GardenKit

All the work that us Aspen enthusiasts have put into raising awareness of Alkylate fuel over the last few years is bound to be helping sales of Motomix. But Aspen is still the original, and the best. And the cheapest. Remember, Aspen only make fuel, they concentrate on nothing else, they are fuel experts. Stilhl buy theirs in from somewhere and 'brand' it.

Guess it's just thee and me at Tuckers again then Jon boy!

I think you may find that a lean seize tends to mark the piston up more on the exhaust side, whereas a lack of lube seize will tend to mark all round. Also, a lean seize should have the damage limited to the piston and pot. The crank, con rod and bearings should be OK and should still be covered in an oily film. If the crank, crankcase and con rod are bone dry and rattly, and the piston is marked all round then its a fair chance thats its due to lack of oil / neat petrol.

I have been trying to identify differences between Aspen and Motomix, which is a little difficult as Stihl are putting out very little information. I have found no mention of Motomix being an Alkylate fuel, merely that it is made from premium 92 octane fuel with no ethanol. This is to some extent backed up by the higher vapour pressure and lower flashpoint of Motomix, properties more in line with pump fuel than Alkylate (Aspen) And, Motomix has an advertised shelf life of 2 years once opened, compared with the 3-5 years (temperature dependant) of Aspen. The current Motomix safety data sheet shows the benzene levels at less than 0.5% compared with less than 0.1% for Aspen. (2% for pump fuel) So far it does look like Aspen is the superior product. If anyone can find out more info on the Motomix I will be keen to see it. Just remember that the pre 2014 Motomix is different to the current one.

Exactly

How many grades of 'pure' are there I wonder?

Taken about 3 years ago by the Bishops Palace in Wells But I like the picture anyway!

If your purge bulb is staying depressed it means that there is a blockage in the fuel pickup. This could be a completely blocked tank filter (highly unlikely) Or a kinked, trapped or otherwise restricted fuel pick up hose (most likely) Or a blocked mesh filter in carb (possible) Or a stuck inlet valve on the pumping diaphragm (unlikely) Good luck

I do indeed have one to sell, as I will be shifting brands. Not that there is anything wrong with Echo, quite the opposite, its brilliant. But we are only a small dealer and do not have, or want, a direct account with Echo. This means we buy from a distributor, but of course we don't get such good terms as for instance R&T. So we find some main dealers advertising end user prices less than we can buy for. As we like to make some money on our sales we just cannot compete with likes of the dealer mentioned, so this last machine in stock will be price matched to the price mentioned, but will have to be collected from our shop. We are seriously considering selling the new Solo product instead. As it is part of ALKO we can buy at top terms as we are already a direct account.

Update on Solo. There is still not much being leaked about the Solo product until the official launch in January The heavy duty brush cutters have had their spec and prices published in the Uk but so far we only know the model numbers and cc of the saws, as yet no prices or detailed spec. Solo was always a strong brand and the new ones should be even better. They are aimed at the semi-pro and fully pro market and are set to compete head on with the big two. Its looking like we may have ago with this, running it alongside Mitox for the low budget domestic user. I will post more info when I know more.

Sure is a good price, but will need to be collected from the shop.

Funny you should mention this as I have been in touch with the importer today via email to find out the latest. No reply yet though. I don't sell many saws at all, especially bigger ones. I do not want to sell the normal Stihl and Huskie, its just too competitive. Tried Echo, very good saws but I could not sell the numbers due to the close proximity and low prices of R&T. (still got a 620SX on the shelf that needs selling) So I am looking at maybe Solo, as it will be that bit different. Got to shift that 620 first though, it will look odd amongst the solo's!

Its good to hear that you are sorted, and the Aspen is not at fault. But as ADW says, its always best to find the reason and fix it as part of the repair.

Our winter service programme is now well under way and we have 5 months of long days and long weeks to look forward to. So not everyone will be able to choose when they want it done. But I always think its best to get it done as early as possible in the winter, otherwise it will sit in the shed with last years grass and mud slowly rotting it out from beneath and accumulated damp clippings rotting it from above. The old oil in the sump will be acidic, and the stale petrol will be slowly dissolving the carburettor. This machine will without doubt suffer some form of decline over the winter months. The ones we service now will sit in the shed with a clean under deck treated with waxoyl. The paint will have been cleaned and polished and any rust will have been treated and painted. The oil will be clean and the fuel system cleaned out and filled to the top with Aspen. This machine will not deteriorate at all over the winter and will start perfectly when required. If you were using us for your service we could still give you an early slot, but they are being booked rapidly as the season draws to a close and it won't be too long until we are fully booked until March or April. Most good dealers will be in a similar situation.

You are right, its not always technique, but sometimes the welder is at fault too. I just posted these comments on 'the mower bench' but they are worth posting here as well. My 13 year old Clarke 160T mig welder has been giving me trouble lately, the torch is wired in unlike the newer 'euro torch' and has been changed a few times and the clamps have become weak. And, to be honest, I have never welded well with it although my welding these days is only 'repair' welding to mowers and small fabrication occasionally and i thought I had lost my skills. So I decided a new one was in order, and as Inverter Fusion Ltd are just up the road I decided to buy one of theirs. My welding is back to top form instantly, making me wonder why I had put up with the Clarke for all these years. This iFL Mig 170 uses inverter technology, providing stepless control of amps and volts. It is also able to double up as a stick welder which is handy outdoors or on dirty metal. There is an anti-burnback feature which, when in mig mode stops the wire burning back and sticking in the tip which is flaming brilliant. All in all I am very impressed so far, its the best I have ever used, and I have had big Kempi, Migatronic, Esab and more in previous lives.

