Leave gas in unused chainsaw over the winter?

[FirewoodAl]

Is it wise to leave gas in an unused chainsaw over the winter?  I have friends who drain their saws and those who don't.  The ones who do not drain use ethanol free pure gas and add gas stabilizer as soon as they bring their new gas home.  They say this has worked OK for them and that keeps their saw ready to go in case a tree comes down blocking some place where they need to go. 

[20ozjolt]

I'm in the non ethanol and leave it in crowd... but I use it on n off year round so no stabil used...

[starmac]

I always left it in with no ill effects, but it was nonethanol too. Now even though I still only use nonethanol, if I know it will be a while before I am going to use one, I keep a couple of cans of the canned gas  and fill them with it. It is too expensive to use when using a saw much, but sure works well for storing them.

[HolmenTree]

I always left it in with no ill effects, but it was nonethanol too. Now even though I still only use nonethanol, if I know it will be a while before I am going to use one, I keep a couple of cans of the canned gas  and fill them with it. It is too expensive to use when using a saw much, but sure works well for storing them.

Yep good point . I took my MS261CM and 550XP out of winter storage to do some emergency hazard tree removal for a customer .
I filled them with a fresh can of Stihl MotoMix which has a shelf life of 2 years after opened.
So the saws are definitely safe for startup in the spring.

BTW welcome to Forestry Forum FirewoodAl.


 

[Haggis]

I always wondered what others do. I also late in the fall will use the can gas so if it sits over the winter no harm. However I think gas stabilizer might work as well but have a shorter life span.

[HolmenTree]

 Stihl extends their products warranty by a good margin from what I hear if their canned MotoMix is used.

[starmac]

Husky has a deal that if you buy 3 cans of gas when you purchase a new saw it doubles the warranty or something like that, and they don't care if you actually use it or not.

[tawilson]

For some reason I thought the Stihl oil had a stabilizer in it.

[HolmenTree]

Last fall I used up my last bottle of Stihl Ultra full synthetic mix oil.
I went to my dealer on the weekend to get more and he says the Ultra mix oil is no longer available in Canada.
All that is available is the orange cap Stihl Premium .

Any other Canadians on here have the same problem?
I just checked Stihl Canada's website and no Ultra...just Premium.

[ZeroJunk]

Wonder what that's all about .

The Ultra does have stabilizer in it.

I have a weed eater that I have been using for at least 20 years. I start it in the spring with whatever was left in it.

I get a lot of saws in for repair with old gas. Smells something similar to cat pee , to me anyway.

If it smells old I dump it.

[sprucebunny]

I use the Stihl Ultra because they extended the warranty and it is less smoke and I haven't had any carb problems even in a saw that only gets used 3-6 times a year.
I'm way too lazy to dump it out.

I'll go look for more Ultra this week.

[starmac]

I may be wrong, but it is my understanding that the canned gas is not gas at all, but a synthetic substitute.  I also thought it did not matter what brand it was, that it was all pretty much canned at the same place. I do not remember if the dealer told me that, or I heard it some where else. I do know my husky dealer sells two different brands and one is cheaper by a little bit, and they don't care which brand you buy to get the extended warranty, or didn't, it has probably been a year since I have even been to the saw shop.

[Ianab]

I think the canned fuel is like synthetic oils. Regular gasoline is a pretty random mix of hydrocarbon chemicals, all around the right molecular weight, and all of them burn. But the exact mix will depend on the refinery / crude supply and how it's blended. They blend the raw fuel to get the desired Octane rating, but what the actual hydrocarbons are will vary, even if the measured octane is the same. 

So the issue is that some of the lighter compounds can evaporate, or or others will react with alcohol / water /O2, and break down / form sludge over time. And this is what we call "stale" gas.

The synthetic blend can be made from the pure hydrocarbons of exactly the correct blend to give the fuel you require, without the lighter or less stable components. Hence it can sit in a can, or even fuel tank a lot longer than regular gas can.

[Kel71]

I run my saws and chipper once a month.

[realzed]

Last fall I used up my last bottle of Stihl Ultra full synthetic mix oil.
I went to my dealer on the weekend to get more and he says the Ultra mix oil is no longer available in Canada.
All that is available is the orange cap Stihl Premium .

Any other Canadians on here have the same problem?
I just checked Stihl Canada's website and no Ultra...just Premium.

When I bought my saw a couple of weeks back I asked for synthetic and they said they could get it but only in cases of 24 and since they sell very little of it they don't bring it in because very few will pay the extra $'s over the orange top stuff..
I went to another Stihl/Husky dealer across town and they had all kinds of it and said they have it all of the time as the model aircraft club uses it exclusively for their small engines since it is the best thing they found for the money!?..
SO mainly I think it is a 'supply' thing depending on the dealer. @$24 incl. tax for 6 200ml bottles.. and the warranty is doubled to 24 months when Stihl oil - either orange or silver is bought with it..
Now I just have to figure out what bar & chain oil is the best.. orange that I always used or if the Bio or other stuff is better.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Stihl extends their products warranty by a good margin from what I hear if their canned MotoMix is used.

