i know im asking randomly but does someone know a tool to log back into an Instagram account? I was stupid forgot the password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me.
@Louie Ryder Thanks so much for your reply. I found the site through google and I'm in the hacking process now. I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I really like the way you did your testing and the way you presented your findings. These tests are the best I have seen on UA-cam so far. Good job men! Carry on smartly. That is all.
That's interesting about the octane rating. The highest non-ethanol we have around here is 87, so I have used Tru-Fuel 40:1 because it's the cheapest around here, and I figured higher octane was better. It's also nice that the shelf life on these canned fuels is a bit longer. I can't thank you enough for y'all time and effort and expense you put into this! I greatly appreciate it! Thank you guys!
Thank you Sir. FYI - stihl manual says 89 octane or higher. I've done a few gas tests (search my vids) 89 and 91 came out on top. I myself do not use canned gas I run 91 ethanol free. I do that because I have the theory that fresh gas is best and I think most people buy either 87 or 91 (the cheap regular stuff or if they buy premium they buy the most expensive premium...for me that is 87 and 91 around here).
I use VP, it is a full gallon, but my saw performs great using it. I have never used anything but the canned premix in my saws. This was a great example of testing and I know it was expensive to do. Thanks for you doing this!
i use the VP in all my small engines 2 and 4 stroke.. one thing i noticed in my saws is i had to adjust the carbs when i switched from pump gas they were real sluggish on the VP before i adjusted them
@@aj9270 that’s understandable. Pump gas is 10% ethanol and ethanol is an oxygenate so you would have to adjust you saw. I’m guessing you had to lean out the saw?
I got a 5 gal of VP - for all my tools - My pro blower is a REDMAX EBZ8001 BLOWER - it stopped reving up - problem was excessive oil in VP. I changed everything got new Carb/Air Filter/gas lines/gas tank filter /spark plug and coil Assyrian - no difference - decided to change the carb back to original one and a table spoon of oil came out of the carb/air box. On video as proof I drained the VP gas and filled with TruFuel back to 100% operation - hmmm - on video I changed it back to VP and back to no revving - I contacted VP with video proof - they say they have not had any feedback like this - thanks I am out of pocket - wasted downtime and useless fuel - they said they were going to get a sample back from me - that was Dec 21 - its middle of March 22. Hmmm!!!! Thanks for a great video.
I must adjust the carb on my husky saws every time I change a different brand canned mix. Emissions requirements have made all 2-stroke fuel systems extremely sensitive to variations in mix viscosity. The carburetor passages are so tiny that any slight variation in viscosity will cause it to run leam or rich. Alcohol content will affect viscosity. The blackened pistons shows the saw was simply running too rich, not that the mix itself was the cause, or better or worse than others. Learning to read your own spark plug to see what's going on inside, and learning to adjust your carb accordingly is a must if you want to tune your own saws. Sticking with the exact same mix that the saw is tuned for is key. If you think mixing your own fuel heavy, at 32/1 or 40/1 will make your saw last longer than 50/1, you are wrong. More oil increases viscosity, and can actually cause a modern 2-stroke to run too lean, and blow up. Mix exactly as specified. Husky & Still tune their saws at the factory with their mix and recommend customers only using their mix for this reason, not just to make money selling canned fuel. Old 2-stroke (pre-emissions) regularly fouled plugs, slugs, and jugs because they just ran rich and smoked a lot. Scraping the crud off the internals was just regular maintenance. Today, you are much more likely to score or blow your top end than ever foul a plug. I dispose of stale 2 stroke fuel (>2 months old) into my riding lawn mower. Also, if mixing g your own, sealed fuel cans are a must with ethanol fuel. Period. Yeah, they all suck. But a vented can will breathe, and pump air in and out of the container, which accelerates oxidation and the ethanol draws moisture out the exchanged air and into the fuel. 1 drop of sepsrated water will plug the internal carburetor screen. Less can partially block it and make it run lean and/or cause it to keep dying and make it hard starting. Bottom line: The government screwed up 2-strokes with extreme emissions regulations and with ethanol fuel mandates. To the point of it being a marvel of engineering that they even run at all, let alone run for more than a hour or 2 without seizing up.
What you say is very true. I have been selling Husqvarna saws for 40+ years, and running them for 45. The bottom line is today's rule for saws for sure!
You are one of 3 people that I have actually heard say that running a heavy oil mixture is not good, and I agree. It's extremely hard for people to grasp the idea that running more oil may do more harm than good. Also, I constantly tell people to tighten the cap and vent on their gas cans tight, so there is no exchange of moisture rich outside air with the gas/air inside. You know what they said, It'll blow up !! lol.
When mixing your own with premium fuel, be sure to put a few gallons in your rig's tank before filling up your 2-stroke jug. The hose and supply line at the pump hold a lot of fuel, usually cheap low octane.
I always instruct folks to do that. I put two gallons in my pickup before filling my gas can every time! There's a sunoco near my work that has a separate pump for the ethanol free fuel, that's by far my preference since you know you're not getting a hose and filter full of 87.
I agree. I’ve done some testing of different pumps at a couple of gas stations and see ethanol contamination in the premium fuel but only at pumps that use one single hose for 3 different grades of fuel. Pumps that have separate hoses dedicated to each grade of fuel did not have cross contamination of ethanol fuel
Good test. Nice to see where there’s leftover carbon and where there was visible oil in the bottom end. Also appreciated the comments about how they each smelled. I’m an old engineer and there are two things I wonder about with these premixed/stabilized fuels. The first is what type of oil is in the mix. In regular season I run premium ethanol free gas and mix it with JASO “D” or better spec oil. I do not trust API spec stuff because API does not test. But I haven’t seen the actual oil spec on any of the premix stuff I’ve bought. The oil may also be acting as an octane modifier. The second thing it would be nice to know is the actual chemistry of the gasoline. It is possible to have a lower octane rating and yet still have a higher energy density fuel, depending on the proportion of short and long chain hydrocarbon molecules in the gasoline (how it was refined). Which might account for your perception that the TruFuel was a little “snappier”.
Just recently purchased a new Stihl MS180. Salesman relayed the information from Stihl that they highly recommend 92 octane minimum. Saw starts flawlessly. And rips through wood. So I will keep with the 92 octane fuel. Great comparison, double thumbs up!
I'm from BC Canada where the climate varies not only through the year but throughout different altitudes all year...I was brought up with if you're mixing the fuel you buy the the top octane because when you mix it dilutes it a tiny bit(bah idk if that's the case) but I must say of my great grandpa being in the logging industry and my dad and both grandpa's having firewood saws and now me having my own for firewood.....I haven't seen one issue related to fuel
@@stevenlaxton3618 well you certainly have the background and a wealth of knowledge to draw from. I was a bit skeptical about buying the 180 from all of the bad reviews about not restarting when warm. I have yet to have any issues. The salesman quashed my apprehension. Merry Christmas
Sir, I just purchased a new Chainsaw after I 'blew up my old saw because of my adding a fuel additive in hope of bettering performance. I wished I had watched this video before I started adding a fuel additive I probably would have saved myself a lot of money and am certain I would still be enjoying my old chainsaw as well. Your video is an excellent instructor for fuel and chainsaws. Thank you
This is such a thorough and amazing test, thank you so much! I’m running a husky 460 rancher on their 50:1 mix, and my craftsman 46cc on a True Fuel 40:1- looks like I’ll be switching to the Stihl brand fuel....
My understanding of octane in relation to 2 stroke engines is that it should be higher because they run at hotter temperatures. A car engine with 7:1 compression is liquid cooled and stays below 250 degrees, but a 2 stroke chainsaw motor will be closer to 400 degrees.
The higher octane is a good thing because adding oil to gas lowers the octane. Starting out with a high octane fuel is better because you don't want the oil to drop the octane below 87. Probably why Husqvarna uses 95 octane fuel to mix with the oil so you still wind up with a higher octane fuel after mixing.
great job with your demo, I've found that once you've used your premix and say let it sit before using it again for 2 or 3 months the best for holding its integrity was Stihl's , then Husquarna's . Never used Tru Fuel or Echo red , but the VP seemed to sour faster and had starting issues, so I quit using it and haven't had the carburetor issues since.
Excellent comparison. Very well thought out and analyzed. It would be great to see a baseline of self-mixed fuel results to truly see the improvements. The prices of each fuel tested also vary, so I assume a value comparison is difficult. I would highly recommend this to anyone using 2-cycle engine.
I love these fuels. It may be expensive but my saw and weed eater go through under 3 gallons between them, at 20 or 25 bucks a gallon that's a good price to avoid carb rebuilds, any potential ethanol issues and possibly longer life. Not brand loyal, I've used stihl and trufuel.
