# Anyone try Stihl Motomix Yet?



## DavesMower&Saw (Jan 15, 2011)

I got the email earlier this week that Stihl is now stocking 32 oz. cans of Motomix.
It's only available with our oil drop shipments so it will be a few months before I need to order more oil. They aren't carrying any other sizes, yet so the use of this product will be limited. It's price comparable to the 50 Fuel, as far as I've seen. Products like these seem like they are limited to people who are very occasional users, like a guy who uses with hedge clipper one weekend a year. Or it seems more practical to use it when putting away equipment for the winter/summer.


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## Net-Knight1 (Jan 15, 2011)

This stuff is also available from Husqvarna, called Aspen. The preamble of this is "Alkylate Petrol".

In Germany every proffessional forest worker MUST use Alkylate Petrol, it is required.


What is Alkylate petrol? 


The name comes from the word alkylation, which is the name of the process used to extract the raw product.
From gas to liquid 


The alkylation process takes place at oil refineries through surplus gases from the crude oil distillation and cracking plant being mixed. The result is a alkylateliquid. This liquid is the purest extractable petroleum product.

The alkylate is then mixed with a number of other components and we now have a finished product, ready to be used in most small engines.
Better for your health, the engine and our environment 

When you use alkylate petrol, you avoid dangerous substances such as benzene and aromatic hydrocarbons, substances that can cause serious health problems. The engine is also treated more kindly, for example, the spark plug and combustion chamber are kept cleaner. The petrol can be stored and even after long periods of no use, your engine starts without any problem if your tank has been filled with Aspen alkylate petrol. Environmentally, there are numerous benefits, e.g. the formation of ground-level ozone (smog) is reduced by more than 50 %. 
Maximum efficiency 

Small engines are often uncomplicated and are technically simple engines with less than optimal combustion rates. This means that much of the fuel escapes unused. This, in turn, has a negative impact on both the environment and you, the user.

Better for the user 

Aspen alkylate petrol is more or less free from lead, benzene, aromatic hydrocarbons, olifines (“cracked components”) and sulphur. Petrol fumes and emissions from Aspen alkylate petrol are significantly less dangerous to your health than emissions from normal petrol. The air is cleaner and health risks are minimised when Aspen alkylate petrol is used to power your engines. 

Better for the environment 

Normal petrol is produced through refining crude oil. Different fractions are processed in different ways and are then mixed together. As such, normal petrol contains hundreds of different substances, and many of them have a harmful effect on the environment. 

Alkylate petrol is adapted to give the least possible environmental impact. Through only using certain gases from the refinement of crude oil, we produce a very clean petrol that only contains around ten substances. Alkylate petrol is more or less free from dangerous component parts such as benzene, aromatic hydrocarbons, sulphur and cracked components. As a result, AlKylate petrol produces significantly lower air emissions than normal petrol.

alkylate petrol is a ready-mixed (2%) for all 2-stroke small capacity engines with a recommended mix of 2% or 1:50. It is mixed with a synthetic high quality high performance 2-stroke oil for maximum protection and low smoke. This 2-stroke ready-mixed alkylate petrol contains no sulphur, benzene or aromatics. It is therefore much better from a health aspect to use than regular petrol. In fact normal petrol contains so much benzene and aromatics (read solvents) that it is a real health risk to use in 2-stroke engines. Aspen 2T is also chemically inert so you can comfortably leave the fuel in the machine and it will not gum-up. It will also store for years whereas normal petrol start to go off after 30 days.

The ready mixed 2-stroke alkylate petrol also reduces the risk of incorrect mixing eliminating engine failures

And the best thing is, this Stuff is NOT CARCINOGENIC !!


I use ASPEN and i love it.


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## Justsaws (Jan 15, 2011)

To expensive to burn. How does it taste?


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## Trigger-Time (Jan 15, 2011)

See link 

STIHL Power tools



TT


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## DavesMower&Saw (Jan 15, 2011)

It seems like the most practical application for products like these are to run through equipment before storing it. For the foreseeable future I was told they would only be producing 32oz. cans, and it's about 7.99$ And that's cheaper than a carb kit, fuel line or any repairs.


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## Little Al (Jan 15, 2011)

Justsaws said:


> To expensive to burn. How does it taste?


 
One of the saw shops in my area got in a supply of equiv to ASPEN. bought 5 litres to try. My observations 1. tried it in 4 different saws to me they ran neither better or worse.2, smoked no more/less. Exhaust fumes were no better /worse. Apart from the fact that the mix might have a longer shelf life I could not notice any difference, maybe it`s less hazzardous to my health ,that I can`t say but as we do not have the dreaded E in our fuel[YET] & it cost 3 time the amount of a std. fuel/ synthetic oil set up, I think I`ll stick with the std. stuff .+ if it`s not good for my health I`m now 74 so if I secome to the nasty`s in ordinary fuel I`ve had a not to bad go at life


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## dancan (Jan 15, 2011)

Little Al said:


> if it`s not good for my health I`m now 74 so if I secome to the nasty`s in ordinary fuel I`ve had a not to bad go at life


 
I can respect that .


