OT: 2-cycle fuel

[Chief]

May I use regular engine oil rather than 2-cycle oil to mix with gasoline for my leaf blower?

[HenryA]

Yes in an emergency you can but it might not be the best idea. I’d mix it 32:1 and keep my fingers crossed. Oil is better than no oil, but i’d get the right stuff. Its cheaper than a new blower to replace your seized one.

[Frankwurst]

Why? I wouldn't recommend it. 2 cycle oil is specially formulated to do what it does. Because it burns with the fuel, 2-cycle oil is lighter and contains additives for better combustion. You can use regular 10W40 in a pinch but I wouldn't recommend it. A quart of 2 cycle oil goes a long way. I just keep a quart on hand and mix up a 2 1/2 gallon can of gas when I need it for the weed eater,chain saws and leaf blower. :beer:

[dddd]

2-stroke oil only, or risk gumming your piston rings.

Motor oil will also not burn as cleanly in terms of deposits in the exhaust port, spark plug and on the piston crown.

If you had to use an alternate oil, a diesel-compatible oil would at least be better in terms of not gumming the rings.
Also synthetics and narrower-viscosity-range oils are less likely to gum up at the higher temperatures found in a two-stroke engines piston ring lands.

The rings very likely won't gum up if the engine is only puttering along, perhaps with only very brief blasts of throttle.
But for sustained higher output like felling dense grass, the proper type of oil will be needed to keep the engine from seizing.

[oldpotatoe]

May I use regular engine oil rather than 2-cycle oil to mix with gasoline for my leaf blower?

You also mention 'fuel'..you ought to get bottled 2 cycle fuel, mixed with 2 cycle oil, that is w/o ethanol also.

[Frankwurst]

You also mention 'fuel'..you ought to get bottled 2 cycle fuel, mixed with 2 cycle oil, that is w/o ethanol also.

If they don't sell non ethanol fuel where you live this is good advice. Ethanol was not developed with small engines in mind. Fortunately where we live outboard motors and snowmobiles are abundant so all the gas stations sell it at the pumps.:beer:

[Geemalar]

What dddd said........in a pinch puttering along at low rpm for a short amount of time, it will work.....but why risk it......

Do yourself a favor and get the correct 2 cycle oil, and you won’t have to say to yourself “I shouldn’t have done that”..........

[HenryA]

You also mention 'fuel'..you ought to get bottled 2 cycle fuel, mixed with 2 cycle oil, that is w/o ethanol also.

This for sure if you can’t get non ethanol gas to mix with. Lots of advantages for low volume users. Expensive if you use a lot.

[benb]

How much gas does the blower go through?

I have like a 2 gallon tank of 2 cycle I mixed up.. it lasts years with our trimmer. The bottle of 2-cycle oil that I bought to make that will make many many 2-gallon tanks of mix.

Also.. bought my 2-cycle trimmer in 2010.. it has had 10 years of ethanol fuel run through it with 0 problems. Ethanol is probably blown way out of proportion unless you're stuff is 20 years old. If the manual says you can use E10/E15 whatever it will be fine.

If you're storing pre-mixed fuel/oil mixture the ethanol evaporates out anyway..

[dddd]

How much gas does the blower go through?

I have like a 2 gallon tank of 2 cycle I mixed up.. it lasts years with our trimmer. The bottle of 2-cycle oil that I bought to make that will make many many 2-gallon tanks of mix.

Also.. bought my 2-cycle trimmer in 2010.. it has had 10 years of ethanol fuel run through it with 0 problems. Ethanol is probably blown way out of proportion unless you're stuff is 20 years old. If the manual says you can use E10/E15 whatever it will be fine.

If you're storing pre-mixed fuel/oil mixture the ethanol evaporates out anyway..

I wish that this was my experience!

Whenever I leave today's "gasoline" motor fuel in a mower, the fuel first separates into two layers. Surprisingly it is the top layer which seems not to want to burn after I burn through the first third or so of fuel in the tank.

Then there are the corrosion issues with older equipment, motorcycles, etc, I've seen today's gasoline eat a hole right through the bottom of a cast aluminum/zinc float bowl, and this didn't take years to happen.

All that said, the fuel in a well-sealed container seems to fare somewhat better, but if it's a car you just got running after a year or more then I would immediately add fresh gas to help emulsify any layering fuel that's already in there.

There are different kinds of chemicals/solvents/alcohols/oxidizers added to pump gas in different regions and at different times of the year, so our results WILL vary.

[HenryA]

I wish that this was my experience!

Whenever I leave today's "gasoline" motor fuel in a mower, the fuel first separates into two layers. Surprisingly it is the top layer which seems not to want to burn after I burn through the first third or so of fuel in the tank.

Then there are the corrosion issues with older equipment, motorcycles, etc, I've seen today's gasoline eat a hole right through the bottom of a cast aluminum/zinc float bowl, and this didn't take years to happen.

All that said, the fuel in a well-sealed container seems to fare somewhat better, but if it's a car you just got running after a year or more then I would immediately add fresh gas to help emulsify any layering fuel that's already in there.

There are different kinds of chemicals/solvents/alcohols/oxidizers added to pump gas in different regions and at different times of the year, so our results WILL vary.

Yes, its this ^^^^^ and more.

Modern car fuel systems can take it and most people drive enough that the fuel stays relatively fresh. But Ethanol gas and 2 strokes is a death sentence eventually. Nearly all makers of 2 stroke lawn equipment say to not use ethanol fuel. When the 2 stroke oil does not mix well with the alcohol or at all with any water you end up with a seized motor.

https://www.husqvarna.com/us/forest/basics/ethanol-free-fuel/

[Mikej]

Use premium fuel and ad Sta-bil

[johnniecakes]

I am so glad that a few of the local stations have an ethenol free option. My Subaru runs better without it. So do all the others, mower, outboard, weed Wacker