Down to one 2 cycle engine

[vavet]

I made the switch to battery powered blower and string trimmer and have found new homes for my old, but still functional 2 stroke Equipment. I used to buy about a gallon per year and mix it and i would use most of it through the summer lawn mowing season. Now I only have a consumer grade echo chain saw that takes two stroke fuel.
I don’t use it much. It’s really just for storm cleanup so it could easily set for a year without being used.

I suppose I could just buy a battery chainsaw that uses the same platform as the rest of them.
or I could just keep the canned fuel on the shelf.
I always thought that stuff was stupid expensive, but maybe it’s just what I need.

 

[mike93lx]

I am solidly in the no gas OPE camp, but if you want to keep it, just keep a gallon can of gas without oil, and mix when you need it. Dump it in the truck every 6-12 months and get fresh

 

[toyotadriver]

I have 2 chain saws and a weed eater. All 2 cycle. When my weed eater dies, I’ll replace it with a Milwaukee M18 weed eater. One of my chainsaws could be replaced with a M18 saw. It’s a small 14 inch saw for limbing downed trees and trimming branches. The larger saw can’t be replaced by battery power. Since my small saw is running like a champ, I’ll keep using it. I keep 1 gallon of 2 cycle mix in a NATO type 5 liter oil can.

 

[zendriver]

I just noticed today, that I have a whole shelf of 2 strokes in the back garage.

Nice old echo brush cutter, echo string trimmer, two echo chainsaws, stihl and echo blowers, echo hedge trimmer.

Just worrying about the decay, from sitting unused.

Maybe list on eBay, while there is still interest.

 

[428PI]

Maybe list on eBay, while there is still interest.

I got 15 bucks for my Craftsman 2 stroke weed eater on FB marketplace. Needed fuel lines. Good riddance.

 

[vavet]

I got 15 bucks for my Craftsman 2 stroke weed eater on FB marketplace. Needed fuel lines. Good riddance.

I hope I can do better than that if I sell the chainsaw. I got $100 for the backpack leaf blower ( more than i paid 15 years ago) and $75 for the string trimmer. I bought the trimmer new, so I expected a bigger hit. I was hoping to get $100, but sometimes getting it out of the garage and moving on with life is more valuable than maximizing the sale price,

 

[428PI]

In other news I inherited a Stihl chainsaw from my wife's grandpa and it must be 40 plus years old. Never have had the carb off and keep fuel in it for years at a time. Never use non ethanol fuel, never use stablil, etc. Starts right up. Only have to adjust the fuel trim screws once in awhile.

 

[WWheeler]

Non-ethanol gas will keep for long periods without needing any additives, but the ethanol gas that's cheaper and more commonly found thanks to corn subsidies will not and it's terrible for small engines. The ethanol is hygroscopic (it absorbs water from the air) and it's that water that spoils the gas so quickly. Unfortunately so many stations these days have choices of both, their ethanol and non-ethanol, on the same pump with the same hose, and there can be a 1/3gal or more still in the hose from whatever it was the last person pumped, so it's best to pump a gallon in the vehicle first and then fill your can. I've never had issues with non-ethanol fuel going bad in the up-to-a-year I've had cans and equipment sit before needing refilled.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

I grew up cutting wood with my Dad's old McCullough. That thing was dead nuts reliable for years. Cut dozens of cords of wood with it. Starting from about 13 years old on, my Dad would get a semi truck/trailer load of logs dumped in the side yard. usually two each year. Full logging trailer of them. I would have to cut and split (by hand) it all. That ole yellow Mccullough never let me down. Did that all the way through school/college and a few years after college. Never did anything to the saw except keep bar oil in it, sharpen it often, and change the chain a couple of times.

 

[toyotadriver]

I run all my equipment and 2 cycle engines on ethanol gas. It works great. Ethanol is a great solvent so will help keep the fuel system clean. Been doing it for years. Also store ethanol gas for years at a time. Well sealed fuel storage is the key. Ethanol really doesn’t absorb water from the air. The issue with fuel systems is evaporation of the important volatile compounds from the fuel. Air tight storage is critical.