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## betterbuilt (Jan 15, 2011)

So how's this stuff gonna work in a older saw? A while back there was a discussion on aspen2T and the consensus was only to use it in brand new saws.


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## indiansprings (Jan 15, 2011)

I'm going to buy some for my elderly mother, she refuses to let us come and do her trimming, she gets her Stihl string trimmer out and maybe burns 2.5 gallon a summer, the stuff gets mixed at the beginning of the mowing season and sits until the end. At least with this stuff it should put the effects of ethanol at bay, and the machine will be getting fresher fuel with the smaller containers. It's perfect for the user in town like her.


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## zogger (Jan 15, 2011)

*I'll be going to premix*



DavesMower&Saw said:


> I got the email earlier this week that Stihl is now stocking 32 oz. cans of Motomix.
> It's only available with our oil drop shipments so it will be a few months before I need to order more oil. They aren't carrying any other sizes, yet so the use of this product will be limited. It's price comparable to the 50 Fuel, as far as I've seen. Products like these seem like they are limited to people who are very occasional users, like a guy who uses with hedge clipper one weekend a year. Or it seems more practical to use it when putting away equipment for the winter/summer.


 
----I'll be switching to canned premix the day I read they really have mandated 15% ethanol in the fuel. We are already having mucho troubles with 10%, and I can't afford to kill expensive small engine doo-dads. Nothing I own says it is usable beyond 10%, and given the negatives with that stuff now..premix no alky in it, good storage life, don't kill gaskets and seals..cheap insurance for your machines. 

And different areas have different fuel formulations. Just because one set of dudes over there claim their stuff runs fine no problems, doesn't mean that guys over yonder who are reporting problems are lying, either, they very well could be running higher than 10 maybe, or some other additives that are borking their saws. Not all fuel is equal, even going by the same brand and octane label on the pump. and I think that is why we see this discrepancy already, some areas having a lot of problems, other areas, not so much to notice.

I cut wood to keep fences cleared and for heat. If my chainsaw fuel cost goes to fifty bucks a year instead of twenty..I don't care. If it is one hundred I won't care, still cheaper than buying new saws and trimmers and small lawnmowers, etc. *Most* of my serious mowing is diesel, but still do a lot with smaller gas buggies and pushers.

If professionals find out they need to adjust what they charge upstream for their work to afford canned fuel rather than killing 1000 buck saws and three thousand buck riding mowers and so on..they will have to, or just eat rebuilding them way more often. Which is still gonna be more expensive and a hassle. 

When you have even the major auto companies lobbying to not go to 15%, I think there's a reason for that..because at ten they are already having problems. 

Too bad they couldn't have just left it at 5%, that didn't seem to matter at all. 10 is over the top, too much, 15 is gonna kill a lot of engines all over, no way around that.


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## wse8562 (Jan 15, 2011)

We are starting to sell quite a bit of 40and50 fuel. A very similar product. The casual users think its great. A little pricey right now but maybe that will change as the market grows. We have tested here now for a while and its performs advertised. No carb related issues so far and the shelf life is good. I have had a can here for a couple of years and it smells and looks like new


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## blsnelling (Jan 15, 2011)

So how much is the price of a quart?


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## DavesMower&Saw (Jan 15, 2011)

blsnelling said:


> So how much is the price of a quart?


 
Brad it's about the same as the 40/50 Fuel at about 6.99-8.99$ per 32oz. can. 
At this price it makes it not feasible, for professionals or any but the occasional user to run all the time. But it can be used cost effectively when guys are putting away equipment for the season, or when you are going to be more than a few weeks between uses. This where these products become very useful, a 7.99$ bottle of canned fuel and used as preventative maintenance. This is a whole lot cheaper than down time, or repairs for the professional user.


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## blsnelling (Jan 15, 2011)

DavesMower&Saw said:


> Brad it's about the same as the 40/50 Fuel at about 6.99-8.99$ per 32oz. can.
> At this price it makes it not feasible, for professionals or any but the occasional user to run all the time. But it can be used cost effectively when guys are putting away equipment for the season, or when you are going to be more than a few weeks between uses. This where these products become very useful, a 7.99$ bottle of canned fuel and used as preventative maintenance. This is a whole lot cheaper than down time, or repairs for the professional user.


 
Basically just a drain and purge with this stuff at the end of the season? Not a bad idea if someone's in an area where it's a real problem.


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## DavesMower&Saw (Jan 15, 2011)

blsnelling said:


> Basically just a drain and purge with this stuff at the end of the season? Not a bad idea if someone's in an area where it's a real problem.


