Premium Gas and two stroke engines - Stihl BG86

[Bug512]

In October of 2008 I was looking for a gas leaf blower to replace one that was given to my Wife and I years before. I am a believer to when you make a purchase to buy the best that your money will allow at that time. So off to look at leaf blowers.. we have a small yard (55'X150' lot size) so I only needed it to blow off the public walkways and driveway, so I use it for 10 min a week then of course a little longer during the fall months.

What I wound up purchasing is a Stihl BG 86 Handheld Blower for $230. It has operated flawlessly up until this past weekend. With temperatures in the 50's I wanted to clean up the yard, so out to the garage, grab the blower and started it up. Within 10 min of operating it started to make a weird noise where the intake fan is. I shut it down and did some investigating, nothing found. So Monday I took it back to where I purchased it from, Tuesday I receive a phone call stating that the main bearings are bad and it is not worth to repair it.... WHAT !!!
I was asked what kind of oil I was using for the mix, "well I use the little containers that you sold me" I said. Oh... well what kind of gas do you use? "Hess" I replied.. No, what grade? "Regular" ... Oh.. you need to use premium with two stroke motors, especially with the ethanol that is in gas...

So I learned today that it is recommended to use 89 octane as per the Stihl owners manual. The dealer recommended that to use even a higher octane if possible.

So read your owners manual ! From my understanding the ethanol gas does lots of harm to older two stroke engines. The dealer where I purchased it from and Stihl are in conversation about this problem.

There are several websites on where you can buy gas that does not contain ethanol, one site is Buyrealgas.com

Good luck with your two stroke motors !!!

[TXiceman]

My Stihl chainsaw (4 years old), leaf blower (1 year old) and weed eater (2 years old) all run on regular and the Stihl 2 cycle oil and no problems.

Ken

[Bug512]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXiceman My Stihl chainsaw (4 years old), leaf blower (1 year old) and weed eater (2 years old) all run on regular and the Stihl 2 cycle oil and no problems. Ken

No problems now... Do you know if the gas you use has ethanol in it?

Again.. this was just a FYI to read the owners manual.

[Ray,IN]

Humm, I have two Stihl weedeaters. One is about 15 years old the other about 10. I use regular unleaded gas and generic two-stroke oil. They both run great and start easily. OTOH I use more oil than what the book says. It does no harm, just smokes a little. For instance, the book says 48-1, and I mix 40/1. This 2 cycle mixture calculator is quite handy: Easy_Oil - Oil to Fuel Mix Calculator 1.1 (Mobile), from Siegleco - Free Downloads on ZDNet | Shareware, Trialware, Evaluation Software to have on the desktop.

[Route 66]

I've always used regular as have everyone I know, in spite of the recommendation.

[W4MBG]

yep, regular here too. with some stabil. stihl and toro stuff.

[HD4Mark]

Regular unleaded in 2 stroke leaf blower, chain saw and trimmer. Do put premium in Evinrude outboard because the fuel gets stored longer and I did read that for storage premium with E2 works better. Add Sta-bil too.

Here is a link to a forum post that kind of disagrees with you dealer. It does sound like they might recommend at least 89 though. Best Octane for 2 cycle engines - Tool Shed Forum - GardenWeb

I do not think that after a small amount of use regular would cause bearing failure though so I'm calling BS on that.

[Gary - K7GLD]

The only non-ethanol fuel available here is the premium stuff - 92 octane as I recall - I use it in all my small engines and 2-stroke stuff - lawn mower, weed eater, Honda 2000 generator, Nissan 9.8 4-stroke outboard motor, and a couple of other small gas engines - all of them - they all seem to run better, and fewer concerns and problems as to the greater instability/poorer storage life of the ethanol stuff.

Actually, I also use the better stuff in the '88 Winnie 454 gasser as well - I figure the extra cost is better than potential fuel related issues with the 454 and the Onan generator - so far, so good.

Last I heard, there was a government movement afoot to increase the ethanol percentage to 15% nation wide - generating LOTS of flak from large and small engine makers - haven't heard much more on that lately, but I'm sure the movement to make the increase is still alive and well...

[TQ60]

I was told when I purchased our Stihl unit to use premium fuel period.

The saw was purchsed to rescue some of my techs who got stuck behind a falled tree, the dealer had it fueld up ready to go, great product and service.

They stated the premium fuel was better due to additives and quality, the engines just run better with it.

That was 3 years ago, I do not use the saw but for trimming the trees in the yard, so I am still using the SAME jug of fuel that I bought that night, still starts the same and runs without a sputter.

So the 30 or 40 cents difference in a gallon of fuel IS WORTH IT, over the life of the engine just how many gallons of fuel are you going to really use?

If it makes a difference in the performance or life of the tool then the investment is really small, over 100 gallons of fuel and $0.20 difference in cost that is only $20.00 investment, I am sure I get more than a $20.00 return...

[Chuck 1935]

[QUOTE=Bug512; !!!
I was asked what kind of oil I was using for the mix, "well I use the little containers that you sold me"

Could it be that somehow you forgot to add one of those little bottles.

[Nick-B]

Sorry folks, but Premium gas is not "premium" in ANY way other than the anti-knock additives in it.

If you have a vehicle (or any gas powered device) that requires higher octane fuel then use it. Otherwise you are wasing money.

Fact or Fiction?: Premium Gasoline Delivers Premium Benefits to Your Car: Scientific American

Is Premium gas worth the expense?

The Low-Down on High Octane Gasoline

These links are just a small sampling or evidence.
Google it up for yourself.

[Gary - K7GLD]

For us at least, it isn't so much about the octane rating, as it is the potentially damaging effects of Ethanol we want to avoid...

[Bug512]

[QUOTE=Chuck 1935;801510][QUOTE=Bug512; !!!
I was asked what kind of oil I was using for the mix, "well I use the little containers that you sold me"

Could it be that somehow you forgot to add one of those little bottles.[/QUOTE]

Nope, they have sampled the fuel in the container and blower.

Not to mention mix gas is noticeable.

[a k]

I have the same BG86 blower. Wouldn't run up past idle. Found out the screw in spark arrester in the end of the muffler stops up. Pulled it out and it is a fine mesh screen. Cleaned it and all is OK. That is the biggest problem with this blower. And it ain't covered under warrenty. (5/8" socket.)