Have you ever wondered about the gas ?

[SARG]

I've been doing a lot of reading lately about the 2 cycle equipment engines and the manufacturers recommending at least 89 octane fuel.
Now this time of year I usually fill about ten five gallon containers to have it on hand for our generator in case of a power loss.... and then I use it up in the lawn equipment through the spring & summer.
I've decided I'm going to fill them this year with what they currently call premium fuel i.e. 89 octane or above .... BUT .... I really do not trust several of the local places that sell fuel. I am very suspicious they only buy one flavor .. being the cheapest .... and then let the customers pay more if they choose.
I recall working at a real gas station back in the sixties which was a Sunoco. They sold several grades from I think 160 up to the top of the line called 280 maybe ? I also specifically remember the crook that owned the place would wait until after dark and then take the extra long nozzle he installed on one pump and dump the low octane gas into the high octane tank to balance the available fuel for the next day's business.
I guess I need to go to a local franchise instead of the gypsies that seem to own most of the "marts".

 

[marty_p]

I don't worry; my state has an agency which inspects and samples gasoline stations for both quantity AND octane delivered!

 

[Kevin54]

Around here the County Auditors check things out to make sure that you get what you are supposed to get, both in octane and in quantity. There have been a few caught that was not giving a full gallon.

 

[Mike Miller]

I only run non ethanol premium in my saws, and air cooled four stroke engines.

 

[58Yeoman]

I only run non ethanol premium in my saws, and air cooled four stroke engines.

Same here. The nearest is a Phillips 66.

 

[purplezr2]

We were trying to get some 87 at work and all the local 87 pumps tested out at 89 something to think about....

 

[jayoldschool]

I also run non-ethanol 91 in everything with a carb, or anything that sits.

 

[Silver Heels]

To piggyback off this thread- My Harley calls for premium. When I fill up with say, 2 or 3 gallons I hit the button for premium, but more often than not, it is one common hose for all three grades. The Joe who filled up before me filled with regular. Am I just purging the couple gallons of regular that remains in the hose and stopping before ever getting a drop of premium?

 

[theoldwizard1]

Gallon size is check. I don't know about octane.

The Costco by my house happens to be just off of a major suburban freeway. On attendant there say they get 1 large tanker of fuel almost everyday, 7 days a week. Some days they get 2 tankers !

P.S. IMHO the pre-mix that some of the 2 stroke manufacturers are selling is RIDICULOUSLY overprices !

 

[G19Tony]

I keep a 5 gal can of 100LL around for the power washer. I still drain the carb, but you could leave 100 in the bowl and it never goes bad.

 

[JonnyMac]

The laws related to octane are based on the vehicle emissions standards. They require the stated octane number to be the minimum standard. I deal with specialist fuels and when i get our bulk fuel analyzed its mot unusual for it to come back as being a couple of octane above the stated value.

As for quality that is 99% down to the gas station tank cleanliness and integrity. The manufacturing process to get the fuel to legally meet the spec is so involved its just not worth screwing around so when it leaves the refinery its almost always high quality and good condition. Even imported fuels are strictly analyzed at point of importation.

I did discover recently though ( from the head tech guy at bp) that fuel starts to go off after a month so imported fuels tend to have more additives. Thats not necessarily a bad thing though..

 

[Arps]

A friend of mine worked as a delivery driver for Pennzoil for years. I asked him about that once and he said sometimes they will put higher octane in the lower tanks, but never ever the other way around.

 

[J Persons]

Get the pure gas app for your cellphone, it will show you the local stations that sell gas without ethanol. But in my area, all the stations that sell the non ethanol gas only sell 87 octane. My '14 Taurus SHO can use regular 87 octane, but gets better mileage using 93 octane.

 

[mark18mwm]

