Pre Mixed 2 Cycle Fuel

[VaTom]

Started using the pre mixed two cycle fuel in my Stihl Weedeater. I have a Stihl battery powered for around the house and flower beds because it is lighter and does a great job. I use gas one for bigger spaces, ditch line, etc. I had always mixed my gas and oil over the years so was skeptical when these pre mixes first came on the market. Gave it a try and machine seems easier to start and runs cleaner. Hopefully it will reduce carbon built up on spark arrester screen in the exhaust. Downside is it is expensive. Upside it is ethanol free and higher octane. Lowe’s and Walmart both carry it. If you have considered it you may wish to give it a try.

 

[dockmurgw]

I started using this some years ago and never looked back. Weed eater, leaf blower and chain saws. I buy it in the gallon cans. Yup it cost more than mixing my own, but I don't use nearly enough to mind the extra cost. Great stuff.

 

[duke2002]

Im guessing it dosent have the gas additives like pump gas has for cars.

 

[geeollie]

Never heard of this and I am interested.
Have you used it after storing it over winter in an unheated garage?
If yes, how did it work?

 

[Buzzzer]

Interesting, I've never heard of such a thing. Been mixing seemingly forever.

 

[rockquarry]

I still mix and don't measure. Eyeballing the amount of oil has worked fine for me for many years in a number of different machines. Apparently the ratio of gas to oil is not critical as all my equipment works fine.

 

[hyena]

I started using VP Racing premix canned fuel in my larger Stihl chain saw because I use it infrequently. Still using my own mix in my top handle Stihl saw I use regularly.

I just decided to use the VP in my Stihl blower vacuum. Had to work on it this week and decided it's worth the $$$ to run the good stuff.

I have no experience with Trufuel. If you have ever watched Chickanic on YouTube she has nothing good to say about it. A search on YouTube for Chickanic Trufuel will take you there. Of course her opinion is just that.

 

[Rule3]

It's to expensive. Mix my own with alcohol free gas and put in some Stabil.

 

[rockquarry]

It's to expensive. Mix my own with alcohol free gas and put in some Stabil.

Aren't all the additives pretty much snake oil treatments? I don't use any for car engines or small engines, 2-cycle or 4-cycle. All work fine and last a long time. I also use pump ethanol for all engines.

 

[Rule3]

Aren't all the additives pretty much snake oil treatments? I don't use any for car engines or small engines, 2-cycle or 4-cycle. All work fine and last a long time. I also use pump ethanol for all engines.

Could be, but they sell a lot of it.

https://www.mightyautoparts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/590025-SDS-2025-Mighty.pdf

 

[Doriangray6]

Started using the pre mixed two cycle fuel in my Stihl Weedeater. I have a Stihl battery powered for around the house and flower beds because it is lighter and does a great job. I use gas one for bigger spaces, ditch line, etc. I had always mixed my gas and oil over the years so was skeptical when these pre mixes first came on the market. Gave it a try and machine seems easier to start and runs cleaner. Hopefully it will reduce carbon built up on spark arrester screen in the exhaust. Downside is it is expensive. Upside it is ethanol free and higher octane. Lowe’s and Walmart both carry it. If you have considered it you may wish to give it a try.

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.

 

[Bald1]

Interesting, I've never heard of such a thing. Been mixing seemingly forever.

I have stored it over winters in unheated shed. In NY. I keep it at my cabin for chainsaws. I still mix it at home for my weed wacker and saws. I can get ethanol free gas around the house. I use one of the empty cans to store regular gas in. I use it for a little 4 stroke 2 hp outboard. It has a small tank built in.

 

[cololab]

i've started using the Stihl pre-mixed fuel and, while it is more expensive, find it to be convenient. I don't use that much fuel in my saw each year so the added cost isn't a big deal for me.

 

[Bald1]

Funny timing. My Runnings ad just came in the mail. 32oz $4.99 and gallon size $18.99. I think I paid $8 last time I bought a quart.

