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2 stage engine questions

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Freedom, Jan 14, 2009.

  1. Freedom

    Freedom Active Member

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    2 cycle engine questions

    I have a 1.25 gallon container I use for the gasoline for the lawnmower all summer.

    Gave up on shoveling, got myself a snowthrower. It is a single stage, 2 cycle engine, so it needs a gas oil mix.

    Can I use the same container, or do I have to have a separate one for mixing a gallon of gasoline with the engine oil?

    The bottle of engine oil which came with the snowthrower has stabilizer in it. Do I have to add MORE once mixed with the gasoline and into the snowthrower?

    Finally, in Home Depot today, they had a "green" engine oil, bio friendly (is there such a thing?? I can't find it on their web site.) It was less money (these are all the 2.6 ounce size small bottles) but it had no stabilizer in it. They had large bottles of stabilizer. How much would I add if I bought that oil? (Yes, I asked the 20 year old working n the department, he had no idea. He said, "you must be a home owner! I'm not, I 'm only 20." ) LOL

    Thank you for guidance.

    Thanks to GrGramps for clarifying the cycle / stage differences. Oops! I fixed it.
     
    #1 Freedom, Jan 14, 2009
  2. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    I've always been told not to use the same can. The 4-stroke will not be happy if there is residual oil in the gasoline from the 2-stroke mix. Maybe thats an old wives tale though. The green oil could be plant based, or it could just be a bunch of rubbish :)

    I have neither a lawnmower or a snowblower, so I'm probably the wrong guy to be answering :D

    Rob
     
    #2 miscrms, Jan 14, 2009
  3. tleonhar

    tleonhar Senior Member

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    First for containers, it's not a big deal to use only one container as long as you empty the two cycle gas before you use straight gas (and visa versa of course). A little mixed (two cycle) gas in the four stroke will not do a great deal of harm except smoke like crazy, but you DO NOT want to put straight gas into a two stroke. So given the little a second gas can costs, it's worth it to have separate, just to avoid accidentally filling one with the wrong gas.
    Stabilizer is something you add to the left over gas at the end of the season, as well as any remaining in their respective tanks. It will prevent or at least retard the buildup of varnish.
    The "green" oil they mentioned more than likely has just the additive of a colorant to make it easier to tell the mixed from straight gas. There are some 2-cycle oils that are designed as low ash, these are very worth while IMO, 2-cycle engines, especially the small ones have a nasty habit of carboning up in a few years if the oil isn't clean.

    Hope this helps...
     
    #3 tleonhar, Jan 14, 2009
  4. Freedom

    Freedom Active Member

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    Great, thank you both.
     
    #4 Freedom, Jan 15, 2009
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