quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:

Guess you sort of missed that bit about the Quadrajet made in 1985 still running perfectly after 41 years of being run on whatever was available. I will also note that the only reason I have EVER replaced a Lawn mower is because the rings got so wore out than I got tired of walking in a cloud of blue smoke because the rings wore out. I will also note that I shop for the least expensive mower available because I find walk behinds to be good exercise and typically they last just fine for 15 or 20 years with just a yearly oil change.

To be blunt I find all these ethanol concerns way overblown. But what do I know, I've only been working on cars and engines since 1965.

Well...shit. I guess all I needed was one anecdotal opinion and all of my concerns are assuaged.

Nope, I didn't miss it at all. What you may have missed is that YMMV with situations like this. I'm guessing there's at least one member with the complete opposite result in this issue. The whole point of this thread is to share various opinions and experiences.

I suspect ethanol-blended gas affects engines differently. Many car engines don't seem to have issues. I believe it's a different ballgame with small engines.

Our family has used chainsaws to maintain the forested portions of our lands for decades. We've used and retired many saws by various manufacturers over the years. As I look back on our history, it was often carburetor issues that were the final straw for buying new chainsaws. My BIL's Stihl 390 saw failed due to carburetor issues, which the shop said was likely caused by ethanol gas issues. He chose to just retire the saw instead of replacing the carb and fuel lines. He bought a Stihl 271, which for many of its years was fed ethanol gas. That saw really has carb issues -- it only runs well for me at lower altitudes and hot days. He needs to replace the carb, but he'll probably just stop using it. One of these days.

I have a Stihl 310, which Dad bought in the early 2000's. We used ethanol gas on it, and the carb has been replaced twice. The repair shop stated that ethanol gas was almost certainly reason for the 2nd carb's damage. After that, I went to ethanol-free pump gas -- for maybe a year or two. Then I switched to pre-blended alkylate fuel, primarily Stihl and VP. Yeah, alkylate fuel is a lot more expensive. My Stihl 310 is still chugging along. My newer Stihl 261 and 400 chainsaws have only burned alkylate fuel, and they run as good as when new. I've felled and bucked hundreds of trees with these saws.

A prime consideration with alkylate fuels is the absence of many dozens of chemicals in the fuel. With a saw's exhaust being only a couple of feet from my face, there are certain chemicals I don't want to inhale. BTEX is something every small-engine user should understand.