Saber in the snowblower

[bakechad]

I have a 2-cycle Toro with a Tecumseh engine. It always has given me a problem starting, fouled the plug all the time and so on.

So at the beginning of last year I put a new plug in and starting using Amsoil Saber(80:1). Last year I had no problems starting it.

So we just got our first snow in Chicago and are expecting more tomorrow. So I pulled the plug on it and it still looked good. I put it back in. Poured in fresh gas with Saber and it turned over on the first pull.

Really good stuff.

 

[Johnny]

I had good luck with the Saber when I had my 2-cycle Ariens blower, but now it's gone. Looks like we are really going to get dumped on in the next two days if those weather guys know what they are talking about. My Honda blower is gassed up and ready to go. Lord, I hate winter.

 

[Pablo]

Johnny - move.

bakechad - Saber Pro is the real thing.

 

[Slick17601]

Should work well. That's what I plan to use when my last quart of Mobil 1 2 cycle runs out. I fueled up my 1987 Toro CCR2000 on Sunday and she started with one pull of the rope and ran like a top.

 

[gj]

I've used it in my Stihl chain saw, and Stihl brushcutter.Could tell the difference,less smoke ect.neither Stihl will start now(not the oils fault) so I purchased 2 el-cheapo Poulans to get the job I need to get done and It's been fantastic .I switched my 26 hp Kohler to Amsoil 4 stroke .Considering using it exclusively In everything. Except for the 95' F 150 with 247 thou .

 

[OilNerd]

Originally Posted By: bakechad
... So at the beginning of last year I put a new plug in and starting using Amsoil Saber(80:1). Last year I had no problems starting it. Really good stuff.


I bought some Saber Pro and was planning to use it next summer in my non-winter OPE, but now you've got me curious.

My Craftsman single-stage uses a 32:1 mix. I don't want to get into leaning out the carb to deal with the extra fuel, so I think 100:1 is out.

64:1 maybe? I figure if 100:1 is recommended for 50:1 apps, 64:1 should be about right for a 32:1 app?

 

[boraticus]

I have six two stroke vintage motorcycles, one two stroke snowmobile, three chain saws, five pieces of two stroke OPE, four two stroke outboard motors. That's 19 two cycle engines ranging from 37 to four years in age. All engines run and run well. The old vintage Yamahas have oil injection, the Suzuki racer run pre-mix (25:1) the OPE is 32:1 for the older stuff and 50:1 for the newer machines. Outboards are 50:1 for the two OMCs and 100:1 for the Suzuki and Yamaha engines. I run Canadian Tire (Imperial Oil) two stroke oil ($14.00/gal) in everything but the outboards and have been doing so for too many years to remember. I run the same oil blended for marine applications in the outboards. I've used Stihl, Echo, Husqvarna, Suzuki, Yamaha, and other "boutique" two stroke oils in my machines (because it came with the equipment). Some were synthetic, some conventional. From my experience with all of those engines for all of those years is that the CTC brand did as good a job as any of the others for a fraction of the cost. There was no obvious improvement using the much more expensive oils.

I use a couple gallons of the stuff a year, primarily in my much cherished restored old Yamahas. I have two of them that are fairly modified, putting out much more power than stock and revving up to 10000 rpm. These are 35 year old bikes! If I didn't have absolute confidence in the oil I use, I certainly would not run it in these machines. Bottom line is that very good oil can be had a very good prices. There's no need to shell out big bucks just for a brand name. Here's a pic of two of my old Yamahas:

 

[addyguy]

Those are neat old bikes.

 

[OilNerd]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
...
I've used Stihl, Echo, Husqvarna, Suzuki, Yamaha, and other "boutique" two stroke oils in my machines (because it came with the equipment). Some were synthetic, some conventional. From my experience with all of those engines for all of those years is that the CTC brand did as good a job as any of the others for a fraction of the cost. There was no obvious improvement using the much more expensive oils.

I don't doubt that the CTC oil or other conventionals perform well (I'm a big Canadian Tire fan)

, but in my case it was a simply a case of hearing so much good stuff about the product (Saber Pro) from commercial users and PMO's, that my curiosity and tinkering instinct kicked in. That, plus some awesome engine tear down pictures, that I have yet to find again on Google. Saber's actually not that expensive when you account for the ratios used, even at the favored 80:1 ratio.

On the cheaper side of things, the plain ol' Wal-mart Super Tech Universal 2 cyle oil (the one in the clear bottle) is made by Pennzoil and is good stuff too. Pennzoil air-cooled is great too, but now only comes in 8 oz. bottles. Pennzoil is pushing their Outdoor MP oil now, which according to their tech support, exceeds API TC. I'll be trying it as well, as it is available cheaply in pints, quarts, and gallons, and well... because it's Pennzoil.

My single-stage is the beater snow thrower I got for driveway dustings. For snow measured in feet or doing the yard paths, I use the two-stage, which is bigger and more plow-like.

Nice bikes, BTW.

 

[Andyge]

I have used Saber in my lawnboy for 5 years now.

 

[OilNerd]

Looks like I'll never know how Saber would've run in it. I pushed it too hard and it threw a rod while doing a small snow bank.

Oh well, it just cost me the gas and oil mix in it -- it was a freebie. A little disappointed that it couldn't handle a small 4" snow!

Andyge, just out of curiosity, what ratio do you run Saber in your LawnBoy? Did you go the full 100:1?

 

[boraticus]

Threw a rod? Sorry to hear that. What end let go? I'm guessing the wrist pin or piston came apart? Right or wrong?

 

[OilNerd]

Right! Wrist pin.

 

[boraticus]

Did the piston let go at the wrist pin or did the actual wrist pin break?

I do a lot of work on two stroke engines and I'm very much interested when a failure of this nature occurs. Throwing a rod is fairly rare in my experience with two strokes. Seizure is the normal method of destruction.

 

[OilNerd]

The wrist pin broke up.

The snow bank wasn't much of a snow bank really, just what the state plow capped my driveway in with, but it was compacted wet heavy snow.

Should I have warmed the engine up more before loading it?

 

[boraticus]

Actually, there's probably nothing you could have done to prevent the engine from letting go. particularly if it was running at it's normal operating rpms. Over revving an engine can easily cause catastrophic failure. Usually in a two stroke it will be the piston or wrist pin in most cases. My old Yamaha RD350 that I have restored will spin safely to 11000 rpm. Which is awful fast for a 35 year old engine. I have the electronic ignition controller set to cut out at 10000 rpm just to be on the safe side. People who race these old bikes report that the engine will stay together up to 11,300 rpm. Anything higher and the piston will separate horizontally just above the wrist pin.

So, if your engine wasn't screaming past it's red line, it was probably ready to let go no matter what.

 

[Crusader]

Funny no one has mentioned this yet but 2-cycle snow throwers such as Toro recommends a TCW3 rated oil....?

I have two Toro 2-stroke blowers and I have used primarily Amsoil Saber Pro in them in the 50:1 to 75:1 range. I use them professionally and frankly I'm still not sure what to think of this 100:1 vs. 50:1 vs. compromise run it 60:1 or 75:1....?

I'm frankly more concerned about not running a true outboard TCW3 oil in them. So what are the pro & cons of NOT running an outboard rated oil in these snow throwers?

So who is running Saber Outboard @ 100:1 in theirs?