One reason I use Aspen

[Daniël Bos]

Earlier post, that I consider worth a read, including link.

 

It is on a similar base to that that in the Netherlands it is effectively compulsory for employers to supply their employees with alkalyte fuel.

 

It's quite odd that HSE allow people to supply their employees with, and to be exposed to these known harmful substances without any form of protection whilst there is more than one real alternative available...

[GardenKit]

Well, yes petrol goes stale, how long before it does?

 

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There are two main factors that cause fuel to deteriorate. HEAT and LIGHT

 

Firstly we need to understand that pump fuel is chemically unstable. This simply means that it is subject to chemical changes which, after time, render it unsuitable for the purpose intended.

 

The chemical reactions are sped up in higher temperatures and with higher light levels.

 

So a can of 6 month old fuel could indeed have been usable if it was stored in a cool place out of the light. (maybe in a corner of a stone built shed with no windows), but if was in a wooden shed, on a bench in a south facing window, then the chemical reactions would be much faster.

 

Similarly, a car sat in a drive for a month with, say 40 litres in the tank will degrade much more slowly than half a litre in a hedgecutter hung on the wall of a shed opposite the window.

 

So its not really a 'time' process. but times of 30 days are given as a guide for average conditions.

 

Another factor to consider is of course the tendancy for the ethanol content to suck water from the atmosphere, which happens faster in the vented tanks of machines than in a sealed, full can.

[treequip]

It is on a similar base to that that in the Netherlands it is effectively compulsory for employers to supply their employees with alkalyte fuel.

 

It's quite odd that HSE allow people to supply their employees with, and to be exposed to these known harmful substances without any form of protection whilst there is more than one real alternative available...

 

This is exactly what keeps going through my mind. I have no option but to trust the HSE to know what's appropriate and they get it right more often than not. They have a duty to keep us safe yet they remain silent on the issue which for me casts doubt.

[Pat Ferrett]

Ive held back from Aspen for a while due to 3 machines running ruff after 1 can of Aspen, it had been used in the machines prior to this can but a 200t, hl 85 and a generator all went down with a mystery ailments. And of the 2 machines stripped down both had a waxy residue in the carbs. The hl was first on the bench and only ran ok after a new carb, valves ect.the 200 is still with the dealer and they're now looking at crank seals because all else has been ruled out and the geny is sat in the shed because its hunting.

I have praised Aspen on this thread and by no means am I 100 % sure its whats caused the problem but im now spooked and back using husky low smoke in the 200 and hl. The 200 had only been run on aspen and done no more than 20 tanks over a 18 month period.

[Dan Curtis]

I se where you are coming from but I don't understand how you are getting bad fuel in the time frame. I use Stihl 2 stroke oil and we lost a combi can for 6 months, the fuel was still fine, in my experience it takes more than that for fuel to "go off" so what oil were you using?

 

It's not a case of I've had bad fuel, I'm just keen to avoid the situation. I got given a saw not long ago that had been used "recently", I decided to check the fuel before running it and the smell was unbelievable. Stale petrol is foul, I'm sure no good for me and sure it's no good for saws.

 

There's been enough postings of places to find info on fuel life expectancy so I won't go into those.

[GardenKit]

Ive held back from Aspen for a while due to 3 machines running ruff after 1 can of Aspen, it had been used in the machines prior to this can but a 200t, hl 85 and a generator all went down with a mystery ailments. And of the 2 machines stripped down both had a waxy residue in the carbs. The hl was first on the bench and only ran ok after a new carb, valves ect.the 200 is still with the dealer and they're now looking at crank seals because all else has been ruled out and the geny is sat in the shed because its hunting.

I have praised Aspen on this thread and by no means am I 100 % sure its whats caused the problem but im now spooked and back using husky low smoke in the 200 and hl. The 200 had only been run on aspen and done no more than 20 tanks over a 18 month period.

I can understand you being a little concerned by you experience Dan, I would be too, and was a bit disturbed when you first posted about this.

 

As you will have gathered, I use Aspen in all my service work. and over the past few years have converted many hundreds of machines to it.

 

I have had the odd problem with fuel leaks when the grommets have shrunk, but these problems are easily and quickly remedied when they occur.

 

I have also had to retune some of the machines, but only ever by a very small amount on the L screw.

 

But I have never seen any fuel contamination issues with Aspen and certainly no signs of the waxiness you describe. In fact the opposite is true, the fuel systems of machines run on Aspen have always been incredibly clean (as have the exhausts, cylinder and sparkplug)

 

When you think of it. Aspen contains nothing that pump petrol does not, whereas pump petrol contains lots more than is needed.

 

If you ever get to the bottom of your problems I will be very keen to hear the outcome. In the meantime please do not be afraid to return to using Aspen, I really fail to see how it can be the cause of your troubles.

 

Barrie

[treequip]

It's not a case of I've had bad fuel, I'm just keen to avoid the situation. I got given a saw not long ago that had been used "recently", I decided to check the fuel before running it and the smell was unbelievable. Stale petrol is foul, I'm sure no good for me and sure it's no good for saws.

 

There's been enough postings of places to find info on fuel life expectancy so I won't go into those.

 

 

That's not what you said though is it? What you said was the fuel was going stale in 2 weeks, now you are saying you got given a saw with fuel, god alone knows how old in the tank, hardly the same thing methinks.

 

I am pretty sure pump petrol wont go off in a couple of weeks.

 

The problem I had with pump fuel was that if I spent a fortnight doing silky reductions, my fuel was going stale.

[Dan Curtis]

That's not what you said though is it? What you said was the fuel was going stale in 2 weeks, now you are saying you got given a saw with fuel, god alone knows how old in the tank, hardly the same thing methinks.

 

I am pretty sure pump petrol wont go off in a couple of weeks.

 

Wind your neck in. I said the fuel was going stale as in it was doing that whilst left alone. Something I was keen to avoid was stale fuel.

The other saw part was an aside. That's an experience with stale fuel I've had recently. It was an 07S so not one that will be coming to work any time soon

[Ian C]

Handbags!

[Dan Earp]

Or block lol