 

[DemoFly]

I am in a similar situation and decided to not store gas anymore. I bought a jiggle hose and siphon from my truck as needed.

 

[Snapped-off]

Can't give up the chainsaws yet... I'm undecided if I'll end up with a gas backpack blower or not. I was looking at the Ego stuff but may look at Toro and Stihl too.

I'll see how bad the leaves are this fall.

 

[mike93lx]

Can't give up the chainsaws yet... I'm undecided if I'll end up with a gas backpack blower or not. I was looking at the Ego stuff but may look at Toro and Stihl too.

I'll see how bad the leaves are this fall.

I like my ego backpack blower a lot, but it is not a good choice if long runtime is what you need. It's fine for a little cleanup, but not a yard

 

[Snapped-off]

I like my ego backpack blower a lot, but it is not a good choice if long runtime is what you need. It's fine for a little cleanup, but not a yard

Which one have you got? I was looking at the commercial one with two 10 ah batteries.

 

[mike93lx]

Which one have you got? I was looking at the commercial one with two 10 ah batteries.

Lol, not that one. I have the residential model and run it with a single 7.5ah

 

[Rinspeed]

Can't give up the chainsaws yet... I'm undecided if I'll end up with a gas backpack blower or not. I was looking at the Ego stuff but may look at Toro and Stihl too.

I'll see how bad the leaves are this fall.

I have the Stihl BR600 and that damn throws some serious air.

 

[cannuck]

Have only 4 - 2 strokes out of many dozens of engines. One Poulin chainsaw and one "jumping jack" compactor. The others will be around the rest of my life - 6V92T in transit mixer and 4-53 in offroad crane. Next major engine expected soon will also be a 2 stroke diesel as I have been working with development for several years.

 

[bwringer]

Back before I got rid of all the 2-cycle garbage, I found that the canned fuel was well worth the expense through the enormous savings in time and aggravation.

If you're going through a gallon a week Mr. Bunyan, then mix yer own with decent quality oil, of course.

If you're like most people and may not use a gallon a year, just buy the canned stuff and enjoy the improvement in reliability. Hell, it even smells a lot better. The added expense will be unnoticeable.

 

[mv213]

The canned two-stroke gas is great, it will keep for 5 years unopened, and two years after opening. I have some for my chainsaw, that’s the only 2-stroke I have these days.

 

[Firebrick43]

I have the Stihl BR600 and that damn throws some serious air.

And isn’t 2 stroke to boot!

 

[Rinspeed]

And isn’t 2 stroke to boot!

It might as well be seeing it uses 2 stroke gas/oil mix.

 

[Firebrick43]

It might as well be seeing it uses 2 stroke gas/oil mix.

Using oil mixed in the gas isn’t what defines a two stroke.

 

[Rinspeed]

Using oil mixed in the gas isn’t what defines a two stroke.

I know, I know.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

When I got down to my last two stroke, I ran bean oil in it just to remind myself of the old days. Once it packed up I made like Dylan at Newport in '65 and went electric.

 

[Kurt4440]

Can't give up the chainsaws yet... I'm undecided if I'll end up with a gas backpack blower or not. I was looking at the Ego stuff but may look at Toro and Stihl too.

I'll see how bad the leaves are this fall.

I have an Echo PB-8010 backpack blower, which has a 79.9 cc engine. You will not find a comparable battery unit, not even for double the money.

 

[vf1000g24]

I have a DOLMAR (Makita) 4 stroke 76 cc engine backpack leaf blower and a Honda UMK435 UE 4 stroke brush cutter and they are cleaner and quieter than the old 2 stroke Echo I had before. Much less thirsty too! But I'm not ready to jump on the all-electric bandwagon...

 

[M635_Guy]

I have nothing gas-powered left in the garage that isn't a car except the pressure washer.

