One reason I use Aspen

[geoff]

Briggs have been producing these things for years and they are impervious to petrol, that is, to fresh petrol.

 

It has to be undestood that petrol is chemically 'unstable', it undergoes chemical reactions within itself which change its chemical makeup as time goes by.

 

It loses its original properties of combustion, volatility,octane rating etc as it ages and takes on an acidic nature which will attack materials that fresh petrol will not.

 

Pump petrol was never formulated to last, there is no need for it last normally. You buy it for your car today and its gone by next week.

 

In our industry, as well as the marine market this stuff sits around and changes into a useless gunk which causes costly repair.

 

Fresh fuel is no problem at all, but dont let it age.

 

Spot on.

[shanks]

Has anyone ever done a controlled test though?? as in, ever measured degradation of a fuel mix at 50:1. Or is the 'don't use an old fuel mix' something left over from days gone by when it maybe was an issue.

 

I'm on my last couple of tank fulls of a 3 month old mix, I can't find any difference with it compared to when it was a fresh mix. Before every fill up I shake the can for a few moments just incase of any seperation.

 

I'd like to see a propper and independent lab test of petrol/oil mix degradation vs time.

 

I would be the perfect customer for Aspen, being an irregular user, but the price is just crazy.

[GardenKit]

Has anyone ever done a controlled test though??.

I really dont know if an official test has been done, but dont think there is a lot of point.

 

In the same way we dont need a test to prove that milk goes off, we dont need to prove that petrol goes off. Any small engine mechanic will see stale fuel of some degree on a daily basis.

 

How long it takes to go off is dependant on factors such as temperature, light and humidity, in most ways just like milk but over a longer timeline.

 

Because of the 'unstable' chemical make up of petrol, it starts its degradation from the day you buy it, starting its downhill slide.

 

Most of the machines I service at this time of year will have 6 month old petrol in, and without doubt, are more difficult to start (if they start at all) and run poorly compared with fresh fuel.

 

For that reason, every machine I service or repair has its fuel drained and replaced with fresh. This has a large financial impact on my business but is IMO essential.

 

This season I have changed to filling every machine with Aspen rather than conditioned fuel and the feedback so far from customers is very positive.

[TRADITIONAL LOGGERS]

Is it Aspen in Sweden putting up the wholesale price or the UK supplier? Price is too high and most people would like to use but cannot pass onto the customers.

[GardenKit]

Is it Aspen in Sweden putting up the wholesale price or the UK supplier? Price is too high and most people would like to use but cannot pass onto the customers.

The UK increase is applied by the UK supplier. I believe this is for the same reasons as the ever increasing petrol and diesel costs.

 

Pump prices vary from day to day, slowly moving upwards, whilst a product like Aspen stays at the same RRP for some time and then increases in a larger bump to catch up.

 

I cant see the price coming down, at least, not until the volume of sales increase dramatically. The sales nationwide are definately on the up though.

 

If you want to use it dont wait for it to come down, bite the bullet and go for it.

[geoff]

Is it Aspen in Sweden putting up the wholesale price or the UK supplier? Price is too high and most people would like to use but cannot pass onto the customers.

 

Interesting post this,I use aspen in all my hand held kit.

A reasonable sized take down,say a days work, might involve using from 5 to 10 litres,a generous alowance I think.

Now the price difference between pump premix & aspen will be at most £10/20 on said job,If I am charging the client a most reasonable £450 for the task,I will have to charge between 2 & 4% more than the pump fuel user.

Felling & clearing will be more,(but that is not my core work load).

On these figures,(derived by myself I admit),which are an exageration of the cost difference,I think we can compete as aspen users,& in fact many do.

Personaly I dont realy notice the extra cost,but I'm thick skinned & dull in the head,

It would be interesting to hear how other aspen users feel on this.

[treequip]

The UK increase is applied by the UK supplier. I believe this is for the same reasons as the ever increasing petrol and diesel costs.

 

Pump prices vary from day to day, slowly moving upwards, whilst a product like Aspen stays at the same RRP for some time and then increases in a larger bump to catch up.

 

I cant see the price coming down, at least, not until the volume of sales increase dramatically. The sales nationwide are definately on the up though.

 

If you want to use it dont wait for it to come down, bite the bullet and go for it.

 

I have to ask this

 

How big was the last "bump" It must have measured on the Richter scale to put aspen to about double the price of unleaded.

 

When has aspen EVER trailed unleaded in price

[Andy Collins]

Another reason I can't be bothered to use Aspen is the distance I would have to travel to specifically purchase this product. The nearest seller is about 10miles away, 20 mile round trip, next nearest is around 30mile round trip. The nearer dealer has nothing else in stock that I'd wish to purchase, or would have an intreats in purchasing. To specially go out of my way to buy this product, use the time and fuel to get there, makes this an extremely expensive product, well it's already an expensive product.

With the amount of time this product has been out there, if it's so good why isn't it more widely available, or is this just poor marketing?

[Steve Bullman]

who is the dealer 10 miles away?

[treequip]

Another reason I can't be bothered to use Aspen is the distance I would have to travel to specifically purchase this product. The nearest seller is about 10miles away, 20 mile round trip, next nearest is around 30mile round trip. The nearer dealer has nothing else in stock that I'd wish to purchase, or would have an intreats in purchasing. To specially go out of my way to buy this product, use the time and fuel to get there, makes this an extremely expensive product, well it's already an expensive product.

With the amount of time this product has been out there, if it's so good why isn't it more widely available, or is this just poor marketing?

 

I am in the same situation as you (ecxcept 60 mile round trip) but when I called the nearest stockist they had none in and said they didn’t want to place an order any unless I wanted at least 50l

 

Dealers wont stock it cos it’s so expensive compared to pump, because dealers won’t stock it people won’t use it so the price won’t come down

 

Chicken and egg, only aspen can do anything about that, bring the price down guys, go on give it a go, this stuff cant cost that much more to make, they sell it elsewhere for a fraction of what you are demanding of us in the UK.

 

Your blurb and your reps tell us we will die of petrol poisoning if we don’t use aspen. Come on aspen, do you care so little about our health that you would price your life giving elixir out of our range? Cough, choke