Fuel octane question?

[NYH1]

How do I find out if fuel has ethanol in it or not? In my area we have Sunco, Mobile, Hess and Citco gas stations. Sunoco's web site says their fuels contain "no more then 10% ethanol". I can't seem to find anything about ethanol on the other companies web sites.

 

[dtnodya]

Also note that oxygenated gas tends to have higher octane (more even burning) but less efficiency. This is because gasoline has more energy than alchohol fuels. I think it is the alchohol that changes the smell of gas the most of late. I cleaned a muffler screen with gas yesterday and the gas (regular unleaded) smelled weird to me. Fresh gas too. So I think that the original poster is right. Gas just does not smell like gas any more.

Informative post regarding lead ... Yeah, "gas just does not smell like gas any more" is the way I see it. Bring back tha deadly!!! :biggrinbounce2:

So buying the best grade gas for my saws it will be from now on. I've been using mid-grade 89 or whatever ...

How do I find out if fuel has ethanol in it or not? In my area we have Sunco, Mobile, Hess and Citco gas stations. Sunoco's web site says their fuels contain "no more then 10% ethanol". I can't seem to find anything about ethanol on the other companies web sites.

They may not want us to know ... ??

 

[Fiore Indiana]

Does anyone know which gas stations contain no ethonol in Illinois or Indiana?

 

[chowdozer]

That's because it was full of lead and reminded us of the lead based paint we used to chew on. :jester: :jawdrop:

It was a communist plot.

 

[chowdozer]

Can race fuel be used in a stock saw with no harmful effects? say like 103 octane ?

We used to run it in our 2 smoke bikes, mostly CR's. Made em run good. Seemed like more low rpm grunt. I guess the rest of what I remember is a haze from inhaling lead?

 

[Highclimber OR]

Here in Oregon the gas has changed a little, but I don't know what everyone is talkin about. I have always ran regular unleaded and as long as there is no ethanol than there is no problem. Using this stuff has not shortened the life of any of my saws even under very heavy use, the rpm's stay about the same until the bitter end As for the rest, I leave it to the mix because most of the good ones have stabilizer anyway. Ethanol is like water even in your car and that's what you should stay away from, although in most states it is a very seasonal thing if used at all. Stihl saws, Stihl mix, Stihl runnin.

 

[windthrown]

103 octane...

Can race fuel be used in a stock saw with no harmful effects? say like 103 octane ?

If it is gasoline, yes. No need to run that high an octane though, given the compression ratios of stock chainsaws (higher compressions engines require higher octane gas). I do not think that there is much gas available out there that has that high of an octane rating through.

Note that most high octane racing fuels are alchohol, like what they use in Indy cars. In chainsaws, read: Avoid!

 

[windthrown]

Last week the CT Stihl dealer I bought my saw from said use only high test because the mid-grade (89 ) is a of mix of 87 and high test, which means it has alcohol in it. He claimed the high test does not, therefor is the best choice.

Not true. The easiest way to get higher octane in modern (no lead) gas it to blend it with alchohol. Alchohol has higher octane (more even burning) than gas does. If anything, the opposite would be more likely. Regular gas would be more apt to be pure gas and high test would be more apt to be blended with alchohol (it is harder to make high octane gasoline).

Look on the gas pumps at the gas stations. Gas chains like Pilot that have all 100% gasoline will say so on the pump. The ones that are blended will say something like "oxygenated" or "ethanol blended". You have to be careful, as some gas station chains switch seasonally or regionally (city vs country, one state vs another). Winter gas blends tend to be oxygenated to reduce smog in areas like LA.

 

[stihl 440]

89

NYH1, use atleast 89 octane. Don't use 87,as it creates higher engine temps in the saw. Do what your manual says, run atleast 89. I run my saws on 93-94 octane. Your saw will also start and run alot better on higher octane. I've heard of guys running turbo blue in their saws and mixing it richer. I don't know if that would hurt them or not? So is sunoco fuel bad for saws?

 

[NYH1]

NYH1, use atleast 89 octane. Don't use 87,as it creates higher engine temps in the saw. Do what your manual says, run atleast 89. I run my saws on 93-94 octane. Your saw will also start and run alot better on higher octane. I've heard of guys running turbo blue in their saws and mixing it richer. I don't know if that would hurt them or not? So is sunoco fuel bad for saws?

stihl 440, I bought Sunoco 93 octane. I didn't know anything about ethanol. After reading about it here yesterday I went on Sunoco's web site and it says their fuels contain "no more then 10% ethanol". I don't know if it's ok to use or not. I also don't know how to tell if fuel has ethanol in it? I'd be willing to bet the person at the cash register in just about any gas station I go to won't have a clue either.