Nice effort guys - Thanks!. Two things though, I would have like to have seen the results of using pump gas as a final convincer, and the cost difference in using pump gas and simply rebuilding the carb regularly. $24-30 for a gallon of fuel is pretty steep...
Understood, if you add up all costs it can be cheaper to accept any issues with pump gasoline, but I think they are testing this type of fuel for Joe Average who wouldn't even know that his chainsaw has a carburettor. Very good point, though. It's like a professional mechanic said to me once when I asked him if he thought "Snap-On" tools were worth the money; he said I never buy them, I can buy six cheap sockets, have a new one every few months and still be monetarily better-off. If Joe Average (ab)uses a chainsaw and throws it away after two-three years, he might consider that acceptable in money terms if he can buy the chainsaws cheaply from a Big-Box Store and run them on cheap gasoline. The same calculation is skewed in the opposite direction for a person who must heat his cabin with wood, has paid 4-5 times as much for a good saw, lives up in the tree-line in the middle of nowhere and values his equipment. Thanks for reminding me of that.
Steve's Small Engine Saloon had a video that identified how the engineered fuel is better for your small engine, but this video shows the outcome of using such a product.Thanks a ton for the time, effort, not to mention money that went into this demonstration. Appreciate everything! Cheers!!!
@@stevenlaxton3618 Me too. The exact reason I started using Trufuel at the end of a season. Chickanic just did a video on some issues related to Trufuel as well. I believe I may be switching over to Motomix going forward
@@rick391 I run ethanol free pump94 octane froma local station and was using red armor mix but am trying old-school Castrol 2t for fun..but picked up a can of the VP 50:1 and will be trying it soon as well too...I haven't been able cut much yet this year but have to get my grandparents some wood here soon so the old pioneer 1110 won't go too hungry 😀
@@stevenlaxton3618 Hey Steve, I run 93 ethanol free in all my small engines with hp ultra for my 50:1 mix. As mentioned earlier in here, if your gas station only has one pump for all gas choices (instead of a dedicated pump for each gas choice), make sure to pump a few gallons in your car before putting any in your gas can. I also use Stabil 360 Marine in my gas/gas mixes as I don't use it up real fast. I used to use Seafoam but a buddy with alot of experience had some issues with Seafoam and switched to the Stabill and recommended using it. As mentioned previously, I only ran the Trufuel at the end of season for my machines but am gonna give Motomix a try instead.
Wow that is a crazy effort! Now you have a life time worth of top ends for that saw. Very well done. In my opinion the gas that leaves the most oil in the crank case is the best for longevity. Iv'e been running tru fuel 40:1 for a little over a year now in everything with good results. But I have so many saws that none of them end up getting used all that much. Some of this new clean burning and low smoke oil make me nervous, you take an engine apart with some of that oil and everything is dry inside. I like more smoke than less and seeing lots of oil in the engine rather than worrying about how clean it burns. Great test sir!
I used the Tru Fuel in my weed eater and chain saw. After using it for a month I had trouble in both Pieces of equipment with residue build up which created starting problems. Had to have the carbs cleaned,. Went back to mixing my own fuel. No more problems.
I’m not a pro user but my MS311 works well on TruFuel. It works equally well with Stihl oil mixed with Quick Trip ethanol free 89 octane to which I may add a couple ounces of Sea Foam. I only cut three to four hours at a time when I cut and have never had any fuel issues. I use a 20” Stihl bar with a full chisel skip chain (RSF). Great comparison video. Thanks for the effort.
Thanks for the video! I use the Red Armor, been running it for four years as a home owner. A mix of Stihl and Echo commercial equipment. I can get ethanol free gas at the station, right now it is over $7 a gallon here locally. I have never used it, I wonder about water in the fuel from sitting in the underground tank. And yes, I know about the water separators, etc... Most gas stations around here cannot even clean their bathrooms, so I think what must they be doing in regards to pump maintenance? I'll continue to pay the vig, never had an issue with the Red Armor.
I’ve only had experience with the TruFuel, and the Husqvarna Pre mix, and have had good luck with the Husqvarna. This fuel setup is so expensive, but like my local Shop Tech says, if the saw, trimmer, whatever has infrequent use, it’s better than pump gas and oil mix. A Stihl Dealer told me long long time ago, when mixing pump gas, go with the high octane. He went to some Fuel School training, so I figured he knew what he was talking about. I don’t think it makes much difference with all these pre mix brands, like you all said. I only use Ethanol free (supposedly) from my local gas and go store, to mix 50:1. Have not had any issues. I use the Husqvarna XP oil. My little 345 is coming up on 14 years, and still going! I gotta say, that Stihl and bar combo looks sweet, and sounds and runs sweet! Your saw skills are good! I think it ran a little better with the Husky Premix? 🤔 😂 Again, appreciate the effort to make this video! Peace! 👍✌🏻🇺🇸
I've always had good results with the Husqvarna pre-mix. Plus I love the smell. Always has a new Husky tool smell lol. I think his saw ran best on it too
Hey man I teally appreciate this video dude, honestly one of the BEST reviews and tests I've seen on here. Very in depth and detailed on what you did. Gave me a great deal of insight.
Just came across this video and you really went above and beyond!! Best video on canned gas ever. I’d have expected VP to look cleaner as that’s all that they do. I’ve tried Tru Fuel in my new string trimmer and it was horrible. Lacked power and was slow to rev up. Went back to pump gas and Bel Ray oil like I’ve used in all of my 2 strokes for 30 plus years. Runs like a top now. Thank you for doing this video!
Chainsaws may only have a 7 to 1 compression ratio, but I've noticed a huge difference from running 87 octane to 93. The 93 just seems to make it run smoother all around, especially when it's warm out and the saw starts getting a little hotter than normal. Weird shit.
Thank you for putting the effort and resources into this video. I personally don’t feel you could go wrong with any of them but I appreciate the transparency and method of your experiment.
Very interesting test! Thank you! Some notes that I've found out during years: I'm from europe, and here I usually buy 100 octane premium pump gas with 10%Ethanol in it. Not the octane is making me buy that gas, but the aditives that it has. I get a more clean burn with that gas as I would use a regular 95 octane pump gas. For the las year I used in my brushcutter that premium gas and Stihl Hp Ultra at 40:1. Very low carbon build up on the exhaust port(on the main flow starts to build up), the piston has build up on it, just as you showed us in this video and the combustion chamber has also little build up. All the best and a Happy New Year!
I wanted to search for this 10 months ago...good thing I waited. Love how VP Racing lumps all the hydrocabons together on the SDS so they don't have to list hazards individually, unlike TruFuel.
This was very informative, would have loved to see the 40:1 test. The stihl non ethanol premix as it compared to ethanol fuel comment really hit me. Thanks
You Sir are providing a valuable public service, I commend your efforts. Do you plan to test the Aspen 2 and Aspen 4 products produced in Sweden? From my research it is an even cleaner burning fuel at a competitive price point. I’m meeting a rep in a few weeks to purchase a 5.3 gallon container of the Aspen2 and 4, for $92.00 each. My experience over the years is using 93 octane non meth with synthetic Stihl with a stabilization and maybe getting 6 months before having problems. I can store the 93 oct longer than the 87 oct, the only two available near me and I believe Stihl and Husky require 90 oct. thanks man!
i was using tru fuel but i started using my saws too much for cost. i buy the ethanol free stuff and mix my own and mix in 1 gal can. i liked seeing all the pistons and jugs afterwards. i think the biggest thing really is shelf life and having to drain the gas if saw sits for anytime. i watched one guy using stabill and the gas was trash. i saw this in my sisters mower that wouldnt start. i drained gas in a jug and then later poured some out and tried to light. would not light at all and it had stabil in it. i think all that stuff is crap after this and will not use. i just keep small quanity of gas and mix small amounts as needed
I think Project Farm or someone did a test with gas preservatives and came to the same conclusion, that they were junk. I think the best thing is, if you know that any tool is gonna be stored for a while is, run some 2 stroke mix/ethanol free gas through it, until it stalls and hope for the best ?
Thank you for this post. I cannot even fathom the amount of effort you put in to do this video. There’s a good video on all the garbage that is in the gas for cars on the small engine saloon. So if you look on there, he has an entire list of all the additives and stuff that’s in gasoline that shouldn’t be in there for your small engine. Be blessed my friend. Thanks again. John.
Nice job fellows. I always wondered about the differences (and if there really was a difference) between these pre-mixed fuels. Thanks for the information.
In EU there's Aspen 2T mix. Cost 25 bucks per 5 liter. Mostly i add some extra Castrol A747 oil to it. 50 :1 is too hot. 40:1 im using in my 270 and 441. Marine fuel is rare to get here. Bio ethanol in regular fuel is bad for saws.