 

[Club Gun Fan]

Never heard of this and I am interested.
Have you used it after storing it over winter in an unheated garage?
If yes, how did it work?

geeollie
I keep my supply in an unheated garden shed, summer and winter. Never had a problem. I buy the small cans, then buy the gallon cans and pour some in the smaller cans. Makes pouring into the weed wacker easy. Try it you won't be sorry.

 

[dockmurgw]

geeollie
I keep my supply in an unheated garden shed, summer and winter. Never had a problem. I buy the small cans, then buy the gallon cans and pour some in the smaller cans. Makes pouring into the weed wacker easy. Try it you won't be sorry.

Thats exactly what I do. I have a few quart cans that I continually re-use by filling from a gallon. Like you said, its easy to pour into the equipment, no funnel required.

 

[GnarlsR2]

If the 2-cycle engine manufacturer "OK's" or recommends a gas/oil mixture you should be good.

I raced go-karts for 5 years back in 1993, and mixed too many gallons of fuel to remember.

Since the fuel mixture is the power AND the lubrication, If the gas to oil mixture in not right for the engine and application, you can toast a 2-cycle engine in about 30 seconds.

I've witnessed my hot-shot racing buddies/competitors, who were always experimenting with fuel mixture (more gas to oil) to increase power, "stick" an engine.

 

[Kinman]

For people on the move that are hard pressed for time I can readily see the advantage of using pre-mixed fuel. I grew up in the era of 5hp 2 stroke boat motors and had my fair share. One of the common problems associated with them was the average guy had a quart bottle of 2 stroke oil and when his tank started getting a bit low would "guesstimate" how much oil he needed to add the next time he topped off the tank. One day a hundred years ago I was fishing out on a local lake and this old boy goes idling by in a boat with a 2 stroke Johnson, putt....putt...putt, super low idle with very little blue smoke following him. I was curious how he got it to run at such a low idle and as smooth as possible for one of those old Johnsons. He told me "The biggest mistake people make with 2 strokes is running them too rich". Not only in mixture rate which used to adjusted by a knob in the center near the pull rope, it was mistakenly referred to as idle adjustment which it did but was truly about how lean or rich your carb was running. He went on to say "Mix your fuel separately in a 2 gallon tank, never guess how much oil to add."
I started doing that right away and my fuel related issues with 2 stroke motors disappeared. So much so that years later I bought a 40hp Mercury that came with oil injection, no longer was I relegated to mixing fuel separately. It was a neat system until it failed one day, turns out the oil injection pump went south. I went into a local marina and asked the tech about a solution, he told me go back to mixing my fuel and get an old school fuel pump which he had on stock, saved me over a hundred bucks for high tech oil mixer. More than one guy I know had problems when his oil tank on his auto mixer told him his oil level was low and he didn't have a quart bottle of oil in the boat, ruined more than one weekend I know of. When you mix your own fuel you either have enough gas and oil to get you through or you don't. Nowdays they don't even sell 2 stroke outboards and thats probably a good thing, even with a clean runner you were still putting oil into the water in the exhaust...but I sure miss that smell.

 

[Bald1]

If the 2-cycle engine manufacturer "OK's" or recommends a gas/oil mixture you should be good.

I raced go-karts for 5 years back in 1993, and mixed too many gallons of fuel to remember.

Since the fuel mixture is the power AND the lubrication, If the gas to oil mixture in not right for the engine and application, you can toast a 2-cycle engine in about 30 seconds.

I've witnessed my hot-shot racing buddies/competitors, who were always experimenting with fuel mixture (more gas to oil) to increase power, "stick" an engine.

Products are distinctly marked 40:1 and 50:1

 

[erikpolcrack]

I started using it a few years ago for my chain saw. I really like the convenience and don't mind the expense. I don't use my saw as much as I used to - mostly deadfall clean up and some branch cutting/pruning. Stopped using my only other two cycle, a trimmer/weed whacker, now that I was given a really powerful rechargeable electric one that really does the job.