When I bought my Stihl saws this summer the dealer said if I bought the fuel mix or a 6 pack of oil mix they would double the warranty to 2 years. As long as I was not a contractor. Apparently people who use their saws every day are exempt from the warranty. I would think these are the ones who need it most.

[HolmenTree]

Last fall I used up my last bottle of Stihl Ultra full synthetic mix oil.
I went to my dealer on the weekend to get more and he says the Ultra mix oil is no longer available in Canada.
All that is available is the orange cap Stihl Premium .

Any other Canadians on here have the same problem?
I just checked Stihl Canada's website and no Ultra...just Premium.

When I bought my saw a couple of weeks back I asked for synthetic and they said they could get it but only in cases of 24 and since they sell very little of it they don't bring it in because very few will pay the extra $'s over the orange top stuff..
I went to another Stihl/Husky dealer across town and they had all kinds of it and said they have it all of the time as the model aircraft club uses it exclusively for their small engines since it is the best thing they found for the money!?..
SO mainly I think it is a 'supply' thing depending on the dealer. @$24 incl. tax for 6 200ml bottles.. and the warranty is doubled to 24 months when Stihl oil - either orange or silver is bought with it..
Now I just have to figure out what bar & chain oil is the best.. orange that I always used or if the Bio or other stuff is better.

Thanks for the info realzed.
That $24 for a 6 pack sounds like dealer cost.
Out here in Manitoba I was charged double that.....must either be a supply and demand thing or our dealers out here have a "sucker" button on their cash register just for me.

[Novascotiamill]

I left my 026 with gas in it for about 6 months,the saw always had stihl oil mixed.only had about 40 tanks of total use on it. Pulled it out in the spring flashed it up ran up to temp wot then silence!
Next was a trip to stihl dealer for new ms261c. Im wondering if the oil seperated from the fuel , or perhaps someone used it while I was in the Hospital ,im not sure but now I make sure that the saw doesnt sit with the old gas in it.

[ZeroJunk]

Stihl extends their products warranty by a good margin from what I hear if their canned MotoMix is used.

When I bought my Stihl saws this summer the dealer said if I bought the fuel mix or a 6 pack of oil mix they would double the warranty to 2 years. As long as I was not a contractor. Apparently people who use their saws every day are exempt from the warranty. I would think these are the ones who need it most.

I suspect they believe that a six pack of oil will last the typical home owner longer than the warranty.
What is interesting to me is that there is nothing in the warranty that says they have to use it, or any practical way to test.
So Stihl will replace if under warranty even if the color of the fuel in the tank indicates that it isn't HP Ultra.

[realzed]

Stihl extends their products warranty by a good margin from what I hear if their canned MotoMix is used.

When I bought my Stihl saws this summer the dealer said if I bought the fuel mix or a 6 pack of oil mix they would double the warranty to 2 years. As long as I was not a contractor. Apparently people who use their saws every day are exempt from the warranty. I would think these are the ones who need it most.

I suspect they believe that a six pack of oil will last the typical home owner longer than the warranty.
What is interesting to me is that there is nothing in the warranty that says they have to use it, or any practical way to test.
So Stihl will replace if under warranty even if the color of the fuel in the tank indicates that it isn't HP Ultra.

I think you could look at it like they are giving you an extra year's warranty for the price of the oil you are buying regardless if you are actually using the product (oil gas or whatever) - it's just like everything else you hear whenever you purchase something these days.. you get asked "would you like to purchase the extended warranty on that?"  especially appliances or cell phones or electronic stuff.. so why not chainsaws?
On a side note.. my wife and I lost over $700 by buying extended warranties on a load of Sears appliances we bought at the beginning of our kitchen renovation project this past Summer..
We were told when we asked, that they were 3rd party warranties and would be honored despite Sears on-going problems..  buyer beware..!

[starmac]

My husky dealer will tell you, that you do not have to use it, but you get the extended warranty if you buy it at the time of purchase, also doesn't apply if you are a commercial user.

[thecfarm]

I myself have never had a problem with a new saw the first 2-3 years of use,maybe even 4 years. I've had 3 new ones,so far. I use mine quite a bit,summer and winter. But I do use the husky oil. Always have,just easier for me.  I used sthil too.

[ladylake]

 I run non ethanol gas also and leave it in, not a fan of running them dry as a little bit of gas will remain in the carb and gunk up for sure.  Steve

[bluthum]

Like some others I use nonethanol gas and stabilized synthetic  oil and the saws  rarely go a month unused so no problemas.
Generator though is another issue. My 10 hp generator is 18 years old and i always run it dry. last year for the first time  it refused to start after a lengthy layoff. Seems the carb  bowl was galvanized steel and had serious rust.

I went ahead and put on a new carb but I'm sure the rust would never have developed if it had stood full of fuel. Another example of what ever you do is wrong.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Have posted about this before.
My 1973 Homelite super xl12 was left at camp all the time from 1988 until 2 years ago with regular pump gas either ethanol or not whatever was available but it started in 4 or 5 pulls every time
I have now retired this saw and may be it is because it is so old it would tolerate any gas.
Our camp saw is now a Husky 345.
Still with ethanol pump gas and no problems so far.
My home saws use this gas too.