I've been running Husqvarna canned fuel for 4 years in my trimmers. In my oldest one its a Husqvarna 223L it has a lot of hours and heavy use in ditches and around a pond bank with thick nasty weeds and absolutely zero signs of wear or issues. I'll keep using the Husqvarma especially since I have to adjust my carbs when I've tried different brands of canned fuel.
Have you seen Sunoco race fuel came out with some pre mix fuel of their own I'd love to see a part two with Sunoco fuel, Echo red armor, Walmart SEF 2 stroke, and Super S super-fuel. Other than the red armor there's absolutely nothing on most of those other pre mix fuels. It makes you wonder if $4 a can gas could be as good as $13 a can gas, or if either of them are as good as regular old gas & oil
"RESISTANCE TO DETONATION" What a great way to phrase it. I'm going to quote you on that. I have tried and tried to explain this to people including my mechanic friends and they just refuse to believe or understand. Everybody I know thinks the higher octane fuel has more power or energy and is more easily combustible than lower octane fuel. Quite the opposite. Great video.
All these higly pure fuels are in fact same type(alkylated). Just simply the best for small engines (and especially for winterizing them). Never had any kind of fuel related issues with it or decrease of power. Many seasons and long periods of sitting wasn't an issue. Sadly it's expensive.
Agreed, but @chickanic definitely found issues with Trufuel in her Small Engine Workshop that I've never seen having used Aspen Fuel in the UK for a long time. I thought that they must be nearly the same, but maybe not, judging by this video.
Man if you use a chain saw all the time and you bought 20.00 dollar plus fuel just to keep your saw running longer is ok. But you spend so much money on the fuel you could save that money and just buy a new saw. You would spend hundreds of dollars just buying great fuel. Don’t add up. Great video hats off to you! Buy non ethanol and you good quality oils to mix with. I would like to add this: those fuels you tested are great and no doubt would not gum up a carburetor when you store your your equipment. They definitely have a place. And if you can afford the best then why not.
Agreed. Someone further up the comments suggested that you could also use regular gasoline during the season and just switch to canned fuel for the last couple of fills before storing the machinery. However in Sweden I think they mandate the use of alkylated fuel (Aspen) if you have employees (Health & Safety legislation). Sweden is heavy on the liberal attitudes.
In UK I have not seen much pre-mix fuel. I just buy 20 litres of regular Petrol, in a Jerry-Can. Then add 100 ml of two stroke oil to 5 litres, to make 50:1. If i want 40:1 for a new engine, I mix 125ml to every 5 litre. Havn't met any motor cycle guys that use pre-mix in Cans.
Wow, this really took some time. I might have missed this but was the air filter clean with each cylinder change? Thanks so much for this video. Very interesting but not surprised with the Stihl fuel.
The VP fuel says 1 gallon on the can. Trufuel 110 ounces. At my local store they are both the same price so with VP you get just a little more fuel for your money. It kinda smells like racing fuel which is cool too. The only place I've seen motomix for sale is asking over $30 a can which is just wild. Overall, what a test! I appreciate the time and money that went into this. Personally I think that high octane fuel is better for chainsaws because they work so hard.
Usually I don't write any comments on UA-cam, but thank you for a hell of a job you've done and shared with us. I do my own premixes and I'm working with Husky, Stihl and Oregon oils. My premix consumption is approx. 15 liters (4 galons) per week. So this was quite informative for me when you showed the oiling difference between Husky and Stihl oils. Thank you once again and greetings from Finland, EU.
I would prefer mobil 1 or motul 800 off rd over these. This is just canned gas. It's been my experience the oils in these canned gases do not work as well with gas you buy at the pump/gas station.
Good comparison ...however my concern is the build up on the top of the piston. Strange how Stihl had the cleanest bore and exhaust outlet but the dirtiest piston.
Awesome vid!! Quick story about Stijl ultra. Got a hand me down trimmer and I removed the muffler to inspect and the piston was black. I ran mixed Stijl ultra not the pre mix for like three weekends worth of sacking and inspected the exhaust side of the piston again and The ultra completely cleaned the skirt like new almost.
My small engine mechanic said my chainsaw had straight gas in my Husqvarna 440. Which I used the True-flow 50:1 gas. It ran rough then wouldn't start after a few cursed pulls. The cylinder walls were scored. I think the saw is ruined.
In my neck of the woods high octane fuel is the only fuel that will be ethanol free. And only some high octane fuel at that. Thanks for a great comparison.
Personally I'll just buy the 90 octane ethanol free from the pump (luckily I got one local) or I'll buy 87 e-10 and do a water/ethanol extraction.. it lowers the octane to 84-85 or so but chainsaws don't mind even the high compression ones, they're not like 12:1 4 strokes
I would like to see a comparison to Harvest King 2 stroke gas. Its considarbly less money. I like their grease and use it my tractors and equipment for decades with no problems. Kind of hard to find I get from D&B supply.
Very best comparison and presentation on using premixed fuel. This information is a good guide for potential storage of unit also. Thanks for the very comprehensive and informative explanations presented with resultant engine take-downs showing internal components.
Of all the fuels, the only one I wouldn't run, is "True fuel". The other 3 seem really good. The only reason I would run Husqvarna, is because it's among the cleanest, performs well, and it's the least expensive. To be honest, It's much cheaper, to just buy a 6-pack of 2.7 Oz bottles of oil, and mix it myself with 1 gallon of gasoline. It costs me less than $6.50 a gallon, for good fuel mix. I typically run Echo, or Stihl 2-stroke oil in Chevron gasoline. I'm most confident, with an OEM branded oil, though I'm not afraid to run Stihl oil in an Echo leaf blower, or Echo oil in a Stihl chainsaw. BTW, A gallon is 128 fluid ounces of fuel, 130.6 Oz, counting the volume of the oil added. That's almost a full tank of fuel for a string trimmer or leaf blower for free, compared to the volume of fuel in a premix can!
Ive got an old MTD trimmer that i have had for almost 25 years, save your money on this canned fuel, you dont need it. i use premium unleaded/40:1 mix, at the end of the year i do 1 thing, the last time it gets run for the season, i drain all the fuel out of the tank, restart and let trimmer run until it acts like it is running out of gas, flip choke on and continue to run until it quits, thats it, its ready until next season. only once in 25 years i had the carb apart to replace diaphragm that had become stiff with age. Ive watched videos about the canned fuels compared to pump gas, Ive noticed a lot of the canned fuels don't allow engine to develop full rpms, even in some cases harder to start. save your money on this stuff.
Also the MotoMix is the only fuel here that is Alkalyte fuel. Completely different in my opinion. Spill a little of the MotoMix on your hand and within seconds you cant smell anything. Do that with the rest and you smell like gas for a long time. Look into Alkalyte fuel. So many benefits to health as well. When you breath in the exhaust. MotoMix is more on par with Aspen fuel. If not running MotoMix I think VP is the next best but again without the added benefits of being an Alkalyte fuel. Additionally I see the VP can says 3785ml and I think that's 128oz and that should be 1 gallon. I agree some of the others like the red can and XP are short
Aspen is my personal favorite, alkylated gas, no smell at all, especially with a good oil. It also lasts up to 5-6 years guaranteed by the manufacturer, compared to 1-2 years for regular ethanol-free pump gas. Longest I ever had it in was a trimmer, 3 years untouched (left in a cabin up in the mountains), smell didn't change at all when I opened the tank, the machine started in 4-5 pulls, then 1-2 pulls afterwards. It's all I use around here, pump gas is sadly all ethanol where I live and all my 2-strokes are pro tools so I don't want to cheap out on gas.
@@larryreno8293 Yes, Aspen Fuel is sold mainly in Europe (it's from Sweden) and they advertise it heavily as being extremely clean and with no benzene, for use in Swedish forests where the build-up of exhaust fumes in still air is supposed to be an issue with car gasoline. From what I can make out (but may be completely wrong), the Husqvarna canned fuel is almost equivalent to Aspen fuel. I leave Aspen fuel in my generator for years with no issues and with no starting problems (I run it for fifteen minutes per month if it's not actually in use).
Pretty interesting video. Thanks for going through the trouble to make it. Some of us are really interested in issues like this in order to ensure the performance of our saws and their longevity. I wonder did you do a break inperiod of any sort each time you switched cylinder and piston? Maybe I’m a little paranoid but I always do a break-in. When I rebuild a saw I run it at 40:1 on the first three tanks to break it in. Maybe it’s not necessary, but I like my stuff to last as long as it possibly can.
