10% Ethanol Fuel In Echo 2-Stroke

[knerml]

While shopping for an Echo leaf blower, 2 out of 3 dealers recommended using ethanol free fuel.

The one who didn't is a small retail/repair shop that sells primarily to lawn care people.

The PB-580T's operators manual states up to 10% ethanol is OK.

Are these dealers behind the times, and wrong?

It makes since that Echo adapted their designs to use available gasoline blends

 

[jeepman3071]

The E10 fuel is fine to run, but they recommend it because the ethanol can gum up carburetors if left in there too long. I've been using E10 fuel for years here in all my 2 stroke equipment, since ethanol free is not available here besides buying the cans from Home Depot. I use Marine sta-bil and everything has worked flawlessly.

Many of them also do it for warranty purposes, claiming they won't cover carburetor repairs due to ethanol fuel.

 

[Astro14]

Lawn care people run enough fuel through their OPE to keep the fuel fresh, even with ethanol.

Most homeowners don't.

I've had E10 eat/melt a Stihl fuel line. That repair cost me far more than a couple of years worth of TruFuel.

Now that I use only Tru-Fuel, I've had no problems with that, or with the OPE sitting for months between uses.

 

[Kestas]

You can always make your own ethanol-free fuel. Take premium fuel, add water, shake it up, and decant the pure gas on top. Water scavenges all the alcohol. That's what I've been doing for the last six years. It is so easy.

 

[danez_yoda]

I use E-10 in my Echo with Echo 2stroke oil. Now the e10 is from my boat which is treated with marine stabil and seafoam.

The echo oil is also supposed to have a fuel stabilizer.

6 years on original everything. no issues.

 

[David2431]

Take it from a guy who continues to use Toro Suzuki 2 cycles (they quit making them in 2003) as well as 2cycle everything else: stay away from E10!

 

[Doc8404]

Originally Posted by Astro14
Lawn care people run enough fuel through their OPE to keep the fuel fresh, even with ethanol.

Most homeowners don't.

I've had E10 eat/melt a Stihl fuel line. That repair cost me far more than a couple of years worth of TruFuel.

Now that I use only Tru-Fuel, I've had no problems with that, or with the OPE sitting for months between uses.


same here on all!

 

[wallyuwl]

If possible stay away from ethanol. Otherwise if not available use marine stabil. I use ethanol free premium gas, and add Startron and Seafoam in the gas can.

 

[tig1]

I just purchased a new Stiehl weed wacker as my old Echo was 20 years old. I did use E 10 gas, but always put Sta-Bil in the fuel. Seemed to work fine.

 

[MNgopher]

Any modern quality OPE should be built with components to handle E10 fuel. Many manufacturers keep using junk and blaming the fuel for their problems.

I use E10 87 octane fuel and dose all of it with Stabil - doesn't matter which kind as the marine version is basically just twice the concentration...

Out of the 12 pieces of OPE I maintain, I've rebuilt 1 carb on a snowblower at 10 years old, and redone the simple briggs carb on an old lawnmower three times in its 18 year life. Everything else is all original still... Even sitting for 5-6 months without use...

 

[Revving2Redline]

Seafoam has alcohol in it and is counterproductive to trying to make e10 last longer. Keeping fresh gas is best.If pure gas isnt available use Gumout Multi System. https://gumout.com/multi-system-tune-up/

This is probably the best product. Has PEA and no alcohol so it wont varnish/settle.

 

[beanoil]

Originally Posted by MNgopher
Any modern quality OPE should be built with components to handle E10 fuel. Many manufacturers keep using junk and blaming the fuel for their problems.

I use E10 87 octane fuel and dose all of it with Stabil - doesn't matter which kind as the marine version is basically just twice the concentration...

Out of the 12 pieces of OPE I maintain, I've rebuilt 1 carb on a snowblower at 10 years old, and redone the simple briggs carb on an old lawnmower three times in its 18 year life. Everything else is all original still... Even sitting for 5-6 months without use...


Common argument. Just because the equipment will handle E10 does not mean the average homeowner will not have problems with it. Pump swill begins to oxidize pretty quickly, 45, 60 days. The alcohol absorbs water from the air, metal tanks rust, carbs get a green deposit. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, over and over.
Now I run E0, and have been since spring. I pulled the March cleaned carb from the scooter to rejet (switching from oil injection to premix) and the thing is clean, just like I installed it 5 months ago.
I second Gumout Multi-System for content, and have become a fan of the Harvest King Seafoam clone from Rural King for OPE fuel add..

 

[MNgopher]

Not an arguement. Just an observation.

I am quite honestly "an average homeowner" . At our cabin location, we can often have E10 gas pushing a year old in some things. All treated with stabil. No issues. No rust in metal tanks. No green deposits in carbs. The carbs we've redone were at 8+ years old and not to be unexpected.

The concept that gas goes bad after 45 days is quite simply baffling to me. We've used E10 for decades here and not had those types of issues.

 

[Kestas]

I'm at the other end of the spectrum. I've had problems with E10 phase separation gelling and corroding my carburators. I now advocate making pure gas from E10 and using it for OPE. That, and running carburators dry for the season.

 

[KrisZ]

I use e10 in my equipment, but I always store it dry. Don't know if that makes any difference, but no issues so far.

One thing I noticed though, my mower is harder to start on CA gas. In Canada it would take one pull to start it, sometimes two. Now it routinely takes 4-5 pulls to start it. The Echo trimmer and blower seem to operate with no change.

 

[leroyd92]

I'm running year old 2 cycle gas in pole saw and a 4 stroke pressure washer.

I think the rest will soon go into my Harley.

 

[Donald]

If you are in the business then you probably go through enough gas that no gas sits for months in the fuel tank. Just use premix at end of season.

For a homeowner, I would suggest premix. Yes expensive per QT but how many QTs will you use a year? How much is your time worth not messing with carb problems?

If you are close to NY border they sell E0 in some stations in NY.

 

[AnthemBassMan]

You can use this site to see if there are any stations near you that sell ethanol free fuel. If not, you can use a little Sta-Bil 360 Marine formula in your mix cans. I do this with my 40+ year old Lawn Boys.

https://www.pure-gas.org

L8R,
Matt

 

[wag123]

In the absence of the availability of E0 in your area, using E10 in your Echo will be fine. Just use a high quality 2-cycle oil (like Echo or Stihl oil) and don't mix up more fuel than you will use-up within 60 days of purchasing fresh from the gas station, weather you use Sta-Bil or not, and then make sure you dump it out of your Echo and gas can after it gets 60 days old (I never mix-up more that 1/2 gal and I put it in my car to get rid of it after 60 days). Sta-Bil will not prevent phase separation. BTW, most of the E10 that I have tested around here is actually about E07.