who uses tcw3 in air cooled 2cycles ?

[leroyd92]

i have a little chain saw, a srm-225 pole saw/weed eater and a homelite leaf blower.

ive been using tcw3 for a while assuming its a better quality 2stroke oil...

some have said im going to blow up everything because im stupid... but it seems people use it just fine. some have said tcw3 breaks down at air cooled temps, if so, can i go 40:1 instead of 50:1 and sleep easy?

 

[lars11]

It's not a "better oil", it is a no ash oil (to reduce contamination in waterways) meeting the tc w3 criterias. Could work just fine, but oil for land based air cooled engines with high ratings are better suited.
I would not worry about your pole saw, but next time buy oil rated like api tc, jaso fc or fd. Or if you have an outboard, use up the tc w3 in that.

 

[Chris142]

Nope.i use the correct oil for air cooled stuff.

 

[4wheeldog]

2 smoke oil intended for aircooled motors should be formulated for higher operating temps than the stuff for water cooled ones. I would use the intended formulation.

 

[Panzerman]

I don't use TCW3 in my air cooled or even water cooled two strokes because here is what happens. You get hard carbon. Ever notice a two stroke drooling wet oil around the exhaust, you wont see that with "Boat Oil". That is a bad thing. It creates hard carbon in the rings and cylinder. The TCW stuff I think has a low flash point so it general burns up before going in the water. I have had Polaris two stroke rings stuck solid, I couldn't loosen them with a chisel. You don't want to use the TCW3 stuff. It will run for awhile, but when it goes, you might as well throw it away, because those engines aren't worth a re-build. I ve had my Craftsman weed trimmer for 22 years and it never saw TCW3. Use a TC rated oil.

 

[WobblyElvis]

I've had a chain saw for 30 years of light use. Never used anything but TCW3 in it. Still runs fine.

 

[GSCJR]

That's all I ever used in my old string trimmer; never an issue at 50:1.

 

[Rand]

it depends not all are created equal.. nor are all applications equally demanding.

In general you want api TC or jaso FC/FD for air cooled.

you have some old chainsaw that takes 16:1 its more important to have enough oil in there to keep the "bearings" and I use the word loosely "happy".

whereas a modern 2 cycle you might be able to use amsoil at 100:1 fine... wouldnt try that in a classic chainsaw.


that's a whole lot of rambling.. but you cant draw too many generalities.. use common sense.

 

[bubbatime]

Why not buy the correct product? The price is the same.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: Rand
you have some old chainsaw that takes 16:1 its more important to have enough oil in there to keep the "bearings" and I use the word loosely "happy".

whereas a modern 2 cycle you might be able to use amsoil at 100:1 fine... wouldnt try that in a classic chainsaw.


There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to run any power equipment two stroke engine with todays oils at 16:1 or 24:1. I'd run at least 40:1 in any two stroke engine, including stuff that is 30-50 years old.

 

[leroyd92]

i buy tcw3 in gallon jugs for fuel additives, so its convenient to use tcw3 in 2 cycle engines.

 

[Skittles]

I have a weedeater brand string trimmer that has only seen tcw3 and no issues in 15 years. It isn't even a quality trimmer.

I also have a generator and chainsaw that use the same oil but they aren't used near as much. They both run great as well though.

 

[super20dan]

i run a lawn service biz and my stuff get heavy use. i use twc3 oil. never a problem. in fact my lawnboys call for it . the average home owner will never notice any differance. now if i was running a tree service -i woud use air cooled only oil. nothing gets harder use than a chainsaw. as for price -twc3 oil is much cheaper. about 1/2 the cost. i use at least 5 gallons of 2cycle gas a week. it adds up

 

[leroyd92]

Originally Posted By: super20dan
i run a lawn service biz and my stuff get heavy use. i use twc3 oil. never a problem. in fact my lawnboys call for it . the average home owner will never notice any differance. now if i was running a tree service -i woud use air cooled only oil. nothing gets harder use than a chainsaw. as for price -twc3 oil is much cheaper. about 1/2 the cost. i use at least 5 gallons of 2cycle gas a week. it adds up


this is info that i love to hear...

i dont think my pole saw will ever get pushed hard enough to need real air cooled oil. i mean, im trimming 1" branches

 

[leroyd92]

and my little chain saw might see a 6 inch branch

 

[Cujet]

I do know that many have used TCW-III in all manner of air cooled engines. Often with good results. I'm fairly sure local landscaping companies use it too.

The oil is not designed scavenge deposits at the high temperatures of air cooled engines. Nor is it an ideal high temperature lubricant. Even so, it does work well for some.

I don't use it in anything. When I raced seadoos, the rotax engines had a very specific warning to avoid tcwIII oils. Even so, many people used it and it worked. From my results with high HP Seadoo racing
ROTAX engines. The exhaust side of the piston rings would wear rapidly if a very robust oil was not used. I suspect that users of TCW-III experienced the same, but never understood why.