This is absolutely amazing results!! I use VP 4cycle fuel and full synthetic oil and mix myself. I do agree with you on the smells VP fuel in my opinion isn't that bad of a smell. I've been running my equipment this way for a long time. I was using Tru-Fuel, but started using VP and like it much better than Tru- fuel. Fantastic job on these comparisons. This must have taken a long time and cost alot to do?? I greatly appreciate you doing this video. Wish I'd have seen it when you first posted it. You got another sub good Sir
Excellent test! I still don't plan on running canned fuel. I don't understand why people would buy that stuff. My cost to run 50 gallons of pump gas (87 octane, with ethanol) with Sta-Bil and Stihl Ultra oil is $398.21. Per gallon, that's at $3.71 for gas, $0.29 for Sta-Bil and $3.99 for the oil. To run 50 gallons of the Stihl fuel, I would pay $1,497.50. No thanks. I'll run pump gas, treat it, and have $1,100 for a new saw, if I even need it. Nonetheless, thank you again for a great test!
I have found that my saws run better on an octane around 90. Running 87 they definitely do not perform as well. Similarly we tried 100 octane and that did not produce the best results either.
I enjoyed the test you did, very good for research. I have been looking for the best fuel to store a few cans. I read the manual with my stihl ms362 and it said 93 octane keeps the engines from heating up to much. Most of my vehicles are lower than 10.2 compression and have computers so I only buy 87 for those.
Wondering if you checked the timing on the meteor cylinders? Have used several on ms460 and there seem to be quiet a difference from cylinder to cylinder?
I like small can the one quart from can easily and refill with funnel well. I put the can in a box and mix in the gas can at gas station about 30 to 1.
1- Get a certified safety fuel can. 2 - Go to your local small airport and buy 91 octane "auto gas". No ethanol no lead. 3 - Mix your own for about a quarter of what canned fuel costs.
Great post Rodney! Premixed fuels are VERY EXPENSIVE. At Lowes, premixed fuels range from $20-$25 for 110 ounces (128 ounces in a gallon). In north Florida, 89 octane non ethanol gas is readily available for $3.50 a gallon. To stabilize your fuel, you can add Stabil (30 cents) or Sea Foam (45 cents) per gallon. Its your money.
In Canada most of our gas stations offer ethanol-free, it’s pretty good stuff, like you said for about 1/4 the price… but then again that gas is for cars not small engines so it’s nice to have the option especially if you are an ocassional user, for pros I think they would go with the cheaper option
Rodneygd I live on the Great Lakes. The fuel stations sell non-ethanol fuel in premium and mid-grade. I wonder how the price compares to air ports? Either way it’s gotta be cheaper than the engineered fuels.
Aviation gas still contains a large percentage of aromatics, which are actually a lot more harmful both for your health, and the health of your small engine than ethanol. Check out Steve's Small Engine Saloon's video on this very topic. Your best bet is to spring for the Stihl pre-mixed gas, especially if you're a homeowner. One gallon of gas goes a long, long way in a small engine, even in a powerful chainsaw. The work done by the tool on a gallon of gas should justify the $30 price tag many times over on a big job.
Did you note when was the fuel made? There should be a production date on all of the cans, and I have found that some fuel can be as much as 6 months old before it is even purchased. Your tear down and visual inspection shows the efficiency of combustion, and I wonder whether the age of the fuel makes a difference. I would have liked to see how much power the saw makes running on each fuel, as for me, that's probably the biggest reason to use premium fuel over pump gas. And if power is not important, then the only other reason to use this fuel is to hopefully to avoid the inconsistency of pump gas and the occasional issues associated with pump gas.
Been mixing 5 gallons at a time with seafoam and good oil with red armor, never had a problem with anything running or starting in 15 years, canned fuel is a waste of money unless you just can’t get good fuel
Since the mid80's I've used Race Gas with Klotz oil in every 2stroke with out any trouble the last gal of oil was $45 gas $10. = avg about $15 gal of mix gas
Husqvarna 50:1 is $30 I have Husqvarna equipment and I use that brand, I'm not committed to it by no means but good fuel is hard to come by these days and it does great so far. If a service station would put in a 95 Octane Ethanol Free pump they'd make a killing because there's no option other than can fuel meeting that criteria.
@@nicke1903 well for saws and nearly all outdoor power equipment you want the lowest octane e-free available.. higher octane just loses power on these engines
Ok just a carb tuning question was this saw an auto tune? Or did you keep the same hi low settings, Or was it need to touch up the hi low with easy fuel test. And you mention smell is it the oil smell, or the fuel smell Mix.? Ok Very in depth testing you did.
Sithl has a lot of Black carbon on the top of that piston seems to me like it took it from the other area and settled on top of the piston I don’t see how you think it’s cleaner
Will the Husqvarna XP+ 110-fl oz 50:01:00 Ethanol Free Pre-blended 2-cycle Fuel work with my Husqvarna 150bt backpack blower and my Husqvarna Heavy Duty Chainsaw 440?
Wow!!! That was a great video and holy cow a lot of work and money with all the fuel and parts. Very impressive I hope you make your $$$ back from UA-cam revenues.
STHIL Moto Mix is £20 for 5 litres and Tesco momentum 99 RON IS £1.35 /BP Ultimate 97 RON IS £1.54 / Shell V-Power 99 RON £1.43 all per litre and 5 litres of STHIL HP super £35 lasts a while. I think it’s a mix of the ethanol and Some additives in some pump fuels that stops the 2 stroke oil from lubricating properly. I have ran Avgas in chainsaws before with no ill effect.
If you want to use car-type petrol, then there's a UA-cam video that tested them all and came to the conclusion that Texaco Premium petrol was the best and had the least ethanol in it, even compared to other E5 fuels. I use Aspen Fuel for my chainsaws and strimmers, but switched out all my stored petrol for the wife's car and replaced it with Texaco Premium plus Sta-bil fuel preserver. Seems to have good longevity.
I like this video, good job at considerable time and expense. I ran more than 10 tanks of Ultramar 91 and Stihl / Castrol mix through my new 500i before I took it to get ported. Machinist said rings had not fully seated yet, looked like new inside. Porting the 500i did not give it much more rpm, but rather more torque, very impressive saw.
Man, you went way above and beyond for this demo! You put some $$$ into this testing. Much appreciated!👍🏼👍🏼
i know im asking randomly but does someone know a tool to log back into an Instagram account?
I was stupid forgot the password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me.
@Louie Ryder Thanks so much for your reply. I found the site through google and I'm in the hacking process now.
I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Louie Ryder It worked and I finally got access to my account again. Im so happy:D
Thanks so much you saved my account !
@Jabari Quinton glad I could help :)
and plany of time Respect+
I really like the way you did your testing and the way you presented your findings. These tests are the best I have seen on UA-cam so far. Good job men! Carry on smartly. That is all.
Thank you Sir.
@@Redbull661 I second that 💯💯
That's interesting about the octane rating. The highest non-ethanol we have around here is 87, so I have used Tru-Fuel 40:1 because it's the cheapest around here, and I figured higher octane was better. It's also nice that the shelf life on these canned fuels is a bit longer.
I can't thank you enough for y'all time and effort and expense you put into this! I greatly appreciate it! Thank you guys!
Thank you Sir. FYI - stihl manual says 89 octane or higher. I've done a few gas tests (search my vids) 89 and 91 came out on top. I myself do not use canned gas I run 91 ethanol free. I do that because I have the theory that fresh gas is best and I think most people buy either 87 or 91 (the cheap regular stuff or if they buy premium they buy the most expensive premium...for me that is 87 and 91 around here).
@@Redbull661 Thank you again!
Here in Texas, the QuikTrip gas stations sell 90 octane non ethanol. Perfect for saws
I use VP, it is a full gallon, but my saw performs great using it. I have never used anything but the canned premix in my saws. This was a great example of testing and I know it was expensive to do. Thanks for you doing this!
thanks!
i use the VP in all my small engines 2 and 4 stroke.. one thing i noticed in my saws is i had to adjust the carbs when i switched from pump gas they were real sluggish on the VP before i adjusted them
@@aj9270 that’s understandable. Pump gas is 10% ethanol and ethanol is an oxygenate so you would have to adjust you saw. I’m guessing you had to lean out the saw?
I got a 5 gal of VP - for all my tools - My pro blower is a REDMAX EBZ8001 BLOWER - it stopped reving up - problem was excessive oil in VP. I changed everything got new Carb/Air Filter/gas lines/gas tank filter /spark plug and coil Assyrian - no difference - decided to change the carb back to original one and a table spoon of oil came out of the carb/air box. On video as proof I drained the VP gas and filled with TruFuel back to 100% operation - hmmm - on video I changed it back to VP and back to no revving - I contacted VP with video proof - they say they have not had any feedback like this - thanks I am out of pocket - wasted downtime and useless fuel - they said they were going to get a sample back from me - that was Dec 21 - its middle of March 22. Hmmm!!!! Thanks for a great video.