 

[dtnodya]

stihl 440, I bought Sunoco 93 octane. I didn't know anything about ethanol. After reading about it here yesterday I went on Sunoco's web site and it says their fuels contain "no more then 10% ethanol". I don't know if it's ok to use or not. I also don't know how to tell if fuel has ethanol in it? I'd be willing to bet the person at the cash register in just about any gas station I go to won't have a clue either.

A friend of mine owns a gas station (Amoco I think) ... I will ask him about ethanol and percentages. He runs his station right! He has all this crazy software and sensors that detect the amount of water in the tanks (from condensation) and he has the trucks come when it gets to like 3% ... I forget what the highest % is required legally but 3% is low. I always go there because I know what's in the gas ... He can show me on a laptop screen.

I just thought about that so I will ask him how much ethenol is in each of his grades.

 

[NYH1]

A friend of mine owns a gas station (Amoco I think) ... I will ask him about ethanol and percentages. He runs his station right! He has all this crazy software and sensors that detect the amount of water in the tanks (from condensation) and he has the trucks come when it gets to like 3% ... I forget what the highest % is required legally but 3% is low. I always go there because I know what's in the gas ... He can show me on a laptop screen.

I just thought about that so I will ask him how much ethenol is in each of his grades.

dtnodya, thanks. I called Husqvarna North America (Tel: 704-597-5000) and talked to one their tech guys. I asked him about using fuel containing ethanol, and that Sunoco says their fuel contains no more then 10% ethanol. He said it was ok to use fuel with 10% or less ethanol as long as it's fresh. He told me I should only mix up to a months worth of fuel at a time. He said the problem with ethanol is it collects moisture.

My head is still spinning over this whole ethanol thing! I'm still trying to figure out how to tell if fuel other then Sunoco (which has up to 10%) has ethanol in it.

 

[timberwolf]

Just keep it sealed up tight. A little water is not always a bad thing check out water injection or alcohol water injection used in high performance applications. The extra cooling can help prevent detonation and flashing liquid water into gas is a 1700:1 expansion in volume.

 

[blis]

...

My head is still spinning over this whole ethanol thing! I'm still trying to figure out how to tell if fuel other then Sunoco (which has up to 10%) has ethanol in it.

Most likely it means that it has that 10% of ethanol mixed in, which shouldnt really affect the saw... Expect if the saw is tuned to the edge it will cause it lean out and seize (alcohol needs alot richer mix than gas) but long as your saw is set to manufacturer spec it shouldnt affect anything...

 

[SWI Don]

Most any saw sold in the US in the last 5 years probably says you can run up to 10% ethanol in it.

Here in Iowa regular straight gasoline is 87 octane. When you mix this 87 octane gas with 10% ethanol you get 89 octane. Hence every gas station in the state should have a 87 octane and an 89 octane pump. Now as far as premiums go some are straight gas (Amoco Ultimate 92 octane) and some are not (Kum & Go premium 91 octane)

Now in different parts of the country the available octane numbers seem to vary. You will not find anything higher than 92 octane in Iowa except for maybe 1-2 places that might sell unleaded race gas. I am not sure if different octane levels available have to do with state laws, elevation or what?

Now I run Amoco Ultimate 92 octane in all my 2 cycles because I believe it is the highest quality gas I can get locally and the added cost over a year doesn't add up to a hill of beans. Now if I was going though a bunch of two cycle gas like the tree services I may buy regular like my brother does. They seem to get a reasonable life out of their saws all the same.

Don

 

[precaud]

Most any saw sold in the US in the last 5 years probably says you can run up to 10% ethanol in it.

Hmmm... I just read "Gasoline which contens alcohol should not used in DOLMAR products."

 

[ShoerFast]

Hmmm... I just read "Gasoline which contens alcohol should not used in DOLMAR products."

Should is such a gary area word.

It is hard in some areas not to get blended gas. The best method is to do a few test, but fuels will not remain consistent.

About the fresh factor. how long did it take your gas to get from your refinery to your saw jug? Most stations have a much smaller storage tank for there premium fuels then there regular fuels, refineries store fuels till there picked up for delivery.

 

[Lakeside53]

Stihl says E10 is fine, 89 or better, up to 60 days storage. An AS search will turn up the actual documents posted last year..

 

[GASoline71]

92

Gary