Aspen 2 oil

[huskywilson]

the VI is always better , as it doesnt cause wear so much , its like WW2  aero engines that used castor oil , the VI was so high if it overheated it made a varnish effect to stop alloy transfer  on them , i take apart folks  saws/ strimmers etc  to repair or tidy up and the pistons are usually dry once the petrol evaporates , i took  apart my saws occasionally and the whole skits and crank is covered in the good oil . if i put a drop of xp oil on a table it spreads fast , the ipone  motul or bel ray takes ages to move at room temp  same as if i put a drop on finger and thumb and slowly spread it  stays tacky , XP oil immediately separates  . my opinion anyway , i have  saws and never had wear or failure  issues 

[GardenKit]

2 hours ago, huskywilson said:

the VI is always better , as it doesnt cause wear so much , its like WW2  aero engines that used castor oil , the VI was so high if it overheated it made a varnish effect to stop alloy transfer  on them , i take apart folks  saws/ strimmers etc  to repair or tidy up and the pistons are usually dry once the petrol evaporates , i took  apart my saws occasionally and the whole skits and crank is covered in the good oil . if i put a drop of xp oil on a table it spreads fast , the ipone  motul or bel ray takes ages to move at room temp  same as if i put a drop on finger and thumb and slowly spread it  stays tacky , XP oil immediately separates  . my opinion anyway , i have  saws and never had wear or failure  issues 

Fair play, and I respect the opinions of others. But I have to say any good quality 2t oil will leave a coating on the internals of an engine that has been stopped in normal use. JASO  FD oils only need to meet 6.5 min VI and that figure is considered sufficient. Each to their own though and as long as it works for you that's great.

[outinthewood]

Interesting few posts on this but none from the main man ..Now we all have a life outside of this forum and I'm sure Mr Aspen has other things to do other than answer my questions about just what is used in "his" product.

I'm not for a moment suggesting anything untoward but when you make such a sweeping statement you really have to step up and back up your claims as we all work hard for what we have and deserve an informed and straight forward answer ? Not to dismiss Gardenkit posts but you Sir did not make the claim. I've tried Aspen about 5/6 years ago maybe longer and I ran a strimmer on it around the yard ( 10l over about 3 weeks) and yes I agree it's clean and if I was a landscaper doing a bit of that type of work then how could you not use it ! If I was still climbing then I'd use battery. I recently did a bit of Ash dieback removal on patches a harvester could not get to and in that situation - bent over the saw all day then I would use it again but only in that situation as it's just to expensive for full production felling and I will I'm sure get it in the neck for this, but, I feel it's just to "clean" for a flatout production saw ?? I know two guys that work on saws ( all makes ) and garden gear and one of the uses they use Aspen for is it's detergent ability on you average joe's gear that says to me that albeit "clean" it's also quite harsh ? I'm sure I'm wrong but until "we" have a more informed answer that's what I'll be going with.

I had a look at Aspen's website today and no real info about what is added which I'm sure will be covered by "sensitive commercial information" ?

I look forward to being very wrong as I do think Aspen is ,in it's place a good product , but as it seems from the  info I've seen it's a decent product not the "magic bullet" ?

[GardenKit]

2 hours ago, outinthewood said:

Interesting few posts on this but none from the main man ..Now we all have a life outside of this forum and I'm sure Mr Aspen has other things to do other than answer my questions about just what is used in "his" product.

I'm not for a moment suggesting anything untoward but when you make such a sweeping statement you really have to step up and back up your claims as we all work hard for what we have and deserve an informed and straight forward answer ? Not to dismiss Gardenkit posts but you Sir did not make the claim. I've tried Aspen about 5/6 years ago maybe longer and I ran a strimmer on it around the yard ( 10l over about 3 weeks) and yes I agree it's clean and if I was a landscaper doing a bit of that type of work then how could you not use it ! If I was still climbing then I'd use battery. I recently did a bit of Ash dieback removal on patches a harvester could not get to and in that situation - bent over the saw all day then I would use it again but only in that situation as it's just to expensive for full production felling and I will I'm sure get it in the neck for this, but, I feel it's just to "clean" for a flatout production saw ?? I know two guys that work on saws ( all makes ) and garden gear and one of the uses they use Aspen for is it's detergent ability on you average joe's gear that says to me that albeit "clean" it's also quite harsh ? I'm sure I'm wrong but until "we" have a more informed answer that's what I'll be going with.

I had a look at Aspen's website today and no real info about what is added which I'm sure will be covered by "sensitive commercial information" ?

I look forward to being very wrong as I do think Aspen is ,in it's place a good product , but as it seems from the  info I've seen it's a decent product not the "magic bullet" ?

Sometimes you just need a little trust!

 

I cannot understand the "harsh" comment, as in fact Aspen is just the opposite.

Aspen is 95 Ron just like petrol yet contains only around 10 chemicals none of which are solvents, as opposed to over 100 in petrol, of which 35% ish are "harsh" aromatics ( solvents).