I must adjust the carb on my husky saws every time I change a different brand canned mix. Emissions requirements have made all 2-stroke fuel systems extremely sensitive to variations in mix viscosity. The carburetor passages are so tiny that any slight variation in viscosity will cause it to run leam or rich. Alcohol content will affect viscosity.
The blackened pistons shows the saw was simply running too rich, not that the mix itself was the cause, or better or worse than others.
Learning to read your own spark plug to see what's going on inside, and learning to adjust your carb accordingly is a must if you want to tune your own saws. Sticking with the exact same mix that the saw is tuned for is key. If you think mixing your own fuel heavy, at 32/1 or 40/1 will make your saw last longer than 50/1, you are wrong. More oil increases viscosity, and can actually cause a modern 2-stroke to run too lean, and blow up. Mix exactly as specified.
Husky & Still tune their saws at the factory with their mix and recommend customers only using their mix for this reason, not just to make money selling canned fuel.
Old 2-stroke (pre-emissions) regularly fouled plugs, slugs, and jugs because they just ran rich and smoked a lot. Scraping the crud off the internals was just regular maintenance.
Today, you are much more likely to score or blow your top end than ever foul a plug.
I dispose of stale 2 stroke fuel (>2 months old) into my riding lawn mower.
Also, if mixing g your own, sealed fuel cans are a must with ethanol fuel. Period. Yeah, they all suck. But a vented can will breathe, and pump air in and out of the container, which accelerates oxidation and the ethanol draws moisture out the exchanged air and into the fuel.
1 drop of sepsrated water will plug the internal carburetor screen. Less can partially block it and make it run lean and/or cause it to keep dying and make it hard starting.
Bottom line: The government screwed up 2-strokes with extreme emissions regulations and with ethanol fuel mandates. To the point of it being a marvel of engineering that they even run at all, let alone run for more than a hour or 2 without seizing up.
Thank you, I've been telling people for years that adding too much oil is bad as it will cause the engine to run lean!
What you say is very true. I have been selling Husqvarna saws for 40+ years, and running them for 45. The bottom line is today's rule for saws for sure!
You are one of 3 people that I have actually heard say that running a heavy oil mixture is not good, and I agree. It's extremely hard for people to grasp the idea that running more oil may do more harm than good. Also, I constantly tell people to tighten the cap and vent on their gas cans tight, so there is no exchange of moisture rich outside air with the gas/air inside. You know what they said, It'll blow up !! lol.
When mixing your own with premium fuel, be sure to put a few gallons in your rig's tank before filling up your 2-stroke jug. The hose and supply line at the pump hold a lot of fuel, usually cheap low octane.
I always instruct folks to do that. I put two gallons in my pickup before filling my gas can every time!
There's a sunoco near my work that has a separate pump for the ethanol free fuel, that's by far my preference since you know you're not getting a hose and filter full of 87.
I agree. I’ve done some testing of different pumps at a couple of gas stations and see ethanol contamination in the premium fuel but only at pumps that use one single hose for 3 different grades of fuel. Pumps that have separate hoses dedicated to each grade of fuel did not have cross contamination of ethanol fuel
It was good to point that out. I'm sure a lot of folks would not have think about that.
Wow, one of the best tests of any kind I've seen. Terrific effort and expense to get this done, thanks!
Thanks!
Good test. Nice to see where there’s leftover carbon and where there was visible oil in the bottom end. Also appreciated the comments about how they each smelled. I’m an old engineer and there are two things I wonder about with these premixed/stabilized fuels. The first is what type of oil is in the mix. In regular season I run premium ethanol free gas and mix it with JASO “D” or better spec oil. I do not trust API spec stuff because API does not test. But I haven’t seen the actual oil spec on any of the premix stuff I’ve bought. The oil may also be acting as an octane modifier. The second thing it would be nice to know is the actual chemistry of the gasoline. It is possible to have a lower octane rating and yet still have a higher energy density fuel, depending on the proportion of short and long chain hydrocarbon molecules in the gasoline (how it was refined). Which might account for your perception that the TruFuel was a little “snappier”.
Just recently purchased a new Stihl MS180. Salesman relayed the information from Stihl that they highly recommend 92 octane minimum. Saw starts flawlessly. And rips through wood. So I will keep with the 92 octane fuel. Great comparison, double thumbs up!
I'm from BC Canada where the climate varies not only through the year but throughout different altitudes all year...I was brought up with if you're mixing the fuel you buy the the top octane because when you mix it dilutes it a tiny bit(bah idk if that's the case) but I must say of my great grandpa being in the logging industry and my dad and both grandpa's having firewood saws and now me having my own for firewood.....I haven't seen one issue related to fuel
@@stevenlaxton3618 well you certainly have the background and a wealth of knowledge to draw from. I was a bit skeptical about buying the 180 from all of the bad reviews about not restarting when warm. I have yet to have any issues. The salesman quashed my apprehension. Merry Christmas
Sir, I just purchased a new Chainsaw after I 'blew up my old saw because of my adding a fuel additive in hope of bettering performance. I wished I had watched this video before I started adding a fuel additive I probably would have saved myself a lot of money and am certain I would still be enjoying my old chainsaw as well. Your video is an excellent instructor for fuel and chainsaws. Thank you
Now I understand why some people buy this expensive stuff. Thank you.
This is such a thorough and amazing test, thank you so much! I’m running a husky 460 rancher on their 50:1 mix, and my craftsman 46cc on a True Fuel 40:1- looks like I’ll be switching to the Stihl brand fuel....
What's wrong with the husky fuel?
My understanding of octane in relation to 2 stroke engines is that it should be higher because they run at hotter temperatures. A car engine with 7:1 compression is liquid cooled and stays below 250 degrees, but a 2 stroke chainsaw motor will be closer to 400 degrees.
The higher octane is a good thing because adding oil to gas lowers the octane. Starting out with a high octane fuel is better because you don't want the oil to drop the octane below 87. Probably why Husqvarna uses 95 octane fuel to mix with the oil so you still wind up with a higher octane fuel after mixing.
great job with your demo, I've found that once you've used your premix and say let it sit before using it again for 2 or 3 months the best for holding its integrity was Stihl's , then Husquarna's . Never used Tru Fuel or Echo red , but the VP seemed to sour faster and had starting issues, so I quit using it and haven't had the carburetor issues since.
Excellent comparison. Very well thought out and analyzed. It would be great to see a baseline of self-mixed fuel results to truly see the improvements. The prices of each fuel tested also vary, so I assume a value comparison is difficult. I would highly recommend this to anyone using 2-cycle engine.
I love these fuels. It may be expensive but my saw and weed eater go through under 3 gallons between them, at 20 or 25 bucks a gallon that's a good price to avoid carb rebuilds, any potential ethanol issues and possibly longer life.
Not brand loyal, I've used stihl and trufuel.
Nice effort guys - Thanks!. Two things though, I would have like to have seen the results of using pump gas as a final convincer, and the cost difference in using pump gas and simply rebuilding the carb regularly. $24-30 for a gallon of fuel is pretty steep...
I wouldnt use Pump gas, that even with YOUR Equipment.. that's Trash, with Sketchy Guesswork
Understood, if you add up all costs it can be cheaper to accept any issues with pump gasoline, but I think they are testing this type of fuel for Joe Average who wouldn't even know that his chainsaw has a carburettor. Very good point, though. It's like a professional mechanic said to me once when I asked him if he thought "Snap-On" tools were worth the money; he said I never buy them, I can buy six cheap sockets, have a new one every few months and still be monetarily better-off. If Joe Average (ab)uses a chainsaw and throws it away after two-three years, he might consider that acceptable in money terms if he can buy the chainsaws cheaply from a Big-Box Store and run them on cheap gasoline. The same calculation is skewed in the opposite direction for a person who must heat his cabin with wood, has paid 4-5 times as much for a good saw, lives up in the tree-line in the middle of nowhere and values his equipment. Thanks for reminding me of that.
Steve's Small Engine Saloon had a video that identified how the engineered fuel is better for your small engine, but this video shows the outcome of using such a product.Thanks a ton for the time, effort, not to mention money that went into this demonstration. Appreciate everything! Cheers!!!
