Fuel mix question ?

[Bushwhacker]

Hello to all,
I changed the plug in my MS460 and it seemed to be too oil fouled . I took it to the dealer to get carb checked and RPMs checked. The mechanic said it was ok that I was getting too much oil in my gas mix. I'm using the orange bottle of Sthil brand fuel mix for 1 gal. and put into 1 gallon of fuel metered by station pump.I'm no pro,but I've been running chainsaws for over 15 years,& am very careful about fuel and maintance.
use high octane gas in mix. The 460 has a Stihl dual port muffler cover.  I had a little problem with my 018 not running right checked everything -Installed new fuel pick up, plug, air filter and still didn't rev up to full throttle.  Took muffler off and found plugged spark screen. I left the screen out and it ran good. What's wrong with my mix?  Thanks -Kenny

[Dean Hylton]

The first 2 questions I would ask you are: 1 - How old is your gas when used? 2 - Are you using a blended gas (alcahol or water) many brands use these to meet EPA regulations. If you are using a blended gas, try and find a fuel that is not blended. I have been buying Union 76 brand of premium and am very happy.

[Bushwhacker]

Dean,
My gas is about 6 weeks old.(about the max time for me) It is Shell brand. Strange thing is that I use the same mix in my Shindaiwa line trimmer and no problems with it.

[Dean Hylton]

 ??? Here is a really ugly thought for you on your ms460. You might have an oil leak from the bar oil resevoir to the crank. This would cause you to have a super rich mix.  Does your saw smoke excessively?  If you think that this is a possability, I would empty all the fuel and oil and have your saw pressure tested. As for the 018 I think I would start with resetting the adjustment screws. It kind of sounds like you might be running rich on the high needle. If resetting the screws does not work, then I would pull the carb and check to see if the high needle is broken. This is actually quite common. Lat resort would be to go ahead and rebuild the carburetor. Depending on the age of the carburetor you may want to just go ahead and do it any how.  A kit is about $10 give or take.

[kenskip1]

Kenny,
     Have you thought about switching to another type of oil? I used to use the stilh brand however, I switched to Amsoil. What a diferance. I mix it at the recommended 100/1. My 041 and 028 run great on this mix.Easier starting,no smoke and more power. Go to Amsoil.com and look for the premix. This is wonderful synthetic oil.
     Ken. PS, are you anywhear near coleman?

[Bushwhacker]

Thanks for the replies. I don't think the 460 is burning bar through motor. It doesn't smoke much at all. The 018 actually smokes more than the 460 but runs especially well. I recently bought a MS250 that ran good through about 4or 5 tanks of fuel then I had to set low side and idling because it wouldn't idle after the cut -just wanted to die. Runs good after adjustment. I'm narrowing it down to the last jug of mix. Never before thought of it but can oil get old in bottle sealed up?
I may try kenship's advice and go to Amisoil. The 250 is still under waranty and the dealer is good to keep checking RPMs on 460 even though it's out of waranty. Thanks again Kenny

[DanManofStihl]

I run amsoil oil and it works great never fouled a plug.Had to set the rpms after I had it running in their afor a while but other than that nothing.

[Dean Hylton]

If you are running the manufacturers recomended mix, you should not be having a problem with fouling. This sugests a problem.  If it were up to me I would choose to find the problem and not just try and mask the symptom. Excesive fouling tells me that there is not a complete burn of the fuel for what ever reason and if not addressed will be the shortening of your saws life.