My 13 year old Clarke 160T mig welder has been giving me trouble lately, the torch is wired in unlike the newer 'euro torch' and has been changed a few times and the clamps have become weak. And, to be honest, I have never welded well with it although my welding these days is only 'repair' welding to mowers and small fabrication occasionally and i thought I had lost my skills. So I decided a new one was in order, and as Inverter Fusion Ltd are just up the road I decided to buy one of theirs. My welding is back to top form instantly, making me wonder why I had put up with the Clarke for all these years. This iFL Mig 170 uses inverter technology, providing stepless control of amps and volts. It is also able to double up as a stick welder which is handy outdoors or on dirty metal. There is an anti-burnback feature which, when in mig mode stops the wire burning back and sticking in the tip which is flaming brilliant. All in all I am very impressed so far, its the best I have ever used, and I have had big Kempi, Migatronic, Esab and more in previous lives.

An excellent and informative bit of research, but although the new green fuel hose from Stihl is probably the best I have seen, there are still a lot of hoses around that are not too good and will be effected by petrol solvents. It is the nature of rubber to be effected so, and even the best are not perfect. A lot of the cheaper Chinese machines around have hoses that rot right out in the first 12 months. And of course its not just hoses, but also diaphragms that suffer. I see failures of hoses and diaphragms on a daily basis. Believe me, it does happen. Its interesting to see the Stihl comment about flushing petrol with Motomix (very similar to Aspen). They are obviously concerned about storing with petrol residue and want it washed out. I was a bit surprised to see them then recommend to tip the Motomix out. I would be more than happy to leave Aspen in. But at the end of the day we all have different habits, and different understanding of the issues, so 'Out or In' is really down to what suits each person best.

An interesting debate, and one that I find of particular interest. Even before I became aware of Aspen i did not subscribe to the idea of draining carburettors as I had seen too much damage in dry stored carburettors. I always preferred machines to be stored with fuel in them, but was aware that the fuel needed to be fresh. As Stubby says, pump petrol will leach out the chemicals that are added to rubber to keep it supply (actually not a 'coating' but throughout the material) Without these additives rubber components quickly perish (harden and crack). Poor quality rubbers suffer more than more expensive compounds. So, 35% of petrol is solvents, which not only leach out the additives, but also soften the rubber as they slowly dissolve it (put petrol on a balloon to see how quickly it dissolves rubber). Remove the petrol, and the rubber hardens and cracks. They do not always rehydrate when new petrol is added, and cracks do not heal (try soaking a ballon in petrol, dry it and try to blow it up). A hard or cracked metering diaphragm will seriously effect the performance of an engine. Fresh petrol will still slowly dissolve rubber components, but will keep it supple until such time as it becomes too soft to work. Stale petrol accelerates the rate of decomposition. I know that the rubber in hoses and diaphragms is pretty hardy stuff, so all but the cheapest will survive many years whichever storage method you choose, but rest assured, they will fail at some time under the ravages of petrol, especially old petrol. Hence the stories of "I have done this for years with no trouble" but there are more stories to be told of saws that have failed due to this. And of course, petrol, as it ages forms gums and other solids which line the innards of the carb, blocking jets and fuel passages, as well as absorbing moisture from the atmosphere which can cause rusting in the carb as well as forming 'gels' from phase separation. Just one of the many bonuses of using Aspen is that it contains NO solvents and so will not effect rubber if used from new, but if used to follow petrol it can still allow the damaged rubber to crack following the damage initiated by petrol. So older machines being changed over to Aspen may need new rubber parts at some time in the future, but should never need them again. No solids will be formed from Aspen and it can be left in a fuel system for many years as it is chemically stable and does not 'go off'

Ah, the old conspiracy theory. My life is much simpler.

Born near Bath, Live near Exeter. Who to support? Easy answer, neither. Why? I hate sports!!!!

Good post Paul. I do the lottery every week, always have and probably always will. Do I feel conned? Not in the slightest, its my choice and my choice alone.

That is really bad to hear Duncan and I feel gutted for you. But please be open minded. I know its one hell of a coincidence, but Aspen cannot be responsible for this, it is after all, better in every respect than pump petrol. The fuel itself is very pure, and the FRT oil is of an extremely high grade that surpasses the requirements of the saw. It simply does not cause saws to fail as the many satisfied users on here will testify. I sell an incredible amount of Aspen and all my service work goes out with a tank full. I NEVER have any issues of engine damage. I get a hell of a lot of seized saws that have run on petrol though. There simply has to be another reason, which a competent engineer should be able to identify, so please give Aspen the benefit of the doubt until the cause is found. Please keep us updated when you get a professional verdict, or if you are close to me please feel free to bring it in and we can strip it down and analyse it together.

Buying in 5litres at RRP 2t is £3.80 per litre inc vat Buy a pallet of 54 x5litres, get discount and free delivery so £3.41 per litre inc vat Buy 200litre barrel at £3.32 per litre inc vat (based on my prices, others may vary)

A pleasure, as always Paul. You are a true gent to deal with!

Its made in Italy by Estrax Mike. Priced at £2360 plus vat. If you want one I could supply! edit, The bit of phenolic ply on the top is not standard!!