auger gas

[tallieho]

so with the ethanol distroying outboard engines.what type of gas.reg/prem? are some better than others shell/petro/etc. thanks in advance

[Kim473]

I stay away from ethanol gas and use premiun gas in all my outboards and mowers and stuff. They always start good. 1 gallon of gas for the auger per year = $0.40 cents more or so. Two gallons or so for the mower and snowblower = $0.80 cents. Two or three bucks a year is not a big deal. Have heard of some ethanols hurting fuel injectors. It is very dry. Our premium gas is like 92 octain or so. Airplane fuel in the winter is 110 octain. Just so that they start in the cold and run better in the cold, that is why I use pemium.

[LacLaBicheNS]

Originally Posted by Kim473

I stay away from ethanol gas and use premiun gas in all my outboards and mowers and stuff. They always start good. 1 gallon of gas for the auger per year = $0.40 cents more or so. Two gallons or so for the mower and snowblower = $0.80 cents. Two or three bucks a year is not a big deal. Have heard of some ethanols hurting fuel injectors. It is very dry. Our premium gas is like 92 octain or so. Airplane fuel in the winter is 110 octain. Just so that they start in the cold and run better in the cold, that is why I use pemium.

I did this too until I found my 2010 EFI Arctic cat quad took 3-4 cycles of the starter before it would start, even in the summer. I'd push the button till it started to go then let go, than it died. Repeat 3-4 times. So I asked a small engine mechanic and he said its probably my fuel. I told him I only use fresh premium from shell (0% ethanol). He said my quad is meant to be run on regular fuel. I switched and it starts off 1 starter cycle even at -10.

My 2011 john deet mower has no startting isssues with premium neither does my 1976 15horse evinrude. So I use premium 0% ethanol in these still, not the quad. I'm using fuel stabilizer and regular gas for the quad now.

[fluxcore]

I was running regular in my merc 4stroke outboard and I had to choke it until it warmed up and ran right, after switching to premium with low to no ethanol it fires up quick and runs noticeably better Ive always used premium in my jiffy as well, it just starts better. I also use gas stabilizer in both all year round.

[ak-71]

Eskimo z71 manual said something like ... for a best performance use premium. I'll be using Esso as they are close and no ethanol in premium according to customer support

[Kim473]

Fuel stabilizer is a must for me now days.

[Outt and Aboutt]

I'm not a small engine expert, but have talked to a number of small engine mechanics, dealers, boat dealers, etc. My read is that a 'small' engine will benefit from ethanol-free and high octane gas (gas with ethanol will quickly cause pitting of the piston on small engines that they will look for if you bring it in for warranty and void your warranty if they see it). But larger engines don't benefit from high octane or ethanol-free gas (run cooler so the pitting doesn't occur).

'Small' engines are chainsaws, weed-whippers, ice augers, up to push mower size. Once you get bigger than that (riding mowers, quads, boat motors) then you're not talking about 'small' any more and so regular gas is fine. Although some smaller boat motors run pretty hot and ethanol free might benefit them.

Ethanol will always be bad for rubber (seals, gas lines, etc), and isn't great to leave in tanks and engines over winter because of its tendency to attract water, but it won't actually do harm to run it in larger engines, just small ones.

And fresh gas is extremely important for small engines. Anything over 2 months is too old for small engines and will affect performance. Took my chainsaw in for a tune up and they asked me how old the gas was. I lied and said it was about 1.5 months, when in fact it was closer to 4 (knowing they were going to get on my case if I had old gas in the tank). They started it up, ran it for a minute, and called me on on the spot about the gas in the tank. I sheepishly told them maybe it was a little older than I thought.

I take all my high test, ethanol free gas for the chainsaw, weed-whipper, etc left over at the end of the summer season and dump it in the riding mower to burn up, then buy new high test, ethanol free for the ice auger for the winter. Then dump any of that left over in the spring into the riding mower to use it up. That way I always have fresh, high octane, ethanol free for the small engines.

D