Is it overkill to run race-fuel in my small engine tools?

[dan79brooklyn]

My 40 year old Stihl chainsaw starts much easier with high octane gas. They don’t use ethanol in the gas where I live. Haven’t noticed any degradation in the gas even after 6 months.
I am using go kart mix oil in the saw leftover from my son’s karting days mixed 40:1
Definitely avoid ethanol gas or so I’ve read on the internet

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Tobra

You can get ethanol free gas for your small engines at the hardware store here.

They sell it by the ounce here too .

If I were an occasional user, I'd consider that option but I have a lot of 2-cycles that are thirsty.

edited: I don't "baby" stuff by draining after using....some sit around for months....never have, never will...it's just not feasible.

[dmcummins]

I use ethanol free, but what about 100ll from your local airport? It shouldn’t be much more than $5 bucks or so a gallon.

[Tobra]

Probably cheaper to run AV gas or the stuff you buy for the quart than to have to fix the damage from the ethanol

[Tim Hancock]

I "try" to switch to Avgas (100LL) for storage on my seasonal stuff. Sometimes I just don't get around to it and end up putting Stabil in at a minimum. I also once again have 91 non ethanol in my home tank, but I do not trust it as much as Avgas. Avgas will last years in storage with no deposits or rotted fuel lines. I have run it in pretty much every piece of equipment I own at one point or another (chainsaws, mx bikes, snowmobiles, boats, cars, street bikes, airplanes etc).

All but the airplanes I run the ethanol crap when in seasonal use.... Just not for storage or I end up with carb and fuel line problems coming out of storage.

[Evans, Marv]

I always run my machines dry before I store them. I noticed in the manual for my generator, it said not to use anything over 87 octane. If I have extra fuel I want to keep for a while, I treat it with marine Stabil.

[KFC911]

^^^^ I knew a lot of folks who ran their small outboards dry back in the day even before ethanol appeared...I never did though...for 27 years. Mine was a six cyl that required 93 octane. I was "warned" that unless all 6 run dry at the same instant...then ya got unlubricated friction. I was a kid, so I listened (true or not)...it would have been an expensive lesson for sure . I did have to use E10 for a couple of years when sober 93 wasn't around here though.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Robert Coats

I used to include a caveat here about working for Honda, but retired back in June. :-)

I purchased a HRX 217 with the GCV 190 (electric, auto choke, easy start)...haven't used it but a few times. It is a cold natured thing....have to engage the key for what seems like eternity...is that "normal"? I'm used to things firing right up...great mower tho'

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Robert Coats

For the Honda generator, if you know you're going to burn through a few gallons on a job, regular unleaded is fine. You won't see any legit performance gains with higher octane, or non-ethanol fuel. Honda small gas engines run just fine, provided you limit the fuel to no more than 15% ethanol.

However, avoid storing any outdoor power equipment with any fuel for more than 30 days. Use some commercially-available tabilizer if you do, or the ideal situation is to fully drain the tank/carburetor bowl before storage. When it is time to go back in service, use fresh fuel if at all possible. Honda's guidelines are here:

Avoiding Fuel Problems

ProTip: Even treated, non-ethanol fuel effectively 'expires' after a year and not worth the headache using it with small gas engines. Otherwise, it is totally fine to dump such fuel into your non-carbureted vehicle's tank.

I used to include a caveat here about working for Honda, but retired back in June. :-)

I put the stabil in my gas can before I go get the 100% gasoline just a few blocks from my house.

We have a gasoline powered tug in our hangar to push the airplane back into the hangar. On every pre flight, we sump of airplane numerous sump's to check for water. No water, the remaining is dumped in our tug engine. So it runs on avgas. It never seems to get old.

[Dantilla]

Nothing but 100LL Avgas for my small stuff.

Now having a large generator that will run the whole house, the small, portable generator just collects dust in the far corner of the garage.
Last year, needed some electricity far from the house, so I wondered if the small guy would start after sitting for a few years.

First pull. Running perfectly. Yup. I'll keep using Avgas.

[Tim Hancock]

I agree wholeheartedly...... Avgas definitely stays usable for a very long time (many years).