Steves video on the stihl fuel brought me here too hahahaha
@@stevenlaxton3618 Me too. The exact reason I started using Trufuel at the end of a season. Chickanic just did a video on some issues related to Trufuel as well. I believe I may be switching over to Motomix going forward
@@rick391 I run ethanol free pump94 octane froma local station and was using red armor mix but am trying old-school Castrol 2t for fun..but picked up a can of the VP 50:1 and will be trying it soon as well too...I haven't been able cut much yet this year but have to get my grandparents some wood here soon so the old pioneer 1110 won't go too hungry 😀
@@stevenlaxton3618 Hey Steve, I run 93 ethanol free in all my small engines with hp ultra for my 50:1 mix. As mentioned earlier in here, if your gas station only has one pump for all gas choices (instead of a dedicated pump for each gas choice), make sure to pump a few gallons in your car before putting any in your gas can. I also use Stabil 360 Marine in my gas/gas mixes as I don't use it up real fast. I used to use Seafoam but a buddy with alot of experience had some issues with Seafoam and switched to the Stabill and recommended using it. As mentioned previously, I only ran the Trufuel at the end of season for my machines but am gonna give Motomix a try instead.
Wow that is a crazy effort! Now you have a life time worth of top ends for that saw. Very well done. In my opinion the gas that leaves the most oil in the crank case is the best for longevity. Iv'e been running tru fuel 40:1 for a little over a year now in everything with good results. But I have so many saws that none of them end up getting used all that much. Some of this new clean burning and low smoke oil make me nervous, you take an engine apart with some of that oil and everything is dry inside. I like more smoke than less and seeing lots of oil in the engine rather than worrying about how clean it burns. Great test sir!
I used the Tru Fuel in my weed eater and chain saw. After using it for a month I had trouble in both
Pieces of equipment with residue build up which created starting problems. Had to have the carbs cleaned,.
Went back to mixing my own fuel. No more problems.
thanks for the feedback.
*WOW* that's quite some effort!
You deserve a crazy watch count
thanks
@@Redbull661 sure 👍🏽🙏🏽 Say, are you used to mostly using the dawgs or it was a decision to put more resistance when possible?
@@Redbull661 What's the best oil to gas ratio ???
@@Sensei948 overall I'd say 40:1 depends on some factors. But 40:1 would be my go to for anything.
@@Redbull661 i.e. for saws and trimmers 1:40 Ls +? or 1:33? 1:33 will there be a lot more carbon deposit?
I’m not a pro user but my MS311 works well on TruFuel. It works equally well with Stihl oil mixed with Quick Trip ethanol free 89 octane to which I may add a couple ounces of Sea Foam. I only cut three to four hours at a time when I cut and have never had any fuel issues. I use a 20” Stihl bar with a full chisel skip chain (RSF). Great comparison video. Thanks for the effort.
Thanks for the video! I use the Red Armor, been running it for four years as a home owner. A mix of Stihl and Echo commercial equipment. I can get ethanol free gas at the station, right now it is over $7 a gallon here locally. I have never used it, I wonder about water in the fuel from sitting in the underground tank. And yes, I know about the water separators, etc... Most gas stations around here cannot even clean their bathrooms, so I think what must they be doing in regards to pump maintenance? I'll continue to pay the vig, never had an issue with the Red Armor.
I’ve only had experience with the TruFuel, and the Husqvarna Pre mix, and have had good luck with the Husqvarna. This fuel setup is so expensive, but like my local Shop Tech says, if the saw, trimmer, whatever has infrequent use, it’s better than pump gas and oil mix.
A Stihl Dealer told me long long time ago, when mixing pump gas, go with the high octane. He went to some Fuel School training, so I figured he knew what he was talking about. I don’t think it makes much difference with all these pre mix brands, like you all said. I only use Ethanol free (supposedly) from my local gas and go store, to mix 50:1. Have not had any issues. I use the Husqvarna XP oil. My little 345 is coming up on 14 years, and still going!
I gotta say, that Stihl and bar combo looks sweet, and sounds and runs sweet! Your saw skills are good! I think it ran a little better with the Husky Premix? 🤔 😂 Again, appreciate the effort to make this video! Peace! 👍✌🏻🇺🇸
I've always had good results with the Husqvarna pre-mix. Plus I love the smell. Always has a new Husky tool smell lol. I think his saw ran best on it too
Hey man I teally appreciate this video dude, honestly one of the BEST reviews and tests I've seen on here. Very in depth and detailed on what you did. Gave me a great deal of insight.
Thanks!
Check out Aspen Fuel if you can get it. No smell and cleaner than those. Great comparison, that was a pricy one!
Just came across this video and you really went above and beyond!! Best video on canned gas ever. I’d have expected VP to look cleaner as that’s all that they do. I’ve tried Tru Fuel in my new string trimmer and it was horrible. Lacked power and was slow to rev up. Went back to pump gas and Bel Ray oil like I’ve used in all of my 2 strokes for 30 plus years. Runs like a top now. Thank you for doing this video!
Chainsaws may only have a 7 to 1 compression ratio, but I've noticed a huge difference from running 87 octane to 93. The 93 just seems to make it run smoother all around, especially when it's warm out and the saw starts getting a little hotter than normal. Weird shit.
Thank you for putting the effort and resources into this video. I personally don’t feel you could go wrong with any of them but I appreciate the transparency and method of your experiment.
Very interesting test!
Thank you!
Some notes that I've found out during years: I'm from europe, and here I usually buy 100 octane premium pump gas with 10%Ethanol in it. Not the octane is making me buy that gas, but the aditives that it has. I get a more clean burn with that gas as I would use a regular 95 octane pump gas.
For the las year I used in my brushcutter that premium gas and Stihl Hp Ultra at 40:1. Very low carbon build up on the exhaust port(on the main flow starts to build up), the piston has build up on it, just as you showed us in this video and the combustion chamber has also little build up.
All the best and a Happy New Year!
thanks!
I wanted to search for this 10 months ago...good thing I waited. Love how VP Racing lumps all the hydrocabons together on the SDS so they don't have to list hazards individually, unlike TruFuel.
Very good testing. Only thing I didn't see was each plug after running.
This was very informative, would have loved to see the 40:1 test. The stihl non ethanol premix as it compared to ethanol fuel comment really hit me. Thanks
You Sir are providing a valuable public service, I commend your efforts. Do you plan to test the Aspen 2 and Aspen 4 products produced in Sweden? From my research it is an even cleaner burning fuel at a competitive price point. I’m meeting a rep in a few weeks to purchase a 5.3 gallon container of the Aspen2 and 4, for $92.00 each. My experience over the years is using 93 octane non meth with synthetic Stihl with a stabilization and maybe getting 6 months before having problems. I can store the 93 oct longer than the 87 oct, the only two available near me and I believe Stihl and Husky require 90 oct. thanks man!
i was using tru fuel but i started using my saws too much for cost. i buy the ethanol free stuff and mix my own and mix in 1 gal can. i liked seeing all the pistons and jugs afterwards. i think the biggest thing really is shelf life and having to drain the gas if saw sits for anytime. i watched one guy using stabill and the gas was trash. i saw this in my sisters mower that wouldnt start. i drained gas in a jug and then later poured some out and tried to light. would not light at all and it had stabil in it. i think all that stuff is crap after this and will not use. i just keep small quanity of gas and mix small amounts as needed
interesting.
I think Project Farm or someone did a test with gas preservatives and came to the same conclusion, that they were junk. I think the best thing is, if you know that any tool is gonna be stored for a while is, run some 2 stroke mix/ethanol free gas through it, until it stalls and hope for the best ?
Thank you for this post. I cannot even fathom the amount of effort you put in to do this video. There’s a good video on all the garbage that is in the gas for cars on the small engine saloon. So if you look on there, he has an entire list of all the additives and stuff that’s in gasoline that shouldn’t be in there for your small engine. Be blessed my friend. Thanks again. John.
Nice job fellows. I always wondered about the differences (and if there really was a difference) between these pre-mixed fuels. Thanks for the information.
In EU there's Aspen 2T mix. Cost 25 bucks per 5 liter. Mostly i add some extra Castrol A747 oil to it. 50 :1 is too hot. 40:1 im using in my 270 and 441. Marine fuel is rare to get here. Bio ethanol in regular fuel is bad for saws.
Bio diesel is killing a ton of tractors here in the U.S I've heard.
I've been running Husqvarna canned fuel for 4 years in my trimmers. In my oldest one its a Husqvarna 223L it has a lot of hours and heavy use in ditches and around a pond bank with thick nasty weeds and absolutely zero signs of wear or issues. I'll keep using the Husqvarma especially since I have to adjust my carbs when I've tried different brands of canned fuel.
I only run these canned fuels for the last tank of the season. They’re all really good but too expensive to use a lot of.
Have you seen Sunoco race fuel came out with some pre mix fuel of their own I'd love to see a part two with Sunoco fuel, Echo red armor, Walmart SEF 2 stroke, and Super S super-fuel. Other than the red armor there's absolutely nothing on most of those other pre mix fuels. It makes you wonder if $4 a can gas could be as good as $13 a can gas, or if either of them are as good as regular old gas & oil
I always add Seafoam to any 2 stroke fuel even that premixed. I let my little echo sit and warm up for 5 minutes just idling.