 
Yep since we can't get a cost effective source for ethanol free gas, we're telling people to do exactly that. Since a good deal our customers are occasional/ seasonal users, and their equipment sits unused for months a time we recommend this. When they're going to put it away for the season, dump the regular mix, and put in some canned fuel, and run it for a couple minutes to flush the system and put it away. 

I tell people there is no cure for these problems with ethanol, just preventative maintenance, or repairs.


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## fidiro (Jan 15, 2011)

How well do the cans seal up after you use what's in them? A while back I almost considered getting 6 cans to use and then keep the empty cans to store my home mix. 

Would that help keep my fuel fresher longer if I reuse the cans instead of keeping the fuel in the 2.5 gallon plastic container?

Edit: I thought the Motomix came in cans like the other stuff Bailey's carries.


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## Bob Wright (Jan 15, 2011)

Net-Knight1 said:


> What is Alkylate petrol?
> The name comes from the word alkylation, which is the name of the process used to extract the raw product.
> From gas to liquid
> 
> The alkylation process takes place at oil refineries through surplus gases from the crude oil distillation and cracking plant being mixed.


 
Some refineries need that "surplus Gas" that they speak of to run properly. Yes it is an offgas that forms at the top of the crude distalliation tower and it is piped thru some coolers and turned to a liquid. The heavy crude towers that run a lot of asphalt bottoms need that "surplus gas" to control the temp of the tower to get the correct splits of the bottoms (asphalt) diesel, kero, and naptha (gasoline) but they may be only running super sweet crude and can run without that "surplus gas" Most refineries in the US can't run that way. Just some info from a guy that made gasoline...Bob


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## DavesMower&Saw (Jan 16, 2011)

fidiro said:


> How well do the cans seal up after you use what's in them? A while back I almost considered getting 6 cans to use and then keep the empty cans to store my home mix.
> 
> Would that help keep my fuel fresher longer if I reuse the cans instead of keeping the fuel in the 2.5 gallon plastic container?
> 
> Edit: I thought the Motomix came in cans like the other stuff Bailey's carries.


 
The Motomix available in the states is only available in 32oz. metal cans. They do have gallon plastic jugs of it in Europe.


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## Little Al (Jan 16, 2011)

betterbuilt said:


> So how's this stuff gonna work in a older saw? A while back there was a discussion on aspen2T and the consensus was only to use it in brand new saws.


 
The saws that I used it on were all old saws, the newest being 1984 I don`t own any modern saws the most modern is 1986


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## Little Al (Jan 16, 2011)

DavesMower&Saw said:


> The Motomix available in the states is only available in 32oz. metal cans. They do have gallon plastic jugs of it in Europe.


 
The plastic cans over here[Europe] are 5 litres=9.90 imperial pints. Ipone oil co. [they of the strawberry smelling oil] had 5 litre cans[metal] on the market for a very short timespan[VERY expensive] seems to have disappeared from the market[ no longer on their web site]


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## fidiro (Jan 16, 2011)

DavesMower&Saw said:


> The Motomix available in the states is only available in 32oz. metal cans. They do have gallon plastic jugs of it in Europe.


 
I clicked the link on the previous post and saw the plastic jug and thought that is what this thread is about so I assumed Motomix is in the plastic jug. 

I have never used the 40:1 or 50:1 of the other brand but was considering using a few cans just so that I can reuse the cans to store my own mix fuel, if is worth doing it to keep fuel fresh longer.


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## kirkeg (Jan 21, 2011)

*clean burning fuel option*



DavesMower&Saw said:


> The Motomix available in the states is only available in 32oz. metal cans. They do have gallon plastic jugs of it in Europe.


 
Do you think this will be available in the 5L jugs anytime soon? Even though it's not aspen2 it's specs are alot better than gasoline!!

Great to have a cleaner burning option even though it''s expensive. Maybe cheaper by the gallon or 5L jugs.


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## harrington (Nov 29, 2012)

What is alkylate:
It is made in the US by mixing iso-butane with propylenes and/or butylenes in the presence of a catalyst (HF acid). There are other ways but this is a very common method. It is a high grade gasoline blending component. It is high in Octane (certain derivatives are over 100) it also has good burn properties, and very low sulfur.

The biggest advantage for our purposes is simply the lack of ethanol. Therefore it will store for a long time (like years past when you could keep gas for a year) however it will still degrade if left too long.

I use pump gas near a marina near one of my fishing lakes. It is ethanol free and only about 30 cents higher than normal gas. If you have this option I recommend it. The canned fuel is good, but entirely too expensive. For instance, 93 octane at the pump may have 40% alkylate in it just for octane reasons alone, but yet it is only 20 cents higher than 87 octane.

My background: master degree in chemical engineering and 12 years working in a refinery. i am not simply passing along internet myths. This is knowledge gained from working in an alky unit for five years.

hope this helps.


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