stihl chainsaws
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I have a Stihl brushcutter and use the special Stihl oil for the petroil mix. This stuff comes in a bottle with one of those squeeze measuring type tops so getting the mix right is no problem. I think this synthetic Stihl oil is better than ordinary 2-stroke oil for this type of machine that runs at either full speed or idle.
John
John
The Gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men’s lives, the hours spent fishing Assyrian tablet
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
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oldherbaceous
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Evening bebilja, i'm pretty certain Stihl recommend a mixture of 5o to 1 if using there own brand of two stroke oil, and 25 to 1 if using another brand.
But i would like someone to second this.
I found that 50 to 1 with any good quality two stroke oil is fine.
But i would like someone to second this.
I found that 50 to 1 with any good quality two stroke oil is fine.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There are now two different Stihl Two Stroke Oils
as my latest Brush Cutter has a 4 stroke engine.
There is also a warning that with the modern petrol if you have a mix that is more than 8-10 weeks old you should not use it as the oil looses it lubricating power. Hence my new Brush Cutter!
A very expensive lesson to learn.
JB.
as my latest Brush Cutter has a 4 stroke engine.
There is also a warning that with the modern petrol if you have a mix that is more than 8-10 weeks old you should not use it as the oil looses it lubricating power. Hence my new Brush Cutter!
A very expensive lesson to learn.
JB.
I just use engine oil in all my Stihl stuff and my zenoah hedge cutter, they have been going for years without any trouble 1:50 is the usual mix. Don't forget to put chain oil in the chain lubrication tank. Ordinary oil definitely won't do here as the centrifugal force at the nose flings ordinary oil off too quickly
i dont know what the difference is between "ordinary" engine oil and 2 stroke oil, but i was told by a machinary dealer to use proper 2 stroke with a new machine cos any warrentee claim would be refused if the correct oil wasnt used.
regarding stale petrol ive now used up the last of last years petrol mix in both my own and clients machines, so we are talking a mix of different petrols and 2 stoke oils in castor, ryobi, echo and huskvarna strimmers and chainsaws, with no engine problems. various lawnmowers with 4 stoke honda or briggs and stratton engines have also run on the remains of last years fuel.
JB had trouble that was blamed on old fuel,
has anyone else?
regarding stale petrol ive now used up the last of last years petrol mix in both my own and clients machines, so we are talking a mix of different petrols and 2 stoke oils in castor, ryobi, echo and huskvarna strimmers and chainsaws, with no engine problems. various lawnmowers with 4 stoke honda or briggs and stratton engines have also run on the remains of last years fuel.
JB had trouble that was blamed on old fuel,
has anyone else?
Hi Richard,
I had a perfectly good Stihl strimmer that had been worked hard for several years and it had not been used for a while and when then I started it up it seized up. When I put it into the Stihl agent for repair it was sadly beyond it. I had used Stihl 2 stroke oil for it's complete life and up until that point had been a terrific tool. The agent informed me that they had had several cases of seizure and the information given to me was what had been learned in the Stihl laboratory. I can only pass on what I have been told.
In my new machine I use the new 2 stroke Stihl oil.
The new machine although still using two stroke oil in in fact a four stroke engine complete with valve assembly push rods and the likes.
The new machine was very expensive and I have no intentions of veering from the advice that I was given.
If of course you pooh pooh the advice given then you are free to do so, but do so at your peril.
JB.
I had a perfectly good Stihl strimmer that had been worked hard for several years and it had not been used for a while and when then I started it up it seized up. When I put it into the Stihl agent for repair it was sadly beyond it. I had used Stihl 2 stroke oil for it's complete life and up until that point had been a terrific tool. The agent informed me that they had had several cases of seizure and the information given to me was what had been learned in the Stihl laboratory. I can only pass on what I have been told.
In my new machine I use the new 2 stroke Stihl oil.
The new machine although still using two stroke oil in in fact a four stroke engine complete with valve assembly push rods and the likes.
The new machine was very expensive and I have no intentions of veering from the advice that I was given.
If of course you pooh pooh the advice given then you are free to do so, but do so at your peril.
JB.
hi jb , weve been told for years that unleaded petrol wont work unless its fresh,yet many of us drag the lawnmower out arround easter, theres either half a tank of petrol still in it from last year , or the gallon can in the corner is still half full and the mower starts first time on this stale petrol which accoerding to the experts is no good. experience conradicts the experts.
now we are being told that 2 stroke mix is no good unless fresh. my experience contradicts this, yours appears to agree with it. this forum is away to find out what other people have experienced. then we may be able to see the whole picture, for example if the problem is confined to one make,its possible the engineering tolerences on stihl engines are tighter and therefore need higher quality fuel/oil. or maybe theres something wrong with stihls 2 stroke oil, which they will never admit if they can blame failures on customers using an old mix.
i dont know the answere, but if we can get more info from other peoples experience we can perhaps get closer to the truth of the matter.
it could be something silly. many years ago i was told that the oil may settle out of a 2 stroke mix so allways turn the machine over and give it a shake to remix it before starting, and similar with the can of fuel mix before refueling, does everyone else do this?
now we are being told that 2 stroke mix is no good unless fresh. my experience contradicts this, yours appears to agree with it. this forum is away to find out what other people have experienced. then we may be able to see the whole picture, for example if the problem is confined to one make,its possible the engineering tolerences on stihl engines are tighter and therefore need higher quality fuel/oil. or maybe theres something wrong with stihls 2 stroke oil, which they will never admit if they can blame failures on customers using an old mix.
i dont know the answere, but if we can get more info from other peoples experience we can perhaps get closer to the truth of the matter.
it could be something silly. many years ago i was told that the oil may settle out of a 2 stroke mix so allways turn the machine over and give it a shake to remix it before starting, and similar with the can of fuel mix before refueling, does everyone else do this?