And I don't miss a single damn one of them. Gas wasn't great overall (though my Ego mower isn't quite as ergonomically good as my old Craftsman-aka-Husqvarna, but it's far more powerful), and gas+oil sucked. Pretty much all Ego now.

 

[JRPAviator]

I really don’t want to drop this here but I’m still not completely sold on the battery revolution. At some point the world will get wise to a bunch of people digging with their bare hands in 4th world countries to get the heavy metals for these batteries. We will also come to a head with the realization it is exceptionally difficult to recycle the batteries. Similar to a Prius. The recycling of the battery in a Prius completely negates its life cycle emissions savings. I think the battery revolution will eventually come to a head. Only exception is if Elon or someone similar can come up with some organic compound wonder battery. Until then I’ll stick to my gasoline fueled devices not sourced from the labor of a 14 year old slave worker in Africa. I guess I am a hippocrit with an iPhone and some Milwaukee stuff but I digress. Can’t afford and don’t have the space for the air compressor I want. The phone is forced upon me by society. I wish I didn’t need it.

I use pretty much all Stihl and buy their or VPs premix gallons. It’s cheap enough and I have yet to have issues with a Honda mower. Youngest item is 2 years old, chainsaw is 7 and I crank it up every 3 months these days. Second pull…

 

[mike93lx]

I really don’t want to drop this here but...

When you need to say that you don't want to say something, listen to yourself.

 

[JRPAviator]

When you need to say that you don't want to say something, listen to yourself.

Yeah then I guess I’ll go with my other thought that is less big picture. Last week my 2 cycle weedeater, trimmer and blower helped me do my yard in less than half the time of my neighbor with his full electric get-up. (He bought the guchi, best of the best, electric stuff) And I have enough gas in the tools to do it 2 more times before I refill. He had to change batteries on the mower once and the weedeater once. The battery stuff just isn’t good enough yet for my needs (yard size, grass length, frequency, time savings/loss)

 

[merkyworks]

I really don’t want to drop this here but I’m still not completely sold on the battery revolution. At some point the world will get wise to a bunch of people digging with their bare hands in 4th world countries to get the heavy metals for these batteries. We will also come to a head with the realization it is exceptionally difficult to recycle the batteries. Similar to a Prius. The recycling of the battery in a Prius completely negates its life cycle emissions savings. I think the battery revolution will eventually come to a head. Only exception is if Elon or someone similar can come up with some organic compound wonder battery. Until then I’ll stick to my gasoline fueled devices not sourced from the labor of a 14 year old slave worker in Africa.

Amen!


Echo 2 stroke blower & string trimmer along with a Honda 4 stroke mower. 10+ years of trouble free service.

Genuinely think battery powered lawn equipment is a reality but it’s 5-10 years from truly being better than gas power.

 

[sparky 1971]

I have three chainsaws, one weed eater, a leaf blower, and a post hole digger. I used to think my biggest problem with them was remembering three different fuel mixes (32, 40, and 50:1). Then I found Amsoil Saber and now everything gets 80:1. Now I wonder if I should get rid of everything, replace most of it with battery powered and a manual post hole digger.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

I am loving my Ryobi 40v brushless head with hedge trimmer, edger, blower and weed whacker attachments. I am never going back to gas. I just have a lawn tractor left as a gas outdoor tool.

 

[M635_Guy]

I really don’t want to drop this here but I’m still not completely sold on the battery revolution. At some point the world will get wise to a bunch of people digging with their bare hands in 4th world countries to get the heavy metals for these batteries. We will also come to a head with the realization it is exceptionally difficult to recycle the batteries. Similar to a Prius. The recycling of the battery in a Prius completely negates its life cycle emissions savings. I think the battery revolution will eventually come to a head. Only exception is if Elon or someone similar can come up with some organic compound wonder battery. Until then I’ll stick to my gasoline fueled devices not sourced from the labor of a 14 year old slave worker in Africa. I guess I am a hippocrit with an iPhone and some Milwaukee stuff but I digress. Can’t afford and don’t have the space for the air compressor I want. The phone is forced upon me by society. I wish I didn’t need it.

