the wheel/tire, and off we went again. Windshield was busted some, though, and when I called the police next day to ask if it would be okay if I just wore goggles and carried on they said, "No."

Sold it to my buddy for $50...
 
A few years ago I bought a lot at an estate sale...Fellow had passed 2 year previous.Best darn stuff I ever used in the chainsaws (Stihl) and a Stihl trimmer for 5 bucks Had a gallon can and two quart cans in the box....gallon of bar/chain oil. Alcohol free high test stuff. Since then that is all I use in 2 strokes... I also buy alcohol free high test for all my 4 stroke powered tools . Ain't cheap...but worth every penny
 
I always use a mid-grade top tier fuel, a synthetic oil mix if needed and "sea foam". No issues. I do run fuel completely out at end of season.
 
I always use a mid-grade top tier fuel, a synthetic oil mix if needed and "sea foam". No issues. I do run fuel completely out at end of season.
I always run those saws etc clear of fuel. I have a Evinrude 7 1/2 HP outboard from 81...unplug the fas line...run till it starts missing...pull choke till it quits...Freezing weather? (Waterfowl guide on the Chesapeake) I lift out of the water...replaced one water pump in all those years...Only alcohol-free fuel
 
I've never tried that fuel type. Living in Rural SE Wisconsin we are able to be purchase 91 octane ethanol free gas. That with a little Sea Foam at end of season for storage. Never had issues in my mower or ATV's.
 
I'm still buying non-ethanol gas and mixing my own with Stihl 2-cycle oil. been using the gas trimmer a lot this morning. Buying pre-mix is something I will have to look into. My machine is running real good on the stuff I mix, so not in a hurry to change.
 
I look at the premix like I do bottled water.... why? I can't justify the expense even though I could pay the price.
After years of driving to Hollywood Marina after work for the gas WaWa began selling ethanol free in my neighborhood. 5 gal. every few months with Stabil added stored in an aluminum shed in So. Fla., once had an extra 5 gal. sitting in that hot box for nearly a year with no issues. Snake oil my tush.
I'll mix 1 gal. at a time using Echo 2 stroke with the little reservoir attached, don't want to deal with fouled plugs nor burnt valves.
 
I had, back in the late 1960s, an early 60s 4-cylinder, 2-cycle SAAB. I'd pull into a gas station and say, "Gimme a quart of outboard motor oil and 7 gallons of regular." Had a pull knob in the dash to adjust lean/rich. When stopped, you had to keep it going by revving with the accelerator.

Sounded like a chainsaw gone beserk, so all of my pals knew when I arrived on the scene.

Had a flywheel (?) that one could disengage going down hills so that you'd just coast and save gas. On the downside, when it rained, one of the cylinders would conk out, which made for a rough ride.

Also, unusually for the day, had front wheel drive. I used to like to show friends how quickly it could go around corners...

Rolled it one night doing that, a block from the local police station, winding up on our side in a fraternity house yard, engine screaming away. We got out using the driver's door like a submarine hatch.

The brothers came running out and, after a brief consultation, righted us. Bracing my feet against the tire and my hands on the fender, I pulled the front driver's side fender outta the wheel/tire, and off we went again. Windshield was busted some, though, and when I called the police next day to ask if it would be okay if I just wore goggles and carried on they said, "No."

Sold it to my buddy for $50...


Oh wow. That is a SAAB story.



,
 
Using ethanol gas in 2-stroke engines isn't a great ideal IMO. It is widely known to cause problems that are very expensive to fix. I've had it happen to an outboard motor and have a friend that owned a marine business for years who, when I mentioned my outboard problem to him, said never use ethanol gas in 2-stroke engines.
Yeah, that's "phase - separation" caused by water. It only takes 1% water to cause that. More times than not, if the fuel / engine is used regularly, that anomaly won't happen. It mostly happens with seasonal equipment with the gasoline allowed to just sit there. It wreaks havoc on the marine industry. I had it happen once with a 4x4 suv. One of the things it causes is a highly corrosive acid. I pulled the old gas tank and looked inside as I began my troubleshooting. The inside of the tank was "etched" by the acid. It honestly looked like polished stainless or chrome. As I drained and flushed my tank, what came out was a liquid that looked just like gray paint that had not yet been stirred. As I'm now recalling, no chemical would remove it from the inside of the carb, intake manifold valley, etc. Of all things, plain water removed it as though it was designed to.
 
After that bs, I began using "conventional" in that rarely used 4x4. I still use ethanol in my seasonal stuff but I "winterize" them as warranted. No issues. Around here Conventional is around 80/90 cents a gallon higher.
It's about 30-40 cents more per gallon here. One gallon of pre-mix lasts me a season. I also run stabilizer year round in small engines.
 

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