Hi Richard,
I posted the information given by my Stihl Agent in good faith as a warning to others. Quite frankly whether you accept the information or not is up to you but once again you are guilty of shooting the messenger.
The information I posted is meant kindly and with consideration so why is it that you are determined to rubbish my posting?
Apart from the fact that my new Strimmer has cost me close to £400.00. I thought it timely to make others aware of the situation.
JB.
I posted the information given by my Stihl Agent in good faith as a warning to others. Quite frankly whether you accept the information or not is up to you but once again you are guilty of shooting the messenger.
The information I posted is meant kindly and with consideration so why is it that you are determined to rubbish my posting?
Apart from the fact that my new Strimmer has cost me close to £400.00. I thought it timely to make others aware of the situation.
JB.
jb im sorry if my request for feedback from others caused you offense, i had no intention of shooting the messanger, and i am certainly not determined to rubbish everything you post. having said that i have delayed asking the question since your origional posting some time ago as your current reaction was entirely predictable, you dont seem to like anyone questioning anything you have posted , even when someone elses experience is different from yours.as in this example.
at the moment as i understand it you have had a stihl strimmer using stihl oil blow up, the stihl agent has sold you another blaming the use of old fuel.
i have this spring used a variety of other makes of chainsaw and strimmers using a variety of oils in last years mixes with no problems,
i have asked if anyone else has had a problem with old fuel.
if nobody else has had this problem i shall continue my current practise of mixing fuel by the gallon even if its not used for some weeks, however if the problem is widespread i shall have to start faffing about mixing small quantities for immediate use.
i cant really see why this request should cause you so much offense.
at the moment as i understand it you have had a stihl strimmer using stihl oil blow up, the stihl agent has sold you another blaming the use of old fuel.
i have this spring used a variety of other makes of chainsaw and strimmers using a variety of oils in last years mixes with no problems,
i have asked if anyone else has had a problem with old fuel.
if nobody else has had this problem i shall continue my current practise of mixing fuel by the gallon even if its not used for some weeks, however if the problem is widespread i shall have to start faffing about mixing small quantities for immediate use.
i cant really see why this request should cause you so much offense.
I don't think its just lead-free petrol that ages but all fuels deteriorate on standing for a long time. I've noticed a gummy resin sometimes in petrol that's been forgotten about.
For several years now I've used a B&S additive called Fuel Fit which is claimed to stabilise petrol for up to 24 months as well as improving starting. It's suitable for both 2- and 4-stroke fuels. The bottles are small but you only need 5ml in the summer or 15ml per 5 litres for fuel stored over winter. As far as I can tell it does what it says.
John
For several years now I've used a B&S additive called Fuel Fit which is claimed to stabilise petrol for up to 24 months as well as improving starting. It's suitable for both 2- and 4-stroke fuels. The bottles are small but you only need 5ml in the summer or 15ml per 5 litres for fuel stored over winter. As far as I can tell it does what it says.
John
The Gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men’s lives, the hours spent fishing Assyrian tablet
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
Quite frankly Richard it seems that you never take any notice of anybody. Suspect reason is you eating too much chickweed! I simply think that you are sometimes being a 'feather plucker' so lets leave it at that!
JB.
JB.
I'll give you an answer on castor and synthetic that might explain something.
the thing we're interested in is 'film strength' and it is this and the properties of weird old castor oil that are interesting.
There are some basic to lubrication.
For any fluid to act as a lubricant, it must first be 'polar' enough to wet the moving surfaces and grip or be adsorbed, (no I haven't mispelt that), to the surface.
Next, it must have a high resistance to surface boiling and vaporization at the temperatures encountered.
Ideally the fluid should have 'oiliness' and generally requires a rather large molecular structure.
Good old water can be a great lubricant under the right conditions but you can need a lot of it sometimes.
Castor oil meets these requirements in an engine, But it is thermally unstable.
This unusual instability is the thing that lets castor oil lubricate at temperatures well beyond those at which most synthetics will work.
We all know the smell of a cooking BT82 after a race.
Due to castor's chemical molecular chain, as the temperature goes up, it loses a molecule of water and becomes a 'drying' oil.
Castor oil stores ok at normal temperatures, but it polymerizes rapidly as the temperature goes up.
As it polymerizes, it forms ever-heavier "oils" that are rich in esters. These esters do not even begin to decompose until the temperature hits about 345 deg C.