Marvel mystery oil is better. can use it in the gas and oil
Fantastic, what a Time and Money investment, thank you so much ..!!
"RESISTANCE TO DETONATION" What a great way to phrase it. I'm going to quote you on that. I have tried and tried to explain this to people including my mechanic friends and they just refuse to believe or understand. Everybody I know thinks the higher octane fuel has more power or energy and is more easily combustible than lower octane fuel. Quite the opposite.
Great video.
Excellent review!
Now you have me thinking about my pump-gas plans..
there will be more tests this summer :)
All these higly pure fuels are in fact same type(alkylated). Just simply the best for small engines (and especially for winterizing them). Never had any kind of fuel related issues with it or decrease of power. Many seasons and long periods of sitting wasn't an issue. Sadly it's expensive.
Agreed, but @chickanic definitely found issues with Trufuel in her Small Engine Workshop that I've never seen having used Aspen Fuel in the UK for a long time. I thought that they must be nearly the same, but maybe not, judging by this video.
yes, Trufuel and VPfuel are not alkylated(synthetic) but highly purified
Man if you use a chain saw all the time and you bought 20.00 dollar plus fuel just to keep your saw running longer is ok. But you spend so much money on the fuel you could save that money and just buy a new saw. You would spend hundreds of dollars just buying great fuel. Don’t add up. Great video hats off to you! Buy non ethanol and you good quality oils to mix with.
I would like to add this: those fuels you tested are great and no doubt would not gum up a carburetor when you store your your equipment. They definitely have a place. And if you can afford the best then why not.
I agree but if the saw performs like crap on the cheap fuel, that might just drive me crazy !
Agreed. Someone further up the comments suggested that you could also use regular gasoline during the season and just switch to canned fuel for the last couple of fills before storing the machinery. However in Sweden I think they mandate the use of alkylated fuel (Aspen) if you have employees (Health & Safety legislation). Sweden is heavy on the liberal attitudes.
That saw sounds amazing with the Dual port!
In UK I have not seen much pre-mix fuel. I just buy 20 litres of regular Petrol, in a Jerry-Can. Then add 100 ml of two stroke oil to 5 litres, to make 50:1. If i want 40:1 for a new engine, I mix 125ml to every 5 litre. Havn't met any motor cycle guys that use pre-mix in Cans.
Wow, this really took some time. I might have missed this but was the air filter clean with each cylinder change? Thanks so much for this video. Very interesting but not surprised with the Stihl fuel.
The VP fuel says 1 gallon on the can. Trufuel 110 ounces. At my local store they are both the same price so with VP you get just a little more fuel for your money. It kinda smells like racing fuel which is cool too. The only place I've seen motomix for sale is asking over $30 a can which is just wild. Overall, what a test! I appreciate the time and money that went into this.
Personally I think that high octane fuel is better for chainsaws because they work so hard.
THANK YOU for the time you put into this stuff. Really appreciate it and cool to see the data
thank you sir
Usually I don't write any comments on UA-cam, but thank you for a hell of a job you've done and shared with us. I do my own premixes and I'm working with Husky, Stihl and Oregon oils. My premix consumption is approx. 15 liters (4 galons) per week. So this was quite informative for me when you showed the oiling difference between Husky and Stihl oils. Thank you once again and greetings from Finland, EU.
I would prefer mobil 1 or motul 800 off rd over these. This is just canned gas. It's been my experience the oils in these canned gases do not work as well with gas you buy at the pump/gas station.
@@Redbull661 Thanks mate, roger that.
Good comparison ...however my concern is the build up on the top of the piston. Strange how Stihl had the cleanest bore and exhaust outlet but the dirtiest piston.
i agree.
Awesome vid!! Quick story about Stijl ultra. Got a hand me down trimmer and I removed the muffler to inspect and the piston was black. I ran mixed Stijl ultra not the pre mix for like three weekends worth of sacking and inspected the exhaust side of the piston again and The ultra completely cleaned the skirt like new almost.
thanks!
My small engine mechanic said my chainsaw had straight gas in my Husqvarna 440. Which I used the True-flow 50:1 gas. It ran rough then wouldn't start after a few cursed pulls. The cylinder walls were scored. I think the saw is ruined.
In my neck of the woods high octane fuel is the only fuel that will be ethanol free. And only some high octane fuel at that. Thanks for a great comparison.
Personally I'll just buy the 90 octane ethanol free from the pump (luckily I got one local) or I'll buy 87 e-10 and do a water/ethanol extraction.. it lowers the octane to 84-85 or so but chainsaws don't mind even the high compression ones, they're not like 12:1 4 strokes
I would like to see a comparison to Harvest King 2 stroke gas. Its considarbly less money. I like their grease and use it my tractors and equipment for decades with no problems. Kind of hard to find I get from D&B supply.
Very best comparison and presentation on using premixed fuel. This information is a good guide for potential storage of unit also. Thanks for the very comprehensive and informative explanations presented with resultant engine take-downs showing internal components.
Of all the fuels, the only one I wouldn't run, is "True fuel". The other 3 seem really good. The only reason I would run Husqvarna, is because it's among the cleanest, performs well, and it's the least expensive.
To be honest, It's much cheaper, to just buy a 6-pack of 2.7 Oz bottles of oil, and mix it myself with 1 gallon of gasoline. It costs me less than $6.50 a gallon, for good fuel mix. I typically run Echo, or Stihl 2-stroke oil in Chevron gasoline. I'm most confident, with an OEM branded oil, though I'm not afraid to run Stihl oil in an Echo leaf blower, or Echo oil in a Stihl chainsaw. BTW, A gallon is 128 fluid ounces of fuel, 130.6 Oz, counting the volume of the oil added. That's almost a full tank of fuel for a string trimmer or leaf blower for free, compared to the volume of fuel in a premix can!
Great demonstration. All that effort ut in. coulda used a brighter flashlight though tk get a better look. Top of piston looks best on the VP though
Ive got an old MTD trimmer that i have had for almost 25 years, save your money on this canned fuel, you dont need it. i use premium unleaded/40:1 mix, at the end of the year i do 1 thing, the last time it gets run for the season, i drain all the fuel out of the tank, restart and let trimmer run until it acts like it is running out of gas, flip choke on and continue to run until it quits, thats it, its ready until next season. only once in 25 years i had the carb apart to replace diaphragm that had become stiff with age. Ive watched videos about the canned fuels compared to pump gas, Ive noticed a lot of the canned fuels don't allow engine to develop full rpms, even in some cases harder to start. save your money on this stuff.
Also the MotoMix is the only fuel here that is Alkalyte fuel. Completely different in my opinion. Spill a little of the MotoMix on your hand and within seconds you cant smell anything. Do that with the rest and you smell like gas for a long time. Look into Alkalyte fuel. So many benefits to health as well. When you breath in the exhaust. MotoMix is more on par with Aspen fuel. If not running MotoMix I think VP is the next best but again without the added benefits of being an Alkalyte fuel. Additionally I see the VP can says 3785ml and I think that's 128oz and that should be 1 gallon. I agree some of the others like the red can and XP are short
NOT Autotune. M-Tronic!! Yes it does the same thing but just call it an ECU so we dont confuse people. Nice job on the test.
Great comparison. Thank's for all the your research , time and money you put into your videos. Great information for all. Thank you!
These are the videos I LOVE to see!!!!
: )
Aspen is my personal favorite, alkylated gas, no smell at all, especially with a good oil. It also lasts up to 5-6 years guaranteed by the manufacturer, compared to 1-2 years for regular ethanol-free pump gas. Longest I ever had it in was a trimmer, 3 years untouched (left in a cabin up in the mountains), smell didn't change at all when I opened the tank, the machine started in 4-5 pulls, then 1-2 pulls afterwards. It's all I use around here, pump gas is sadly all ethanol where I live and all my 2-strokes are pro tools so I don't want to cheap out on gas.
Are you in Europe? Haven’t been able to find it in Michigan.
@@larryreno8293
Yes, Aspen Fuel is sold mainly in Europe (it's from Sweden) and they advertise it heavily as being extremely clean and with no benzene, for use in Swedish forests where the build-up of exhaust fumes in still air is supposed to be an issue with car gasoline. From what I can make out (but may be completely wrong), the Husqvarna canned fuel is almost equivalent to Aspen fuel. I leave Aspen fuel in my generator for years with no issues and with no starting problems (I run it for fifteen minutes per month if it's not actually in use).
Holy Moly... Now that's a comparison test! Great Job! You went all out on this one. Looking for the 40:1 video.
