Gas in the tank

[Lnewman]

I've heard that fuel should be removed from the gas tank if the chainsaw is not in use.  What is the reason for this and how often should it be removed?

[beenthere]

Generally, I never empty the fuel tank as I generally use the saw within a month (rarely longer). On occasion when a saw sits for over 6 months, I dump out what is in the tank and put in fresh fuel.
I don't use ethanol impregnated fuel. If I had to, that would get changed much more often.

Just what works for me. Not sure what the reason is for those you have "heard" from. ;)

[MidWestTree]

The ethanol (alcohol) added to modern pump gas has the same hardening effect on fuel lines, crankcase seals and soft rubber carb parts as it does to the arteries of the human body. You don't want that stuff in there when it's not being used on a regular basis.

Your best bet these days if you use mixed pump gas, is to obtain one of the ready mixed ethanol free packaged fuels and run some of that through the saw or whatever is going to be stored to flush that ethanol out of the fuel system.

Ethanol free pump fuel is becoming very hard to find, marina's are one of the very few sources left aside from av-gas.

[John Vander]

Don't just empty the tank, but fire up the saw as to get rid of the gas left in the carburetor. Even though you empty out the tank, that small amount in the carb will cause the diaphragm to harden. Mixed fuel lasts about a month. I time my gas mix with my work load as to avoid gas staying in the tank. Empty the tank and crank up the saw. Let it run till it dies by itself. Crank it up again. If it starts up let it run till it dies. Once you try to crank it up but it doesn't start it means the old gas is all out of the carb. Now it is ready for storage.

[Lnewman]

Would there be a problem at all if there was no ethanol in the gas?

[beenthere]

Seems we had "old gas" problems before ethanol, but it just was a longer time before there was a problem. Sad news is the EPA dictating the move to increase the percentage to 15%, rather than 10%.

[sharkey]

If the saw will sit longer than 30 days, your best bet is to drain it and run it dry. 

[cuterz]

I never drain them. The residual dried oil when the last bit of fuel evaps is bad too. :-[

[nixon]

Would there be a problem at all if there was no ethanol in the gas?

Being as you are in Butler county , you can get EO89 at Purvis Brother fuel stations and Planet Marts . Keeps a long time,especially if you add stabilizers. 

[John Mc]

Would there be a problem at all if there was no ethanol in the gas?

Yes, just not as quickly.  Also, the non-ethanol gas is not corrosive. Ethanol blend gas is very corrosive when phase separation occurs (water, from the air or from other contamination, combines with the ethanol in the fuel and settles out).

Old non-ethanol gas can gum things up, requiring a carb cleaning or rebuild.  Ethanol gas will do that, and a whole lot more under the some conditions.