Castor oil forms huge molecular structures as it gets hotter and will overtake synthectics at these high temperatures.
The trouble is, at these high temperatures you get that horrible varnish getting laid down, the bane of the two stroke bore. Still, it's a small trade off and a bit of 'glaze busting' will solve the problem.
You can mix castor and synthetic and get the best of both world and this is seen in the semi-synthetics.
The two won't mix though unless you polymerise the castor at a high temperature, about 150 C, then it'll mix.
As I mentioned, the oil has to be polar to wet the metal properly and castor is your boy.
Castor oil has a few unique properties. It is highly polar and loves metal surfaces. It has a flash point of only 230 deg C, but its fire point is about 450 deg C! Unusual that.
Nearly all of the common synthetics that we use burn in the combustion chamber if you get the mixture too lean.
The Max big end fails for this reason I feel sure. Castor oil does not, because it is busily forming more and more complex polymers as the temperature goes up.
Most synthetics boil on the cylinder walls at temperatures slightly above their flash point.
Synthetics also have another interesting feature - they would like to metamorph back to the materials from which they came, usually things like ethylene oxide, complex alcohols, or other less suitable lubricants, just when you don't want them to.
This happens very rapidly when a critical temperature is reached.
This is called unzipping.
Run the engine too lean and it gets too hot. The synthetic burns or simply vaporizes and that old Max big end is all tied up in the hot box and goes tits up and the rollers become liquorice allsorts and your conrod becomes a handle for a plug spanner!
Castor oil decomposes into a soft varnish and a series of ester groups that still have powerful lubricity.
In spite of all this, the synthetics are still excellent lubricants if you know their limitations and work within those limits.
Used properly, engine life should be good with either product.
If cooked on a lean run, castor oil will win every time. A mix of the two can give the best of both worlds.
Synthetics yield a clean engine, while castor oil yields a dirty engine which gives TKM its 'dirty, smelly' reputation, but at least now you know why.
That's why you can run a rebuilt max on castor in the right ratio to 'coke' it up and get it sealing nicely.
the thing we're interested in is 'film strength' and it is this and the properties of weird old castor oil that are interesting.
There are some basic to lubrication.
For any fluid to act as a lubricant, it must first be 'polar' enough to wet the moving surfaces and grip or be adsorbed, (no I haven't mispelt that), to the surface.
Next, it must have a high resistance to surface boiling and vaporization at the temperatures encountered.
Ideally the fluid should have 'oiliness' and generally requires a rather large molecular structure.
Good old water can be a great lubricant under the right conditions but you can need a lot of it sometimes.
Castor oil meets these requirements in an engine, But it is thermally unstable.
This unusual instability is the thing that lets castor oil lubricate at temperatures well beyond those at which most synthetics will work.
We all know the smell of a cooking BT82 after a race.
Due to castor's chemical molecular chain, as the temperature goes up, it loses a molecule of water and becomes a 'drying' oil.
Castor oil stores ok at normal temperatures, but it polymerizes rapidly as the temperature goes up.
As it polymerizes, it forms ever-heavier "oils" that are rich in esters. These esters do not even begin to decompose until the temperature hits about 345 deg C.
Castor oil forms huge molecular structures as it gets hotter and will overtake synthectics at these high temperatures.
The trouble is, at these high temperatures you get that horrible varnish getting laid down, the bane of the two stroke bore. Still, it's a small trade off and a bit of 'glaze busting' will solve the problem.
You can mix castor and synthetic and get the best of both world and this is seen in the semi-synthetics.
The two won't mix though unless you polymerise the castor at a high temperature, about 150 C, then it'll mix.
As I mentioned, the oil has to be polar to wet the metal properly and castor is your boy.
Castor oil has a few unique properties. It is highly polar and loves metal surfaces. It has a flash point of only 230 deg C, but its fire point is about 450 deg C! Unusual that.
Nearly all of the common synthetics that we use burn in the combustion chamber if you get the mixture too lean.
The Max big end fails for this reason I feel sure. Castor oil does not, because it is busily forming more and more complex polymers as the temperature goes up.
Most synthetics boil on the cylinder walls at temperatures slightly above their flash point.
Synthetics also have another interesting feature - they would like to metamorph back to the materials from which they came, usually things like ethylene oxide, complex alcohols, or other less suitable lubricants, just when you don't want them to.
This happens very rapidly when a critical temperature is reached.
This is called unzipping.
Run the engine too lean and it gets too hot. The synthetic burns or simply vaporizes and that old Max big end is all tied up in the hot box and goes tits up and the rollers become liquorice allsorts and your conrod becomes a handle for a plug spanner!
Castor oil decomposes into a soft varnish and a series of ester groups that still have powerful lubricity.
In spite of all this, the synthetics are still excellent lubricants if you know their limitations and work within those limits.
Used properly, engine life should be good with either product.
If cooked on a lean run, castor oil will win every time. A mix of the two can give the best of both worlds.
Synthetics yield a clean engine, while castor oil yields a dirty engine which gives TKM its 'dirty, smelly' reputation, but at least now you know why.
That's why you can run a rebuilt max on castor in the right ratio to 'coke' it up and get it sealing nicely.