gas-oil mix

Jun 02, 2013 31 Replies

My new Tanaka weed whip instruction manual calls for a gas oil mixture of between 25:1 and 50:1. That seems kind of vague to me. My Echo leaf blower calls for 40:1 and my Poulan chainsaw calls for 50:1. Running my Poulan on a 40:1 seems to work fine, and I am planning on running the Tanaka with a mix of 40:1. Is it super critical to stick with the recommended mix for each piece of equipment ?



thanks CJ


On Sun, 02 Jun 2013 09:02:54 -0400, cj wrote in Re gas-oil mix:

I often run an engine that calls for 50:1 at 40:1 because the 40:1 covers several engines that I have. However, I wouldn't go more than the 40:1 in the 50:1 as it might cause plug fouling.

It seems like most newer 2-cycles are now designed for 50:1.

Why do you care?

You run your Poulan with 40:1 vs the 50:1 that they recommend.

Now you buy a Tanaka whose manual tells you to use 25:1 to 50:1 and you're going to drop 40:1 in - very nearly the middle of their sweet spot AND following their recommendation.

A bit early on Sunday for a troll to be out isn't it?

I agree. If you have some eqpt that calls for 40 and some for 50, I wouldn't have two seperate mixes. I'd split the diff and go with 45.

I'd run the both on the richer mix, the 40:1. Worst case, fouled plug and some carbon in the muffler. If you run too lean, the risk is engine damage, and loss of warranty.

I agree. If you have some eqpt that calls for 40 and some for 50, I wouldn't have two seperate mixes. I'd split the diff and go with 45.

That's what I do.

I save the original 2+ounce 40:1 oil containers that came with the unit, and then I buy the replacement two-stroke oil in standard quart sizes.

Then I refill the 40:1 containers, so that I always have a convenient mixing procedure when I need more two-stroke gas.

Here's a picture of my shelf with those containers:

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I also save (and label) the original four-stroke containers so that I can easily refill the four-stroke equipment with the correct amounts.

Danny D wrote in news:kofovj$ae1$ snipped-for-privacy@speranza.aioe.org:

How about a picture showing us you pulling your head out of your butt?

On Sun, 2 Jun 2013 07:05:03 -0700 (PDT), " snipped-for-privacy@optonline.net" wrote in Re Re: gas-oil mix:

That's a good idea I never thought of.

I'm puzzled by your terminology. "Richer" means more gas, doesn't it? A

50:1 mix has more gas than a 40:1 mix. The 40:1 mix has more oil and less gas. I use 32:1 in everything. Don't observe fouled plugs or other problems.

Dave M.

BTW, I usually buy a TC-W3 NMMA-certified two-stroke oil:

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Is that the quality metric that you more experienced guys aim for?

I think SM meant richer in oil (i.e., more oil, less gas).

Depends a WHOLE lot on what oil you are using. An oil that is designed to be used at up to 100:1 might work well at 50:1, and not at 25:1, while an oil made to run at 25:1 may not be acceptable at 50:1 - or even 40:1.

If you use an oil designed for 50:1 at 40:1 you might bet a bit more smoke but it should be good for all 3 machines. The saw rund hard enough that deposits should not be a serious issue and the Tanaka obviously isn't fussy.

Can't beat a MixMizer. Makes it wasy to ACCURATELY mix even 1 quart, or 1 liter at a time.

Common usage when talking of an oil/fuel mixture considers a "richer" mixture to be heavier on oil. Adding the denser to the less dense - like fuel/air - or adding the lesser to the greater - where rich/lean would switch when you pass 50%

TC-W3 oil is for water cooled (marine) engines. For air cooled engines it must also meet the TM designation (some do,

I had to google what a MixMizer was:

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Looks like it's part of a well-equipped shop:

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Still, the MixMizer seems to be simply a syringe, which, I guess can be replaced with a standard small'ish measuring cup, right?

TC-W3 oil is for water cooled (marine) engines. SOME TC-W# also meets TM specifications, which means it is good for aircooled engines, such as motorcycles and small powered equipment. Straight TC rated oil is specified for most air cooled equipment. Non TM TC-W3 is NOT designed to run at the higher temperatures generally experienced with things like chainsaws and weed-eaters etc.

It's just the calibration. It is marked with ratio for quart and pint mixes - from 20:1 to 100:1 so you don't need to do any calculating.

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