first 2-stroke...

[crinkles]

Got a hedge trimmer today for our new house ( a LOT of trimming to be done). It's a 2 stoke cheapie. Got some shell Lawn-2 2 stroke oil. Is it ok to mix the fuel and oil in the little tank? I don't want to make up a batch of fuel (like 5 L) to only let it go stale after 3 months (this is what the guy who sold it to me said). Need a 1:25 mix of oil:fuel. And is regular unleaded OK to use? my father had a monster of a 2 stroke lawnmower... kept it 15 years, but more often than not was not running - he swore off 2 strokes thereafter. he is an all electric man now.

 

[Johnny]

Do not mix in the units tank. Just mix up 1 L of fuel. What you don't use, pour in your cars tank. Not sure I would mix at 25:1. Would not go any richer than 32:1. Most of my 2-stroke lawn equipment I mix at 40:1

 

[crinkles]

thanks Johnny. It says 1:25 with "market" oil (brochure is very poorly translated from chinese - hey, beggars can't be choosers) salesman said can use 1:50 if you use synthetic - true?

 

[Johnny]

True.

 

[crinkles]

i love this forum.

 

[Cup of Joe]

Take it back and buy Roundup and a sprayer. I got sick of trimming every weekend after a mow. Now I rarely need to pull 1 of my 2 trimmers out. Trimmers and chain link also don't mix. http://www.scotts.com/smg/brand/roundup/brandLanding.jsp?branPage=roundup&campaign=rdrudotcom

 

[Cup of Joe]

Doh hedge trimmer I was thinking string trimmer. I have a 2 stroke hedge trimmer as well much better then electric for larger property.

 

[Johnny]

Be extremely careful when using Roundup. I tried to do some creative trimming with it two years ago, and just after the application we had a light rain. Well, it bled in to the ground and went places I did not want it to go. Took me a year to get that mess fixed. The wife was not to happy.

 

[Cup of Joe]

Roundup is great at killing everything in sight. I am going to load up a boom sprayer on my tractor to control growth on some land I have cleared of trees. Without the dense growth of trees the area is growing like crazy.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Stop spraying hazardous chemicals around! Jeepers! I almost died from carpenter ant application a few years ago - now its off the market - found out its a powerful neurotoxin. Cancer people cancer!

 

[Pablo]

 Originally Posted By: Johnny

Be extremely careful when using Roundup. I tried to do some creative trimming with it two years ago, and just after the application we had a light rain. Well, it bled in to the ground and went places I did not want it to go. Took me a year to get that mess fixed. The wife was not to happy.

Are you sure that was Round-up? It's not active in the soil and certainly not active for more than a week or two when in contact with the soil. A year??? Somewthing was terribly wrong.

 

[Pablo]

 Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite

Stop spraying hazardous chemicals around! Jeepers! I almost died from carpenter ant application a few years ago - now its off the market - found out its a powerful neurotoxin. Cancer people cancer!

Round-up causes cancer????? That we needs the facts on. Do you know how Round-up works?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

On the mixing a bit of 2-stoke up - is it OK to use a old motor oil bottle to do the mix in? (HDPE?) On another subject, is 2-stroke oil a good treatment additive for tired PCMO oil - maybe a cup?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I would say any foreign synthesized chemical our bodies have never been exposed to in the last 10,000 years of evolution are suspect. And I'll be [censored] if I wait for the FDA or ?? to ban it. Why use a chemical? I LIKE dandelions. This whole yard and lawn [censored] is just that. I changed the dream and caused a paradigm shift. Moved into a log cabin at the edge of the state forest and have a "lawn" around the house of clover, plantains and dandelions. All edible and only mow maybe 2-3x /year. Looks fine.

 

[Pablo]

I'm not saying it's good stuff to drink or ingest.....and I rarely even use the stuff, and good for you. But broad incorrect statements don't do anyone any good.

 

[Johnny]

 Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite

I would say any foreign synthesized chemical our bodies have never been exposed to in the last 10,000 years of evolution are suspect. And I'll be [censored] if I wait for the FDA or ?? to ban it. Why use a chemical? I LIKE dandelions. This whole yard and lawn [censored] is just that. I changed the dream and caused a paradigm shift. Moved into a log cabin at the edge of the state forest and have a "lawn" around the house of clover, plantains and dandelions. All edible and only mow maybe 2-3x /year. Looks fine.

Show us a picture of this oasis. Sounds good.

 

[JTK]

 Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite

On the mixing a bit of 2-stoke up - is it OK to use a old motor oil bottle to do the mix in? (HDPE?)

That would be fine. I wouldn't use the oil bottle for long term gasoline storage though. Joel

 

[IndyIan]

 Originally Posted By: Pablo

 Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite

Stop spraying hazardous chemicals around! Jeepers! I almost died from carpenter ant application a few years ago - now its off the market - found out its a powerful neurotoxin. Cancer people cancer!

Round-up causes cancer????? That we needs the facts on. Do you know how Round-up works?

 Quote:

Roundup formulations frequently make use of a class of surfactants known as polyoxyethylene tallowamines (specifically polyethoxethyleneamine, or POEA) derived from fatty acids from animals or tall oil (resin from pine wood). Some also contain a second active ingredient, a back-up herbicide that can help kill any glyphosate-resistant weeds. Chances are the hapless consumer won’t know any of this from reading the label because labelling laws only require manufacturers to list the active ingredient. Buy a glyphosate-based product like Roundup and you may never truly know what kind of toxic cocktail you are spraying around your garden (and then traipsing into your home).

From http://www.theecologist.org/pages/archive_detail.asp?content_id=2349 Surfactants allow the glyphosphate to penetrate the plant and your hands, so if you are spraying it and getting it on your hands you may as well drink it...

 

[tdi-rick]

 Originally Posted By: IndyIan

Surfactants allow the glyphosphate to penetrate the plant and your hands, so if you are spraying it and getting it on your hands you may as well drink it...

Who on earth would use any herbicide without using chemical resistant gloves, respirator and face mask ?? I used to manage/run an organic beef cattle property, who ended up having to use herbicides to control certain noxious weeds, so i know the arguments on both sides of the fence, and straight glyphosate would be the most benign of the broad spectrum herbicides. It's half life in clay is measured in days, it virtually breaks down instantaneously. I know of some graziers that used dam water to mix it and the suspended clays virtually killed it before it was sprayed out. Knuckleheads. As Indylan posted, unfortunately some use surfactants that are very sus, and unbelievably these are often the consumer grade ones such as Roundup 360. The surfactants are used to enhance the uptake of the herbicide. The full strength ones like Roundup Max and particularly Roundup Biactive are as close to 'green' as you will get for a synthetic herbicide, and IMO are actually better than some 'organic' sprays such as pine and orange oil, which to me are totally indiscriminate, kill all the insects and amphibians and merely 'burn' a lot of the weeds farmers are targeting without actually killing the rootstock, letting them re-shoot and spread. Just my 0.02C worth.

 

[tdi-rick]

Crinkles, all those Chinese machines recommend 25:1 as all they use over there is normal engine oil at best. All the OPE gear from any 'name' brand recommends 50:1 these days, even the pro grade chainsaws. If you want to minimise smoke and smell, use a JASO FC or FC/FD two stroke oil at Johnny's suggested 32/40 or even 50:1 I'd probably not go any leaner than 40:1, but that's just me, as I'd be a little sus on build quality/fit/finish oh, and regular unleaded is fine in something like that. I'm a little OCD regarding my saws, and use BP Ultimate or Shell Vortex, but I run the snot out of them too.