Pretty interesting video. Thanks for going through the trouble to make it. Some of us are really interested in issues like this in order to ensure the performance of our saws and their longevity. I wonder did you do a break inperiod of any sort each time you switched cylinder and piston? Maybe I’m a little paranoid but I always do a break-in. When I rebuild a saw I run it at 40:1 on the first three tanks to break it in. Maybe it’s not necessary, but I like my stuff to last as long as it possibly can.
I run 40:1 all the time with 93 pump octane, with a synthetic 2 stroke oil and a little bit of marine gas preservative. Seems to do pretty good.
@@augustreil tell me! what does marine gas preservative mean???
This is absolutely amazing results!! I use VP 4cycle fuel and full synthetic oil and mix myself. I do agree with you on the smells VP fuel in my opinion isn't that bad of a smell. I've been running my equipment this way for a long time. I was using Tru-Fuel, but started using VP and like it much better than Tru- fuel. Fantastic job on these comparisons. This must have taken a long time and cost alot to do?? I greatly appreciate you doing this video. Wish I'd have seen it when you first posted it. You got another sub good Sir
thanks!
Chainsaws and science. Thank you for your videos. This is a top notch channel.
Excellent test!
I still don't plan on running canned fuel. I don't understand why people would buy that stuff. My cost to run 50 gallons of pump gas (87 octane, with ethanol) with Sta-Bil and Stihl Ultra oil is $398.21. Per gallon, that's at $3.71 for gas, $0.29 for Sta-Bil and $3.99 for the oil. To run 50 gallons of the Stihl fuel, I would pay $1,497.50. No thanks. I'll run pump gas, treat it, and have $1,100 for a new saw, if I even need it.
Nonetheless, thank you again for a great test!
I have found that my saws run better on an octane around 90. Running 87 they definitely do not perform as well. Similarly we tried 100 octane and that did not produce the best results either.
troytreeguy I find anything in the 80’s it starts to run to hot and then come the issues of it cutting out and trouble restarting again.
I enjoyed the test you did, very good for research. I have been looking for the best fuel to store a few cans. I read the manual with my stihl ms362 and it said 93 octane keeps the engines from heating up to much. Most of my vehicles are lower than 10.2 compression and have computers so I only buy 87 for those.
3 of the 4 here are made by VP
Aspen would have been worth testing to compare to these.
22 minutes of my life I will never get back!!!
Great video. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
Wondering if you checked the timing on the meteor cylinders? Have used several on ms460 and there seem to be quiet a difference from cylinder to cylinder?
I like small can the one quart from can easily and refill with funnel well. I put the can in a box and mix in the gas can at gas station about 30 to 1.
1- Get a certified safety fuel can.
2 - Go to your local small airport and buy 91 octane "auto gas". No ethanol no lead.
3 - Mix your own for about a quarter of what canned fuel costs.
Great post Rodney! Premixed fuels are VERY EXPENSIVE. At Lowes, premixed fuels range from $20-$25 for 110 ounces (128 ounces in a gallon). In north Florida, 89 octane non ethanol gas is readily available for $3.50 a gallon. To stabilize your fuel, you can add Stabil (30 cents) or Sea Foam (45 cents) per gallon. Its your money.
@I am Joe No at the airport they call it auto gas. Completely different pump than the avgas
In Canada most of our gas stations offer ethanol-free, it’s pretty good stuff, like you said for about 1/4 the price… but then again that gas is for cars not small engines so it’s nice to have the option especially if you are an ocassional user, for pros I think they would go with the cheaper option
Rodneygd I live on the Great Lakes. The fuel stations sell non-ethanol fuel in premium and mid-grade. I wonder how the price compares to air ports? Either way it’s gotta be cheaper than the engineered fuels.
Aviation gas still contains a large percentage of aromatics, which are actually a lot more harmful both for your health, and the health of your small engine than ethanol. Check out Steve's Small Engine Saloon's video on this very topic. Your best bet is to spring for the Stihl pre-mixed gas, especially if you're a homeowner. One gallon of gas goes a long, long way in a small engine, even in a powerful chainsaw. The work done by the tool on a gallon of gas should justify the $30 price tag many times over on a big job.
Did you note when was the fuel made? There should be a production date on all of the cans, and I have found that some fuel can be as much as 6 months old before it is even purchased. Your tear down and visual inspection shows the efficiency of combustion, and I wonder whether the age of the fuel makes a difference. I would have liked to see how much power the saw makes running on each fuel, as for me, that's probably the biggest reason to use premium fuel over pump gas. And if power is not important, then the only other reason to use this fuel is to hopefully to avoid the inconsistency of pump gas and the occasional issues associated with pump gas.
Amazing test. Thank you very much for your hard and serious work.
Been mixing 5 gallons at a time with seafoam and good oil with red armor, never had a problem with anything running or starting in 15 years, canned fuel is a waste of money unless you just can’t get good fuel
Just for your own reference try some canned Echo Red Armor fuel sometime, it smells good and from what I hear Red Armor is great oil.
my zip code is 54016 - do you know where to buy it?
Love the echo love the smell lol. Saw runs very good. Cs590 bad saw!! Love it
I broke my 620p in on it. The smell reminds me of race fuel. The saws seem to love it.
Amazon ?
I purchase from farm store local or my echo dealer
Awesome awesome review thank you. Something about the store baught shelf fuel I just can't bring myself to run it.
Since the mid80's I've used Race Gas with Klotz oil in every 2stroke with out any trouble
the last gal of oil was $45 gas $10. = avg about $15 gal of mix gas
Why's the top of the piston so much dirtier for the Sthil? Other than that I like to use it.
Awesome test, very thorough and phenomenal effort and money were put into this! My hat is off to you sir!
Excellent comparison! Hope you both had a very Merry Christmas!
thank you. same to you!
Great job. That's a small fortune in top ends just for this video! Thanks for your efforts 😎👍
Crazy how the prices have changed since this came out. Stihl is now like 40$ a can, Husky is 27$, and VP is 27$. Im going with VP for my premix stuff.
Husqvarna 50:1 is $30 I have Husqvarna equipment and I use that brand, I'm not committed to it by no means but good fuel is hard to come by these days and it does great so far. If a service station would put in a 95 Octane Ethanol Free pump they'd make a killing because there's no option other than can fuel meeting that criteria.
@@nicke1903 well for saws and nearly all outdoor power equipment you want the lowest octane e-free available.. higher octane just loses power on these engines
You have to take into account the drop in octane when you mix in the oil. 87 is too low. No less than 91 for me.@@JoshNoss
Just found this. Great info. I didn’t see where anyone asked what chain your using for your 661. Thanks for responding if you find this.
“Intresting” is not a word.
“Defly” is not a word.
Ok just a carb tuning question was this saw an auto tune?
Or did you keep the same hi low settings,
Or was it need to touch up the hi low with easy fuel test.
And you mention smell is it the oil smell, or the fuel smell
Mix.?
Ok
Very in depth testing you did.
Sithl has a lot of Black carbon on the top of that piston seems to me like it took it from the other area and settled on top of the piston I don’t see how you think it’s cleaner
Will the Husqvarna XP+ 110-fl oz 50:01:00 Ethanol Free Pre-blended 2-cycle Fuel work with my Husqvarna 150bt backpack blower and my Husqvarna Heavy Duty Chainsaw 440?
Wow!!! That was a great video and holy cow a lot of work and money with all the fuel and parts. Very impressive I hope you make your $$$ back from UA-cam revenues.
thanks man!
STHIL Moto Mix is £20 for 5 litres and Tesco momentum 99 RON IS £1.35 /BP Ultimate 97 RON IS £1.54 / Shell V-Power 99 RON £1.43 all per litre and 5 litres of STHIL HP super £35 lasts a while. I think it’s a mix of the ethanol and Some additives in some pump fuels that stops the 2 stroke oil from lubricating properly. I have ran Avgas in chainsaws before with no ill effect.
AV gas doesn’t contain ethanol and has a higher RON rating. So that is understandable.
If you want to use car-type petrol, then there's a UA-cam video that tested them all and came to the conclusion that Texaco Premium petrol was the best and had the least ethanol in it, even compared to other E5 fuels. I use Aspen Fuel for my chainsaws and strimmers, but switched out all my stored petrol for the wife's car and replaced it with Texaco Premium plus Sta-bil fuel preserver. Seems to have good longevity.
I like this video, good job at considerable time and expense. I ran more than 10 tanks of Ultramar 91 and Stihl / Castrol mix through my new 500i before I took it to get ported. Machinist said rings had not fully seated yet, looked like new inside. Porting the 500i did not give it much more rpm, but rather more torque, very impressive saw.