Storing question

[Stihlmike]

How long is it ok for your saw to sit without being ran with fuel inside. I thought I had ran mine dry before putting it away but checked it last night it has a little bit inside of the fuel tank. Not a ton but there was a little bit inside of it. Probably not enough to even run the saw I emptied it out, and was wondering if it will be ok. It has sat for about a month.

Also how long can you keep 2 stroke gas in a container before you will have issues with it? I am a diehard archery guy and have not ran my saw in a month. I plan on getting it out on Sunday morning for a little bit of cutting. I elected to wait until this summer to install the burner, and allow my wood to season a bit better, to reduce the risk of fire, not ideal, but I thought it would be better to be a bit more prepared.

I did not try to re-fire the saw last night, but made sure I got the little bit of remaining fuel out of it. The saw was set in my garage on a shelf.

 

[El Finko]

If it was just a month my guess is you'd be okay. Do you add a fuel stabilizer when you mix your gas?

 

[mass_burner]

uh-oh, last time i used mine was in April. Should I drain it or try to start it?

 

[El Finko]

If it was me I'd sure try until I got it started. Make sure you use at least 89 octane, and mix in StaBil (or equivalent) and the right amount of oil.
Fire it up, warm it up, run it dry.

 

[mass_burner]

thanks, i'll do it this weekend.

 

[Jags]

You will see as many answers as there are possibilities. I have never drained my saws and they can go dormant for a couple of months at a time. I generally don't use stabil (although I have and I don't have anything against it) and my gas has ethanol in it.

 

[Ashful]

Mine have been sitting since July, unused. I pulled one out last week, for the first time since July 5, and she started right up and ran. I hear so many here worry about gas troubles, and maybe it's real, but I've never had any of it myself.

Oh... my snowblower still has 2010 gas in the tank.

 

[PLAYS WITH FIRE]

I used to run mine dry, the I used Stabil or similar, now I use the True Fuel stuff from one of the box stores. I have tuned my saws to run on 40:1 and the true fuel stuff is 50:1 with synthetic oil. I am changing again to BG Products ethanol threat meant. I would trust their additives before anyone else's.

I have seen what ethanol does to a gas can compared to VP race fuel and it's pretty funky. It makes a white, crystal coating on stuff. My new can I couldn't even use the PIA spring loaded spur because it was so bunked up. Imagine what it does to the carb as folks on AS said it does the same. I paid some nice money for my toys and want to protect them!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Like Jags, we never drain our saws. We also have never had a problem with them but we do add stabilizer to each tank of gas when we buy it.

 

[El Finko]

Ethanol soaks up moisture.

Moisture inside your saw is bad joo-joo.

 

[rowerwet]

I use gas with no ethanol, I still don't like to let it sit in the motor/tank more than a year

 

[NH_Wood]

You won't do permanent major damage to the saw no matter how long the saw sits with old gas - you are increasing the chance for having to do some fairly minor repairs as the gas varnisizes, etc. Fuel filter and carb jets may clog, fuel line may deteriorate quicker, etc. For me, replacing minor parts and spending the time to clean/replace parts is still time and money, so I drain my fuel and run dry if I won't be using the saw or other equipment for weeks or months. I do use the ethanol stabil treatment in all of my gas, but still not sure how it is supposed to help the ethanol issue! Cheers!

 

[Ashful]

I suspect that draining gas out of my 1990's vintage snow blower would do it more harm than good, as the only way to get that tank truly empty would be to pull a fuel line and drain it back into the can. These lines, being 20 years old, are likely to crack if I go pulling one off of a barb fitting. It's much easier to just shut the fuel valve and run her dry, if keeping the jets dry is your aim.

Chainsaws are a little easier to drain.