Fuel Conditioner Yes or No?

[Popeye]

Wondering whether to put fuel conditioner in my premix for a new 025. Gas might be sitting for a while (couple of months). When I was working on outboard motors it was recommended. Do I need it for my chainsaw? What brand is best.
Mike

 

[treeclimber165]

Others may disagree with me, but I have had ZERO fuel related problems in many years and I don't buy lots of additives for fuel mix. I simply use a high quality two-cycle oil and premium fuel. I prefer Stihl oil, but several others are equally good. It already has a fuel stabilizer in it and the premium gas tends to stay useable longer.

To illustrate an extreme abuse of this method, I recently pulled an old 025 out of the shed to see if I could get it running. It had been sitting for almost 5 years with a half tank of fuel in it. The saw fired up on the 6th pull! I dumped the fuel and put fresh mix in it, and it runs great.

If you buy fresh gas every week or two, regular will work fine. If it will sit longer than 3 weeks, pay the extra 20 cents for premium. It will still be good for several months.

 

[fun_chopper]

Good fuel, good mix, and a superior gas can that will not let dust,dirt,sand, or other contaminates in, I think thats the key to longevity. I never let my chainsaw gas go for more than 4 months or so, I usually run old gas thru the lawnmower and you would not belive the sudden boost in power!

 

[bwalker]

Gas stored in a sealed metal can and stored in a cool area will last quit long with out any stabaliser. that being said I try to mix just enough fuel for the job I have at hand. The rest gets dumped into the mower or my wifes car.

 

[Fish]

What is happening here!??!
I am the resident jerk that is: anti-stabil, anti-synthetic, anti-
splitfire, anti-slick50, anti-high octane, anti-miracle product, etc..

I usually have everyone mad at me, and love it!

Old gas, is just that, old gas. Do not try to store it, pour it in your
truck and get fresh.

I have had good success with the thighmaster though, and
my George Foreman grill.

 

[Popeye]

Old gas, is just that, old gas.

The reason I posted that question was that bad gas is bad news for outboard 2 cycles. I have a letter in my tool box from Exxon that says the shelf life of gasoline is 30 days. I was curious if it affected chain saws the same way. Premium outboard oil has fuel conditioners also but I wasn't sure about the chainsaw oil. I plan on only using Stihl oil in it for premix. Is bar oil critical also? Or can you just throw some 30 wt. in it like I used to do with my ProMac 6 and Mac 10-10? I wanted to get feedback from experienced users. This is the best place I have seen to do that. Thanks for your feedback.

Mike

 

[treeclimber165]

Sounds like you have good info on the fuel issue.

As for bar lube, the main difference between regular oil and bar oil is a tack additive which helps the oil stay on the chain as it spins around the tip of the bar at full throttle. Regular oil will tend to sling off more so than bar oil, and never gets the chance to do it's job where it is needed the most (in the cut). Since bar lube is a 'one use' deal, the quality of oil isn't as important as it's ability to stay on the chain long enough to do some good. Most bar oil is as inexpensive as off-brand motor oil and works better in this particular application.
On the other hand, I know many people who have always used motor oil for bar lube and wouldn't consider buying bar oil. They claim no increased wear, but I have used both over extended periods and can verify that bar oil works better than motor oil.

 

[DDM]

I would have to imagine that used motor oil Would tend to have tiny metal fragments in it that over time I'd Imagine
Would wear the oil Pump.

 

[treeclimber165]

On the other hand, I know many people who have always used motor oil for bar lube and wouldn't consider buying bar oil.
'used' is a verb, not an adjective in this sentence. I was referring to new oil.

 

[DDM]

I know people that USE, USED Motor oil for bar lube. But then again a Poulan wont last very long whether you use Bar oil or USED motor oil.

 

[glens]

shelf life

I'd be interested in hearing more about this 30 day "shelf life" deal.  I'm thinking there must be some other factors involved, like maybe that's raw gasoline which hasn't been conditioned or whatever they do to it.  I'd be pretty surprised if the gas isn't at least a month old by the time it even gets to the local stations in most parts of North America, but then again, there have been plenty of things which didn't happen the way I'd have thought they would...

http://www.el-cerrito.com/fire/power_safety_issues.html tells me that stored kerosene and diesel are good for 12 months, gasoline for 6.

http://www.americasgenerators.com/fueltypes.htm says 18-24 for diesel, 12 for gasoline.

Here's an interesting one:   http://www.nursehealer.com/ShelfLife.htm
<blockquote>
<u>Shelflife of Non-Food Items</u>
<li> Fuel, Coleman (unopened metal gallon container) - 5 years
<li> Fuel, Coleman (opened metal gallon container) - 8-10 months (to prolong the shelf life open infrequently and store in a cool place)
<li> Gasoline (oxygenated/treated) - 12 months
<li> Gasoline (oxygenated/untreated) - 1 month
<li> Gasoline (nonoxygenated) - 12 months (depending on the additives in it)
<li> Gasoline (nonoxygenated/treated) - 10 years
</blockquote>

Then the alternate viewpoint is fairly well (or so it <i>feels</i>) represented at http://theepicenter.com/tow021799.html

Cummins tells me 12 months at http://www.northwest.cummins.com/na/pages/en/distributors/seattle/customerservice/faq.cfm

I don't know what to think now.