GardenKit

There is a dealer locator on the Aspen website (there is a link to the site on the right of this page)

Did anything else come up Jon?

It is also possible that it was down to using fuel with a high ethanol content . Its a problem we are going to see more of in the next few years.

The answer is in the question!

One of todays jobs shows the result of storing a carb with stale fuel.

One of todays jobs was an FS85 that had not been used for a year or two. It must have been left with fuel in it that had gone stale . This is what it had done to the carb diaphragms. Being an older machine the diaphragms were more prone to damage from ethanol than the later type.

I am not in favour of emptying tanks. I see many machines that have been left empty for a while. Very often I will find the carb diaphragms have hardened and often split, as well as finding dry, powdery residue from evaporated fuel. This has occured because when the diaphragm material was made it contained chemicals to keep it supple and resist hardening, but these chemicals have been leached out by the solvents in the pump petrol. To some extent those same solvents kept the material soft (whilst very slowly dissolving it) When the petrol is removed the diaphragms harden and split. Sometimes they will 'rehydrate' when refilled with petrol, but will never be quite the same again, and any residue in the carb can sometimes wash into the jets causing issues. In my opinion hoses an diaphragms should be stored 'wet', but only with fresh petrol, which is difficult to achieve. There are a couple of ways of solving the storage issue. The simplest and cheapest is to add a fuel stabiliser to your petrol. This can extend the shelf life of petrol up to a year. Several brands are available and in recent tests it was found that they do work to various degrees. My preferred course of action is to use Aspen fuel, as it is chemically pure, contains no solvents and will last up to 5 years, even in the machine. It will not leach the preservative chemicals from rubber or leave residue in the carb. Aspen would be left in the tank even during storage. There are many other benefits from Aspen, but some find the cost to be a drawback. I am currently evaluating some new products to help extend the life of petrol and combat the effects of petrol, so that I can offer some degree of help to my customers not wanting to use Aspen. The B3C range of products include stabilisers which combat the negative effect of ethanol and lower the burn temperature, as well as extending the life of fuel whilst 'conditioning' rubber and plastics. It also encapsulates bound water, allowing it to pass through the engine harmlessly. B3C also supply 2 stroke oil (fd rated) which is formulated to bond with ethanol, which most oils do not. B3C Tank shields are absorbant pads which you place in your fuel can. They stabilise the fuel as well as absorbing the water. These shields can be used up to 10 times, and if used in conjunction with the Ethanol Shield Stabiliser will offer good protection.

Yes, but there are better ways. More on this later when I have time to post detail.

Ethanol is bad for many reasons. Sure, its good for the environment because its made from a crop which absorbs CO2 and puts out O2, and the bi-products are all put to good use. Use 10% ethanol in fuel and the oil reserves last a bit longer. But the bad points (not in any particular order) It attacks very many soft metals and plastics, in effect slowly dissolving them It absorbs moisture which bonds with the ethanol until its too heavy, then the water falls to the bottom of the tank and the ethanol follows it. The first fuel your engine then draws is Ethanol and water, causing it to run very hot, but ethanol does not bond with most 2 stroke oils, so when your engine runs on the ethanol from the bottom of the tank (assuming there is not too much water present to run at all) there will be no lubrication for the engine and engine damage will quickly occur. The oil will be bonded with the petrol sitting above the ethanol. The ethanol that has bonded with the water very quickly goes into 'phase separation' At this point the ethanol/water mix forms a gel in the tank and carb. The remaing fuel has a lowered octane rating and, if the machine is lucky enough to start it will destroy itself quickly Ethanol contains 35% oxygen, way more than petrol so an ethanol rich mix runs lean requiring the fuel/air mix to be richened or a lean sieze can occur. Petrol with 10% ethanol runs around 10% hotter than petrol, which can cause engine damage. Ethanol vaporises easily causing more hot start issues due to vapor lock. Ethanol encourages galvanic corrosion, so dissimilar metals corrode when in contact, e.g brass and aluminium in carbs. Ethanol speeds up the decay of the petrol, and encourages the seperation of the oil from the petrol, so petrol over a month old really should not be used. Many scored pistons are blamed on the operator not having mixed sufficient oil with his petrol, but are in reality due to phase seperated, stale fuel. There are many more negatives, but I think this covers the main issues.

