For Chainsaw Enthusiasts

[Jack]

I use whatever gas is cheapest, or most convenient. Rarely to never use Shell because it is not convenient for me, and never the cheapest. Mostly I use GetGo or BP.

[John Grossbohlin]

I've been following this thread and figured I'd throw in my 2 cents.

I have a couple relatively new Stihl chainsaws (MS271 and MS461), a Stihl FS130R trimmer and a Stihl HS56 hedge trimmer. I run 93 octane non-ethanol gasoline along with Stihl synthetic mix oil at the recommend the 50:1 ratio... I ran into issues with the "more is better" philosophy when I tried running 40:1 with the same gas and oil... the machines ran too lean. It was particularly a problem with the trimmer which is a 4-mix engine, i.e., 4 stroke that runs on mix fuel and has no oil sump system. The 4-mix ran way too lean... I went back to 50:1 and all the problems went away. I can detect no excessive wear and they run just fine. I've never had a problem starting any of them after winter storage -- I drain the tanks and run them dry.

I'm very good about keeping air filters, as well as the rest of the machine, clean and the cutting implements sharp. I've used the MS461 to cut trees and mill logs up to 30" DBH and have run string, tri-blade and saw-blade cutting implements on the trimmer.

I run the same gas with a bit of Marvel Mystery oil in my 4 stroke lawn mower. The oil lubes the top end pretty well and keeps it clean judging by my inspections. It never takes more than 2 pulls to start and typically only one even after sitting all winter.

Yes the 93 octane and synthetic oils cost a little more but I don't waste time and cuss words on getting my machines running... ;~)

Anyhow, that's been my experience... As they say, your mileage may vary!

[Ed Pawlowski]

Many years ago my brother and I were running some small 2 cycle engines and we experimented with fuel blends. Synthetic oils gave a higher rpm and less wear. Well worth the money.