Whipper Snipper Fuel/Oil mix

[petersemple]

I have a new Victa WHipper Snipper. The manual says I should use a 25:1 mix, unless I use a high performance Victa oil, that gets 50:1. My Valvoline 2 stroke oil says on th ebottle that it is a high performance oil that can get mixed at 50:1. My question is which way to I go? I am tempted to use my oil at 50:1, but love to hear if anyone knows for sure. What are the pros/cons of using the different mixes?

Thanks

[parkinson]

Personaly I would mix it 25:1 as.per manual if it's running rich it will only burn more oil causing it to blow abit more blue smoke, better to go thro abit more oil then risk running it to dry causing a shorter life.
Scott

[johnc]

Personaly I would mix it 25:1 as.per manual if it's running rich it will only burn more oil causing it to blow abit more blue smoke, better to go thro abit more oil then risk running it to dry causing a shorter life.
Scott

Regardless of the oil I run whipper snippers etc at 25:1 better a bit extra lubrication than eventually running a machine to lean and destroying the bore.

[petersemple]

Thanks all, sounds like 25:1 is the way to go then. I have a few hundred mL of 50:1 that I mixed up a few days ago for a different machine, so I'll add a few mL of oil to that and use it, and then mix 25:1 after that. Thanks.

[BobL]

I would do exactly what the manual says but I disagree that if the manual says to use 50:1 that 25:1 provides extra protection.

Most two stroke engines will actually run with 100:1 provided high performance synthetic lube is used. The problem is accurately measuring lube at the 100:1 level and if the operator gets this even slightly wrong it can lead to saw damage. This is why two stroke manufacturers usually recommend 50:1 (I have that information direct from a senior Stihl Engineer). The reason manufacturer say to use 25:1 for oil other than their own is because they cannot guarantee the quality of any oil other than their own and to convince the consumer to buy their over priced oil (I also have that from the same engineer).

Two stroke lube contains more than oil, it also contains additives that suppress visible smoke formation - ie it helps form smoke that is invisible These are not burnt during the combustion process otherwise they would not work as required.

By running an engine for which the manual says 50:1 at 25:1, all that happens is that more oil than usual is not burned and extra oil and additives is dumped into the air as an invisible fog around the operator. This fog of oil is not good for you. If I operate a chainsaw using 25:1 I end up with a headache after a couple of hours of work, plus it covers my clothes hair and skin with a layer of oil. I have experimented with various mix ratios and for me the point at which the headache does not develop is 40:1

The idea that 25:1 protects a two stroke engine better than 50:1 is nonsense. Provided some lube is used in the mix, by far the most two stroke damage arises from getting the fuel/air ratio wrong rather than the lube/petrol ratio.

[petersemple]

My last WHipper Snipper specified 50:1 in the manual. Prior to that I lived near a servo that sold premixed 2 stroke fuel from a bowser, so I just used that in everything 2 stroke. My current bottle of oil is fairly new, so I may look into the Victa oil when it runs out but not until then. Sound like from what you say Bob, that 50:1 would be perfectly safe, but that I should use 25:1 just because that's what tha manual says. I guess that makes sense from a warranty perspective. I will only be likely to be using it for a few minutes at a time (just the dges on our house block) so a headache shouldn't be a problem I hope.

Thanks

[mic-d]

When I bought my Shindaiwa, the guy at the dealership said run the first two tanks of fuel through at 25:1 and then go to 50:1. I now use the Victa oil at 50:1. If your manual says use Victa oil at 50:1, that's what I'd do.

Cheers
Michael

[jmk89]

I reckon the Valvoline will be fine at 50:1. Valvoline is a good brand and if they say 50:1 is OK then that should be fine.

[derekh]

FWIW, I run 50:1 in all my small engines, both 4 and 2 stroke and have done for over 10 years without any degradation in performance on the 4 strokes. My reasoning being that I only need to maintain one fuel can and I minimise the risk of damaging my 2 stroke chainsaws should I of inadvertently grabbed the wrong one. It works for me....

[Cliff Rogers]

Another vote for 40:1 :2tsup:

Anything less (more oil) in close proximity to the operator is not good for the operator.