I use pretty much all Stihl and buy their or VPs premix gallons. It’s cheap enough and I have yet to have issues with a Honda mower. Youngest item is 2 years old, chainsaw is 7 and I crank it up every 3 months these days. Second pull…

There are so many conflicts, half-truths, inaccuracies and bizarre lines in there that it's not worth the time to break them down, but suffice to say I don't agree, and you should probably expand your knowledge and reading sources on the subject (not the least of which are the dimensions of the oil/gas industry you're sticking with, and the relative economies and scale of a yard tool vs. a car).

Beyond that, battery tools are great. Zero maintenance, start every time, have gobs of power, no fumy fuel to store (and preserve), tend to be smaller and lighter, are quieter, etc. etc. I get why they aren't ready in some spots for commercial use, but for a homeowner/DIY guy, I'm happy to be rid of gas and for that matter air tools.

 

[DemoFly]

I did not need to be convinced to buy an Ego blower. It was literally the strongest handheld leaf blower in the world when I bought it. Twice the CFM and half the weight. Zero maintenance.

The detractors say things like, yeah but you can't run a lawn service with it or run it for 2 hours straight. Yeah that's great I'm not a lawn service and I live on 0.75 acres.

 

[M635_Guy]

I did not need to be convinced to buy an Ego blower. It was literally the strongest handheld leaf blower in the world when I bought it. Twice the CFM and half the weight. Zero maintenance.

The detractors say things like, yeah but you can't run a lawn service with it or run it for 2 hours straight. Yeah that's great I'm not a lawn service and I live on 0.75 acres.

The fast charger that came with my Ego mower charges the batteries quickly enough that I have essentially unlimited runtime. I have 10Ah, 5Ah, 4Ah and 2.5Ah batteries that will run in any of the Ego tools I own (Mower, blower, string trimmer, hedge trimmer) and the only thing that seems thirsty to me is the mower. I have zero 'battery anxiety" with these tools.

 

[JRPAviator]

There are so many conflicts, half-truths, inaccuracies and bizarre lines in there that it's not worth the time to break them down, but suffice to say I don't agree, and you should probably expand your knowledge and reading sources on the subject (not the least of which are the dimensions of the oil/gas industry you're sticking with, and the relative economies and scale of a yard tool vs. a car).

Beyond that, battery tools are great. Zero maintenance, start every time, have gobs of power, no fumy fuel to store (and preserve), tend to be smaller and lighter, are quieter, etc. etc. I get why they aren't ready in some spots for commercial use, but for a homeowner/DIY guy, I'm happy to be rid of gas and for that matter air tools.

https://www.science.org/content/article/millions-electric-cars-are-coming-what-happens-all-dead-batteries

How much CO2 is emitted by manufacturing batteries?

It depends exactly where and how the battery is made—but when it comes to clean technologies like electric cars and solar power, even the dirtiest batteries emit less CO2 than using no battery at all.

climate.mit.edu

A little light reading! And listening

 

[JRPAviator]

I’m not saying batteries don’t have a place. I’m just not going to get out my knee pads and bow down to a batt only future

 

[M635_Guy]

https://www.science.org/content/article/millions-electric-cars-are-coming-what-happens-all-dead-batteries

How much CO2 is emitted by manufacturing batteries?

It depends exactly where and how the battery is made—but when it comes to clean technologies like electric cars and solar power, even the dirtiest batteries emit less CO2 than using no battery at all.

climate.mit.edu

A little light reading! And listening

I’m not saying batteries don’t have a place. I’m just not going to get out my knee pads and bow down to a batt only future

Based on your recommendations, you clearly have other needs for your knee pads...

 

[GirlnAgarage]

I've got cordless tools and a lot of 2stroke and a few 4stroke machines. For me, the amt of work, land area, remoteness (rural or urban) and ambient temperature influence what power platform can be used for a job. All electric would not get the job done out here. But both platforms have a place.