I am trying to figure out the best strategy for managing my fuel for my OPE (Outdoor Power Equipment) lawnmowers, snowblowers and chainsaw for **trouble-free service**. My idea is to drain out the gas in the snowblower in April and pour it into my truck along with whats left over in the gas can. Then get some fresh high octane gas and mix that with Stabil...pour it in and run the snowblower for a few minutes. Then start it every month or so and hope it works properly when I want to use it. Thoughts?
How Do You Manage Your Fuel..OPE
- Thread starter Warstud
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I fill up the gas can at the gas station. When any of my OPE needs fuel, I pour it out of the gas can into its tank.
This gets me through my crushingly cold winters where the temperature sometimes dips below 32 degrees.
This gets me through my crushingly cold winters where the temperature sometimes dips below 32 degrees.
I had good luck, about 4 decades give or take with 4 cycle OPE filling the tank with fresh gas treated with MMO. Now more recently mixing MMO and Stabil in the fresh gas. After adding the fresh fuel with the mix I run the engine, get it good and hot then fog it, and change the oil at the end of the season's use. Then put it away. I had more trouble running them dry and putting them away. 2 Cycle OPE should be run as you say at least once a month, and the fuel dumped and refilled with fresh fuel and stabil every 4 months. They seem to be more particular, and once again running them dry and not using them was more trouble than its worth, for me. My 2 cents.
If you're that concerned try some of this:
http://www.vpracingfuels.com/vintage or
http://www.vp-sef.com/
I think keeping OPE out of temperature swings and in a non-humid place helps as much as prepping the gas.
How I do it, not gopsel, is a "good glug" of sta-bil red (that I got at 90% off from Target), slosh in the tank, run it, kill the fuel, let it die. Set the choke, turn it over a little more to sputter a little more, and let it sit. If I had to buy it today I'd get green sta-bil or that marine stuff... name escapes me.
I still sometimes get yellow-green snotty rancid gas after an off season. But I can take the bowl off the carb, drain it, shoot some cleaner up the main jet, put it back together and be running in ten minutes.
I keep three 5 gal cans around for routine use, and rotate them. The generator is also full, has a 4 gal tank, and I'll drain it via its own hose removed from the carb come summer.
http://www.vpracingfuels.com/vintage or
http://www.vp-sef.com/
I think keeping OPE out of temperature swings and in a non-humid place helps as much as prepping the gas.
How I do it, not gopsel, is a "good glug" of sta-bil red (that I got at 90% off from Target), slosh in the tank, run it, kill the fuel, let it die. Set the choke, turn it over a little more to sputter a little more, and let it sit. If I had to buy it today I'd get green sta-bil or that marine stuff... name escapes me.
I still sometimes get yellow-green snotty rancid gas after an off season. But I can take the bowl off the carb, drain it, shoot some cleaner up the main jet, put it back together and be running in ten minutes.
I keep three 5 gal cans around for routine use, and rotate them. The generator is also full, has a 4 gal tank, and I'll drain it via its own hose removed from the carb come summer.
When I am done using my ope it gets parked in the shed for winter. When spring comes I check oil and top off the gas and start it up and go. No magical fluids no fogging no cleaning no battery tender. Just good old e10 in the tank and top the oil.
I have zero luck.I run the premixed ethanol free gas and still have to rebuild carbs before anything will start.
I've had luck with this.
Keep the machine low on gas until you use it, this way when you go to put it away it won't have much gas in it. Add a little two stroke oil and run it for a minute before you store it. This will coat the internals with a little oil and for some reason fuel with a little two stroke oil seems to keep for years without gumming up. Next snow fall, add fuel and away you go.
Works for me.
Keep the machine low on gas until you use it, this way when you go to put it away it won't have much gas in it. Add a little two stroke oil and run it for a minute before you store it. This will coat the internals with a little oil and for some reason fuel with a little two stroke oil seems to keep for years without gumming up. Next snow fall, add fuel and away you go.
Works for me.
Whenever I'm about to store my equipment for a few months, I will add a little Stabil to the tank, start the machine up and let the Stabil get into the carb, then drain the gas tank. Then I start the engine and burn up all the gas in the carb. The Stabil is for any residual gas that might still be in there. That's the only time I use Stabil. The rest of the time I use regular E10 gas, no additives. I've never had any fuel related problems in any of my equipment. If the gas in the can sstarts to get too old, I'll dump it into one of the cars. But I usually use it up in the machines before it gets to that point.
" ... for some reason, fuel with a little two-stroke oil seems to keep for years without gumming up."