No, this would be the exact opposite to 'pinking' which occurs when the detonation is too soon in the cycle. This occurs with fuels too low in octane for the compression of the engine. Also with old fuel which has lost its octane rating. But you will not hear pinking on a saw like you would in an old car.

If you manage to find out then please tell me! The petrol companies are very secretive about the ethanol content of their fuels and it varies from area to area. A few years ago a study was released which stated that most premium unleaded contained ethanol at 5% but super unleaded did not. Except in the North and in the west Country, where for some reason it did. I think its safe to say its in most fuel today, at levels up to 10%

It is a common misconception that higher octane fuels will produce more power. What actually happens is that because of their higher resistance to detonation (knocking) they enable a high compression engine to develop its full potential as lower octanes detonate too early. Great, and essential, in a performance motor. But our Pro saws are not that high in compression and only require a minimum of 90octane. Standard unleaded is 95 (ron) and is plenty high enough. The use of 97 octane will actually reduce power in a lower compression motor as the detonation is delayed too much for peak performance. Don't waste your money on the expensive petrol, there is simply no advantage.

6:30 and 9:00 minutes look like the same mud to me? I reckon it does quite well for a mere lorry.

Seems to handle itself quite well off road? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiBSdEJrW4U]amag Multifunctionstrac MFT MX - YouTube[/ame]

Same as me then. If he is 'anti Aspen' then I wonder why he is a dealer??? There is no point in stocking any product that you are not enthusiastic about selling.

To be honest, if I did not have my own successful business, I would love to do just what you have suggested. Many dealers are still unaware of Aspen, and many who are aware of it do not understand the benefits of the product. To sell Aspen properly a dealer must fully understand it. The whole team must get behind the product and pass their enthusiasm and knowledge on to the customer. I started selling Aspen just over 3 years ago. Fuel related problems had been increasing since the introduction of Ethanol into pump fuel and many customers were suffering as a result. So I researched the costs, and the benefits, of using Aspen. When I had convinced myself, I invested in safe storage and my first pallet of Aspen, not being quite sure how it would sell. It was all sold within a month and another ordered. 95% of my serviced machines and all new kit is sent out with Aspen, and all customers are told of the benefits. The result is that most of the customers keep coming back for more, despite the price. This increases the footfall through my door, with the added advantage of maintaining a more regular contact with the customer. We are now selling a pallet every fortnight on average over the counter and it accounts for around 6% of our turnover. (not including the quanity sent to users throughout the country) Apart from the odd fuel leak from old, shrinking, fuel hose, I have never had a problem caused by Aspen.

Sounds like it is sold in the Parts dept/shop, but nobody has bothered to tell the mechanics about the product. It is their ignorance that makes them blame it for faults they do not understand. This attitude makes my blood boil as I am so enthusiastic about Aspen.

I love this thread:thumbup:

Even simpler! Autotunes tune themselves to different fuels. And Aspen is fully endorsed by Huskie.

It certainly will not harm the machine to chop n change between Aspen and pump fuel. Some equipment may however need a very slight tweak of the L screw (idle mixture) When changing to Aspen this may need to be richened very slightly to get a clean tickover and pickup, whilst when changing back to pump fuel you may then need to weaken it very slightly to avoid a lumpy idle. Often a compromise setting can be achieved allowing seamless changeovers. But to keep this in context, it is no different than when changing from one brand of petrol to another, or when changing from old petrol to a fresh supply. These factors always effect the way your saw runs. Generally a compromise setting can be achieved allowing seamless changeovers. However, if used solely on Aspen you will find that once tuned, a machine will stay in perfect tune thereafter. This is due the Aspen fuel always being consistant, unlike pump fuel which changes as it ages as well as being different from pump to pump. Hope this is of some help.

" And 20% ethanol will certainly kill your 2 stroke engines.

the pump is £20.98 plus vat.

The cost of any item used in a business should be analysed on a cost/benefit basis. Those who use Aspen (and there are many) consider the extra cost to be of a benefit. There are very few who do not find the benefit having used the product, but everyone is different. Its a matter of choice.

the 0-90 pinion set is £71.28 plus vat, but the bearings are not included in this price and are roughly £12.00 each.

You are absolutely correct. The ones I priced are the 0-135 gears, as I failed to read the OP's first post correctly. I am sorry to have posted incorrect advice and will try harder to read the posts properly in future. Not sure what the 0-90 ones are, but I think they are a bit more than £70. I will check in the morning.