Gas mixture for the husqvarna 3120xp

[HolmenTree]

Shinnlinger -

I didn't see Al claiming that Amsoil won't work at 100:1.  I also did not say that it wouldn't work.

I say the same. I see Amsoil is still strong in business and I remember way back in the early 1980s when they came in little plastic bag pouches. Some dealers had them sitting on the shelf for years, you'd see a stain on the shelf where they laid for so long , makes you think of all the important solvents that evaporated away.ha ha

I know at the time in the late 1980s some Husqvarna dealers were selling the 100:1 with their saws, but Stihl never accepted it, no warranty with that ratio.
The trouble with 100:1 is there is very little room for error and alot of folks were doing just that not mixing the safe ammount of gas.
With the old Castrol Super 2 Stroke [excellent dino oil] I ran 40:1 if I added a little too much gas by accident , not a problem.

[Al_Smith]

I've got some kind of pink stuff made by Amsoil which is supposed to be an additive to counter act the effects of ethanol . I really was going to use it on some long term storage of saws but I neglected to for some reason this winter .

Probabley not a big deal because I've became almost an expert in rebuilding carbs,ethanol ya know . ;)

Now then again stirring the pot you can get on any web forum or site that talks about mix ratios and the only one that will advise 100 to 1 ratios is Amsoil .Most bike or sleds sites don't even recommend anything leaner than 40 to 1 ratios .

Now there's some pretty good oil out there besides Amsoil so it stands to reason if that ratio would prove best somebody else would get on the band wagon but nobody has .Not even Purple Royal .

I don't think there is any big secret method how they make the stuff unless maybe it's rendered whale blubbber or something .For decades caster oil was the mix oil of choice for racers.Still might be and it smokes to beat the band but you don't burn up engines with it .Smells bad .

On the other hand I'm not sure what would happen if you breathed the fumes .Might give you the scoots just like a tablespoon full fed to a little kid by a sadistic spinster aunt ,spring tonic they say .Indeed, it'll make you spring allright .

[shinnlinger]

Well Im sorry if I upset anyone by being mildly annoyed and it was unfair of me to place my annoyance with you guys on this post.  I'm sorry.

I run it 100:1 and it it works well for me but I only use my saws to support my sawmill and timberframe "hobbies" with a couple cord of wood a year thrown in, so my experience shouldn't sway you.

Why I run it might be more convincing.  I have a family friend up in Maine who is a semi retired logging/construction type.  I was up visiting and we started talking chainsaw.  He got really serious and  went into a bit of a rant himself "I've run Amsoil 100-1 since 1972 and cut over 40thousand cord of wood.  In that time I have never had ANY engine problems with ANY saw, not even changed a spark plug.  I run Amsoil in all my equipment as well and never had any problems"  About a year later I saw him running a Kobelco 200 excavator with over 12,000 hours on it.  He started it up and ran it WOT the whole time.  He said it loved it at WOT and the Amsoil was how he could get away with it for so many hours with no issues.  It convinced me so here I am. 

I just leave it with works for me and a family friend.

[Al_Smith]

Well you didn't upset me. I just view it as lively conversation ,no harm no foul . ;D

Spark plug fouling is another topic but quite truthfully if the thing is tuned correctly they won't foul because I too have some I've never changed out .Some are pushing 40 years old to boot .

As a point of info on the old boat motors ,Evinrude twins or Mercury 4s' they fouled at trolling speeds .Reason being they mostly were tuned for high speed and an hour or so at low speeds with a rich fuel mixture .It wasn't the 16 to 1 oil ratios .

That was about a 5 minute fix,lean them down and flog them for a few minutes real soon they were hitting on all cylinders .Find another good trolling run and catch more fish .

[mad murdock]

I think that running 32.5:1 is the best ratio ;) Seriously, whatever works for you is what you use.  I am of the 32:1 school.  I have tried the more expensive oils, and like I stated in an earlier post on here, I graduated from C.H.E.E.P. too 8)

[Ianab]

Both times I've bought new saws (Stihl and Dolmar) the local dealers have specifically told me "Ignore the oil mix instructions in the manual, our fuel is different. Mix at 25:1" The part about the fuel being different I can also believe. I can pull a saw out of the shed after 6 months and it still fires up fine.

As far as I can tell this is actual written policy from the local distributors. At least the free oil that came with my Dolmar 7900 had this label.





I actually mix all my 2 stroke at ~ 33:1 for all my tools, with a good quality convention oil. Never had a failure, or a fouled plug. Good quality oil should burn cleanly in the engine anyway, so you don't get excessive smoke.

That's my plan and I'm sticking with it.

I can accept that the top quality synthetic lubricants are better, and so you can probably get away with running a lot less, and still get reliable lube. As long as everything else is perfect.

But I've had NO problems from running a bit more oil, as per local dealer recommendations, so I'll take the peace of mind that a bit more oil provides.

Ian

[HolmenTree]

Well said Ian.
Back in the day when we still had leaded gas we had a little extra protection with the lead. And yes our logging camp ran 40:1 with Castrol Super 2 Stroke which is Stihl Premium today.
I remember once in the late 70s or early 80s when I accidently ran my Jonsered on straight gas on a hot summer day, the engine slowed right down and stopped. Tried to pull the cord but was very tight. I realized my problem put some fresh mix in and a little inside the cylinder and the engine loosened and fired right up, saw ran for another year.
If that was todays unleaded gas in that Jonsered it would be a different story. ;)

But having said all that from the information I hear today about the health hazards of leaded gas.......

[Al_Smith]

Hmm reading between the lines it might be assumed who makes Stihl branded oil then . ;)

FWIW I ran Castrol in the Harleys when I owned them .

Slightly off track but interesting .A few years back I think it as Car and Driver or Hotrod magazine did a test of name brand oils and store brands like Autozone etc .The results were surprising as it seems the discounted store brands did just as well or better than name brands in a lot of instances .

I would find it rather amusing if tests were done and it was found out this highly touted pink stuff or the plum colored stuff is no better than say Mobil or Klotz .Maybe not any better than TSC ,now that would be a hoot . ;D