Stihl 500i fuel thoughts

[Johnkv]

Anyone running a 28 inch stihl light bar on a 500i? And does it handle it much the same as the 25 inch standard light bar.? John. 

Edited May 18, 2022 by Johnkv

[Fatboy2017]

Depending on what part of the UK you're in, you can use Esso premium 99 supreme, it is ethanol free unless you're in the North West, if the fuel comes from the Esso refinery in Southampton then it's ethanol free (it says 5% on the pump but zero means up to 5%) to satisfy the greens.  My stuff runs very well on it as well.

I use Husky fully syn XP oil, which has stabilizer in it as well.

[Hodge]

Anyone running a 28 inch stihl light bar on a 500i? And does it handle it much the same as the 25 inch standard light bar.? John. 

Yes, it's still awesome with the 28....

[Johnkv]

3 minutes ago, Hodge said:

Yes, it's still awesome with the 28....

Did u turn up the oiler past its restricter pin? Good to hear that.. I'm using nearly all my bar oil for a tank of fuel, I'd still have a nice little bit in it. 

[brynseiri]

I’ve had a 500i since late October, similar use to the OP. I use stihl 2 stroke oil, the original, with E5 petrol, always shell v power, and I put stabiliser in that as it runs the farm quad etc. not had any problems yet and I’ve just about worn out a 20” chain, so it’s had more use than I’d think. Ran a 441 before from new, and I just used the little single shot bottles by stihl to mix a 5 litre combi can. I don’t see dirty petrol as a problem for a 500i, as you can just tip it out, half fill with clean, and pump the bulb, and it flushes through back to the tank regardless. So you can flush out a couple of times with no fear of problems. It is a thirsty saw though, so managing fuel for long periods of storage shouldn’t be a problem- you’ll not have any stood as it’ll drink it all if you time it right 

[Johnkv]

8 hours ago, brynseiri said:

I’ve had a 500i since late October, similar use to the OP. I use stihl 2 stroke oil, the original, with E5 petrol, always shell v power, and I put stabiliser in that as it runs the farm quad etc. not had any problems yet and I’ve just about worn out a 20” chain, so it’s had more use than I’d think. Ran a 441 before from new, and I just used the little single shot bottles by stihl to mix a 5 litre combi can. I don’t see dirty petrol as a problem for a 500i, as you can just tip it out, half fill with clean, and pump the bulb, and it flushes through back to the tank regardless. So you can flush out a couple of times with no fear of problems. It is a thirsty saw though, so managing fuel for long periods of storage shouldn’t be a problem- you’ll not have any stood as it’ll drink it all if you time it right 

Are you using hp super or hp ultra? There's a stabilizer in super but somehow none in their  so called superior hp ultra. Ya they can drink it alright but with the power you get I don't mind.. 

[Johnkv]

Anyone running 40 to 1 rather than 50 to 1? And is there any difference in performance at the 40 rather than 50. 

[Johnkv]

On 01/02/2022 at 21:13, Dan Maynard said:

I think to be honest most people probably start using something and then don't change because they have no problems. I've been given a load of Echo 2 stroke oil by a neighbour, don't know what to do with it as I don't really want to risk it in my saws.

 

I'm also working on assumptions, some of the Stihl literature is contradictory but the ultra is fully synthetic and stated to be lower ash than the super which is semi synthetic. It doesn't make sense to me that the super would have stabiliser but not the ultra, but like I said I've found it hard to get details.

 

I think I've read somewhere to not mix more than you'll use in a month but I haven't found it to be too critical, some of my bigger saws sit longer than that between uses.

 

I keep all saw tanks full because it reduces the chance of evaporation from the fuel, and any moisture being absorbed (it does say to do this in the Stihl saw manuals). I also buy super petrol because the E10 is more likely to absorb water and separate. So far my saws are all good, so I carry on like that but I can't really tell you which of the things I do are essential.

 

If you are going to be regularly leaving petrol longer and going stale is a worry then maybe you should just start on Motomix, this has ultra oil and shelf life measured in years.

 

[Dan Maynard]

Fair enough, horses mouth, no stabiliser in ultra. I still have a load of saws running just fine on it, and notice no stability problems, so I don't want to change. I also tend to think there is something in the Stihl claims of lower carbon and lower wear with ultra.

 

Your mileage may vary, as they say.

[Johnkv]

At last I found a bit of evidence that puts some truth in my theory, downloaded from a stihl hk 94 c-e hedgecutter manual. 

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by Johnkv