Higher Octane Gas for my OPE?
- Thread starter BMW Dom
- Start date
Try it. You might be surprised.
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- Oct 6, 2020
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I didn't notice any difference when using the expensive bottled stuff. Only lasted me 1 week
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
I use 89 and mostly because it is only 10 cents more a gallon at a Sunoco near me. So I do but if it was 60 cents more a gallon...nope.
I must say all my mowers run great on it.
I must say all my mowers run great on it.
I would only use the bottled stuff before storing. I get 89 non ethanol at Marathon. It's called Recreational gas.I didn't notice any difference when using the expensive bottled stuff. Only lasted me 1 week
Yep, the non-ethanol around here is REC90. Although I never noticed any difference running regular 87 e10.
If it took him 5 years to realize it then he probably doesn't need to change anything.
Echo, Stihl, and Husky equipment have spec'd 89 octane for many years. I find most box store saws and trimmers spec 87 minimum.
The difference is likely better quality and ignition timing for more power.
I burn in winter and run 93 in my modified saws and use it in the others if I make a big enough batch depending on the amount of wood that I acquire.
Push mowers are low compression, fixed ignition engines that typically won't benefit from higher octane if the manufacturer specifies 87 (or lower depending on your country of origin).
The difference is likely better quality and ignition timing for more power.
I burn in winter and run 93 in my modified saws and use it in the others if I make a big enough batch depending on the amount of wood that I acquire.
Push mowers are low compression, fixed ignition engines that typically won't benefit from higher octane if the manufacturer specifies 87 (or lower depending on your country of origin).
The main reason the 2 stroke motors require higher octane is that they see many engines destroyed by preignition. When fuel sits it starts to oxidize and aromatics evaporate and the octane will drop. You may never see a problem if you are running at 1/2 throttle or in cooler weather but when they get hot and you run them fast you take a chance you will get a preignition and it only takes 1 to destroy the motor. Most of these are built light and cant take that abuse.
I rotate out our generator stash of winter gas in the early summer, and summer gas in early winter, by using it in my Honda CR-V. The CR-V is happy with 87 which is what I normally run in it. And both generators also will run fine on 87, but because of octane loss during storage, even with Sta-Bil, I always buy the highest octane when I buy the next seasons stash of gas for the generators. I even make sure the CR-V is low enough so I can put 2.5 gallons of the highest octane in it to clear the station pump hose of any low octane that may have been left in the hose if the previous customer was pumping low octane. That way regardless of what the stored gasoline ends up being used in, and how old it is, it still has enough octane.
I prefer 91+ octane on a 2 stroke. Is it better? More detergents and runs smooth. Of course I am biased however a good syn 2 stroke oil and premium fuel is as best as it gets.
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This.
And this.
Even in my area where E-0 is literally everywhere, I have to pay a steep premium to find 89+ E-0 with a *dedicated pump* (meaning the pump isn't shared with 87 octane). My cars only call for 87, and same with my zero-turn. So the Stihl is the lone wolf with the 89+ requirement. The only dedicated pump left in my area (that I'm aware of) is a 7-Eleven that has "Power93", 93 octane which is also E-0. It's a dollar (sometimes more) per gallon higher than the cheap stuff, but I only mix half a gallon at a time because the Stihl uses so little fuel. Half a gallon lasts me a whole year, and I'm not a light user. I just don't want it going stale. So paying $3.799 per gallon in the oil capital of the U.S. is certainly expensive (regular E-10 here is $2.699), but it costs me a whopping $1.90 to not have to waste a few gallons pumping a mixed pump into a car that calls for 87 to flush the lines. It also gets 93 instead of the minimum 89. Win-win.
I use 87 E10 and don't lose any sleep over it.
Thanks for the replies, I’m definitely going to be using at least 89 in my trimmer now.
Any reason to go 93? That is what the echo premix is
Not really. It may help on the very hot days, but you likely won't hear any difference as you hopefully have your ear protection on.
I like the canned fuel as it has no ethanol and can be had with stabilizer already mixed in. Perfect for infrequent use in a trimmer or winter storage for my dozen plus chainsaws. I can get Super S mix easily and it's $5/can. I went two years without firing up my Ice Auger and she started on the 3rd pull.
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I wish I could afford the premix
I do in my lower end saws and equipment, but not in my bigger saws. Some of them are pretty expensive.
I usually make a seasonal mix if I'm cutting bulk. Makes economic sense. Over the years I have found that making a premix with Stabil just isn't quite as good as buying canned fuel for storage. I leave my equipment fueled as I find the primer bulbs dry out if I run them dry, especially in my box-store saws (made in Chi-Na).
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
Yep … using Stihl juice is not that expensive for me since I do most trimming and chopping up short with an electric … I’m pretty impatient with small 2S’s that don’t start … wife still talks about the amazing distance and hang time when a Weedeater went over the back fence (came to see what all the swearing was about)