Aspen FRT oil is not over rich in detergency, it has no need to be as it does not have to clean up the products of combustion from the clean burning Aspen. As there are vertually no carbon deposits laid down by Aspen in the combustion chamber, there is nothing to clean up, so no abrasive material being scavenged. Petrol however, is dirty burning and the oils have to counter this, hence high detergency.

 

It is true that carboned saws converted to Aspen will slowly clean up, but this is because Aspen lays down no further carbon and the original carbon is slowly cleaned up during the heat of combustion.

 

The man from Aspen is an infrequent visitor to this site, but he will surely respond in good time, but I doubt you will find a spec sheet on the FRT oil. It's not available on the retail market as a bottle of 2 stroke oil so does not need a spec to print on the bottle. FRT is only found in the mixed Aspen2 fuel.

 

[Steve Bullman]

9 hours ago, outinthewood said:

Interesting few posts on this but none from the main man

Well it was the weekend.  Perhaps he’s one of those rare beasts whose found a balance between life and work ?

[Aspen@AAOIL]

Hey guys, 

 

Sorry I didn't reply over the weekend, I did see that there had been some interesting replies in this thread but I did not feel that I could do these questions any justice responding from my phone.

 

Gardenkit has done a great job as always by stepping in and answering most of the questions but I will try to cover your questions in one go to try to clear things up and apologies in advance if something is missed as i am sure you can understand it is difficult to answer 10s of questions at once.

 

Firstly i think it is important to tackle the question regarding my bold claim which was essentially saying that Aspen 2 is the best 2-stroke mix for your chainsaws/powertools. It's important to note that when I talk about the best 2-stroke mix for your machines, I am always referring to your 2-stroke power tools which Aspen is designed for. Aspen 2 is not designed for competition 2-stroke motorcycles, just like redline racing (or any other bike oil) is not designed for chainsaws... These applications place different requirements on the oil. It is important to also note that the role of a 2-stroke oil is not only to lubricate the engine internals. It must also keep the combustion chamber clean, mix well with petrol, not lower the performance of fuels combustibility, keep smoke levels down and not clog the exhaust.

 

The Jaso standard which have been brought up in this topic are ratings which were designed to help consumers choose the best oils for their 2-stroke scooters. typically in cramped cities where there are much more 2-stroke bikes than in the UK, these bikes have a very negative impact on the local air quality and in general an FD oil would improve this over an FA. As Gardenkit already mentioned however, these tests are not difficult to pass and there are no tests or gradings which show oils which surpass these requirements. for more information on JASO ratings i suggest you look on google and you can find the specifications.

 

The oil in Aspen 2 changed in late 2014 as newer and better oil technology became available. Stihl 4-mix engines in particular, are very demanding on the quality of 2-stroke oils and many oils on the market will cause the valve stems to soot up and fail (as would the previous blend of aspen oil). Over 1000’s of hours of field testing of various 2-stroke blends along with tests in the lab made Aspen decide on the Oil which you will now find in Aspen 2.

Its also very important to note that the 2-stroke oil portion of your fuel/oil mix is only 2% on a 50:1 mix. The rest is made up of the petrol you choose to mix it with which also makes a difference to the protection of your engine and a much greater difference to the exhaust emissions which can have a negative effect on operator health. The oil mix is only as good as the operator is at mixing and by using a ready mixed fuel such as Aspen 2, you do not have to worry about the consistency of this blend.

 

As Garden kit mentioned. Aspen’s reputation and business model relies on supplying the best fuels for man, machine and environment and they are constantly looking to make improvements as new technologies become available. As the 2-stroke oil is a very big part of what makes our product unique, it is not sold on its own and the recipe/specs are not readily available as you must appreciate.

 

Aspen sells over 50 million litres of fuel each year specifically for small engine machinery such as chainsaws and are regarded as the market leader in this sector. Popularity is constantly growing as happy customers experience the difference.

 

 

[outinthewood]

Been a little busy myself so only now really reading over the posts on this. 

First of all I should make it clear that I have no down side on Aspen and in fact when asked by a "home owner" type about fuel I recommend Aspen. 

I have yet to speak or read any info from a full time forestry user on how they find the product ?

With regards to the "10s" of questions I only really saw 3 at most ?  

To my knowledge there is no" 2 stroke tool" industry test so all we can go with is lots of stuff which very few of us can really understand including a "scooter" test !!

As I said my question is how is Aspen mix oil better than any other on the market and this has in no way been answered , yes all the usual health and enviro stuff trotted out which I'm quite sure is 100% correct but no answer.....

I made it clear that I knew the "recipe" was very much a private matter but the oils grading is, if it's so much better than anything else, nothing to avoid answering a simple question about ?  

Selling so much product and having been around for a considerable time means to me and I'm sure lots of folk that Aspen is a good product , but, making such large claims should be backed up with answers not seen as a chance to rehash already stated sales points and avoiding the question ?