You mentioned the manufacturers recommending at least 89 octane, that is the best advise, they know what they make. However (and not directed at you) most people seem to think they give their a "treat" by giving it higher octane fuel. Not true, to get the most power (BTU's) out of your engine you should use the lowest octane rated fuel you can with out getting detonation (spark knock). The lower the octane the more efficiently the fuel is burned. The reason racing engines and high performance engines use high octane fuel is because they have higher compression and more spark advance in the timing, to increase power. Both promote detonation (spark knock) that can destroy a engine. higher octane (octane is a acronym for anti knock rating) helps alleviate the detonation. I never used to believe this until my engine builder showed me on a dyno my race car engine on different fuels. Let me say the racing I did was a "limited" class of dirt modifieds, by rule we could only have 9.5 to 1 compression (similar to many street cars). My engine made MORE power with 91 octane premium pump gas then it did with 110 octane race gas! However to be on the side of safety (because I used quite a bit of spark advance) to prevent detonation I mixed 104 octane 50/50 with 91 octane, it lost a couple horses but I knew detonation would not be a issue. I didn't post this to tell you about my racing, just to point out o use what the manufacturer recommends, they do know their product. If you feel you need to use higher octane then you need you are not only spending money unnecessarily but loosing horse power. This is not just my opinion, if one does some research you will see the same sort of info, but probably explained a lot better than I can explain it.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

To piggyback off this thread- My Harley calls for premium. When I fill up with say, 2 or 3 gallons I hit the button for premium, but more often than not, it is one common hose for all three grades. The Joe who filled up before me filled with regular. Am I just purging the couple gallons of regular that remains in the hose and stopping before ever getting a drop of premium?

I'd be surprised if the hose has more than 1/2 pint or so of gas in it.

 

[malibu101]

A few years ago a gas station near me changed to a Sunoco station. The old station offered 3 octane levels of gas but the new Sunoco offered 4 grades. This wondered me as to how since they didn't add another tank. So I emailed Sunoco and asked them how this place went from 3 to 4 grades of gas.

The reply I got was that most stations have 2 tanks. One for low grade and the other for high grade and any grade in between is a mix of the 2 grades that is mixed at the pump.

I didn't know this until then and just wanted to pass it on in case anybody else didn't know.

 

[Kingcreek]

Sunoco used to advertise "custom blended" fuels back in the 60's and 70's. and yeah, they had 2 tanks.

I have Seven 5gal cans. Feb, April, June, etc written in marker on the cans of even months. all full, all the time just in case. I'm about to dump October can in truck and fill next time at the pump. Never more than 12 months old and on hand in case of need for the generator. The extra can is just for the mowers, atv, etc

 

[stonesfan68]

There are definitely different grades of gasoline. Do a search for "top tier" or "premium tier" gasoline in your area. The Costco near me sells top tier gasoline that they buy from someone. Chevron, Shell and Exxonmobil are considered top tier fuels. You should also add the marine grade Sta-Bil to the gasoline used in small engines as well- it really helps keep the moisture at bay.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Slednut]

Where I live we still have a station that sells non-ethanol fuel. This site may help you find one in your area.
http://pure-gas.org/

 

[kaffine]

The laws related to octane are based on the vehicle emissions standards. They require the stated octane number to be the minimum standard. I deal with specialist fuels and when i get our bulk fuel analyzed its mot unusual for it to come back as being a couple of octane above the stated value.

When you get the octane rating tested are they providing the RON, MON or combined rating?

 

[BlackjackNA]

You mentioned the manufacturers recommending at least 89 octane, that is the best advise, they know what they make. However (and not directed at you) most people seem to think they give their a "treat" by giving it higher octane fuel. Not true, to get the most power (BTU's) out of your engine you should use the lowest octane rated fuel you can with out getting detonation (spark knock). The lower the octane the more efficiently the fuel is burned. The reason racing engines and high performance engines use high octane fuel is because they have higher compression and more spark advance in the timing, to increase power. Both promote detonation (spark knock) that can destroy a engine. higher octane (octane is a acronym for anti knock rating) helps alleviate the detonation. I never used to believe this until my engine builder showed me on a dyno my race car engine on different fuels. Let me say the racing I did was a "limited" class of dirt modifieds, by rule we could only have 9.5 to 1 compression (similar to many street cars). My engine made MORE power with 91 octane premium pump gas then it did with 110 octane race gas! However to be on the side of safety (because I used quite a bit of spark advance) to prevent detonation I mixed 104 octane 50/50 with 91 octane, it lost a couple horses but I knew detonation would not be a issue. I didn't post this to tell you about my racing, just to point out o use what the manufacturer recommends, they do know their product. If you feel you need to use higher octane then you need you are not only spending money unnecessarily but loosing horse power. This is not just my opinion, if one does some research you will see the same sort of info, but probably explained a lot better than I can explain it.

Yes, I have heard this. My 420 cc-powered generator's manual states specifically not to use premium gas or any additives .... starts and runs beautifully. I store 75 l of fuel with Stabil and gasoline antifreeze.