Most 2-stroke oils are blended with fuel stabilizers nowadays as E10 has become a reality for most of us here in the States.
My key is to rotate the gas ... don't leave it sit for any length of time in either a equipment's gas tank or a gas can (metal or plastic). For OPE that is going to sit for half a year or longer, I leave minimal amounts of fuel in them treated with a fuel stabilizer.
Most 2-stroke oils are blended with fuel stabilizers nowadays as E10 has become a reality for most of us here in the States.
My key is to rotate the gas ... don't leave it sit for any length of time in either a equipment's gas tank or a gas can (metal or plastic). For OPE that is going to sit for half a year or longer, I leave minimal amounts of fuel in them treated with a fuel stabilizer.
super strange! I use mainly alkylate fuel i small engines now and some stuff out on the farm does not get used more than a few hours during one or two weeks yearly. Carb rebuilds are 5-10 yrs apart, some never... Some stuff that use more fuel like the boats get regular 5% 95 octane fuel and stabil red in the fall. Also no issues.
Do you have issues with condensation or debris in the fuel, maybe from the gas station? Should be moot point with like Stihl premix alkylate but.. varying temps and "unfull" tanks pull moisture. Can be managed by stabil but not any amount.
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I have zero luck.I run the premixed ethanol free gas and still have to rebuild carbs before anything will start.
Do you have issues with condensation or debris in the fuel, maybe from the gas station? Should be moot point with like Stihl premix alkylate but.. varying temps and "unfull" tanks pull moisture. Can be managed by stabil but not any amount.
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I have zero luck.I run the premixed ethanol free gas and still have to rebuild carbs before anything will start.
I have a 30 gallon fuel caddy that I use to fuel all my equipment. I add Stabil each time I fill it up, and I never have a fuel related issue. I also use (and have used for 30+ years) E10.
When I'm finished with something I simply park it. Next time I'm ready to use it they always start.
When I'm finished with something I simply park it. Next time I'm ready to use it they always start.
I'm fortunate, there is a pure non ethanol gas around the block from me. I use this for my mower and weed eater. I still use stabil at the end of the cutting season. if I didn't have access to non ethanol gas, I would use stabil at every fill up. there was a story on the news here in Nashville, an owner at the lawn motor repair shop said over and over the ethanol gas is killing these engines who don't maintain with stabil. I took it to heart.
Buy non ethanol gas if you have a station close by. Use a double dose of stabil when you store it.
For 2 cycle stuff, I use 50:1 TruFuel. If you are an average homeowner and not a commercial operator, the cost isn't too high per year and will greatly reduce the amount of carb problems you have on 2 cycle equipment.
For 2 cycle stuff, I use 50:1 TruFuel. If you are an average homeowner and not a commercial operator, the cost isn't too high per year and will greatly reduce the amount of carb problems you have on 2 cycle equipment.
I fill my 2.5 gallon cans with 87 E10 and a dose of Stabil. With the lawn mower I top off the tank. The only thing I actually drain is the generator and the snow blower.
E10 is not an issue in a full gas can. Only a ventrd storage container or tank which you don't see much anymore.
E10 is not an issue in a full gas can. Only a ventrd storage container or tank which you don't see much anymore.
2 stroke mixture from my experience presents the most problems. I like to rotate the fuel no longer than 2 weeks with 2 stroke mixture on a commercial level. If fuel isn't used tank is emptied it does happen on occasion.
As for 4 stroke mixture I do like keeping fuel in the tank reason seals my dry out. Also dried fuel can gum up the lines and jets ... it's actually better to keep fuel in and run the equipment biweekly or monthly.
I don't have too much problems with 4 stroke equipment regarding with fuel more so with 2 stroke fuel issues.
As for 4 stroke mixture I do like keeping fuel in the tank reason seals my dry out. Also dried fuel can gum up the lines and jets ... it's actually better to keep fuel in and run the equipment biweekly or monthly.
I don't have too much problems with 4 stroke equipment regarding with fuel more so with 2 stroke fuel issues.
I have started to use E0 in all OPE stabilized with blue Stability. I also let the engines run out of fuel. Premix in 2 cycle. Propane for generator.
My biggest concern is the alcohol content in the fuel. In my area we can't find E0 anywhere. I don't mind burning E10 during the season but I don't want it sitting in my tank or carb for months during the off-season. My lawn mower is used from April until November. Sometime in September or October I'll empty the gas can into one of my cars and either fill it with 100LL aviation gas (plus Sta-bil) from my local airport or buy a few cans of the 4-cycle "engineered fuel" from Lowes. Avgas costs about double what auto gas costs, but it's a lot less than the engineered fuel.
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