Fuel For Pro Saws

Today's pro saws have special fuel needs. If you are new to the industry or haven't been updated on what these needs are, the following information will be very helpful.

To start, both Stihl and Husqvarna recommend the use of high octane unleaded gasoline. Both brands of pro saws are designed to burn fuel rated at  90 octane. Most regular grade fuel has an octane rating of about 87. This is not enough. We also don't recommend the use of high octane aviation grade fuel.

Why Does The Octane Rating Of  Fuel Matter?

Use of a low octane fuel diminishes the power and performance of your pro saw.  Chain saw powerheads are high performance engines. They produce more power per pound than many race car engines -- and they need high octane fuel to do it.

Some pro saw users don't realize low octane fuel not only reduces a pro saw's performance, it can damage an engine. Most people think the fuel/air mixture should "explode" when it is burned in a saw engine's combustion chamber. This is not true. The fuel/air mixture should start burning at the spark plug and progress across the combustion chamber until it reaches the cylinder walls. True, this happens quickly, but it must be orderly. If one can imagine throwing a rock in a lake, the ripples that occur after the splash are similar to the way fuel should burn in a combustion chamber. 

Another thing most pro saw users don't realize is that the saw's spark plug doesn't ignite the mixture when the piston is at the top of its stroke. Using degrees of crankshaft rotation as a reference, pro saw ignition systems commonly ignite the mixture at 20º before top-dead-center. Even when the fuel is ignited early, peak cylinder pressure should not occur until  15º degrees after top-dead-center. This means the crankshaft rotates 35º  during the time it takes for the flame to progress across the combustion chamber -- and this is good.  If the fuel explodes early and peak pressure occurs before the piston starts its travel down the cylinder,  it is easy to understand how this reduces engine performance. It is also easy to imagine how much pressure there is on internal engine parts when this occurs.

Another factor most people don't comprehend is, for maximum power, it is not just how much pressure is pushing on the top of the piston, but also how "long" it pushes.  If you have ever been slapped or punched, you know the difference. A slap is a hand and arm motion -- a quick event that may sting, but rarely does much harm. A punch is a longer event than comes from a boxers whole upper body. It hits with such force, it can knock an opponent out.

Detonation, preignition, pinging, or dieseling -- these are all words used to describe combustion problems. Without getting too technical, now that you know fuel should burn at a steady rate across the combustion chamber, it sometimes doesn't. When fuel "explodes" it creates extreme pressure inside the engine. Even if the pressure occurs at the right time, it doesn't last long enough to make power. 

What About New Reformulated Fuels?

You have probably heard of  "reformulated gasoline" or "oxygenated fuel" advertised by major oil companies. This fuel is designed to  produce fewer pollutants. These new fuels contain chemical additives that make extra oxygen available during the combustion process. In some automotive engines, the additional oxygen allows for a more complete burn, producing fewer unburned hydrocarbons.  

A few years back, these fuel caused problems for owners of pro saws, but today, most have been overcome. Today's mix oil both blends better and lubricates better than the oil we sold just a few years ago.  Some of it now has a fuel stabilizer built right in, adding to mixed fuel's storage life.  Manufacturers have also made a number of improvements in the saws themselves.  Better fuel lines, carburetor components, and coatings on metal parts help offset the affects of this fuel.  While saw manufacturers have done much of the work, pro saw users need to understand a few things about oxygenated fuel.

Oxygenated Fuel

For a basic understanding of how oxygenated fuel works, it helps to understand some simple chemistry.  Here goes.  The carburetor on a pro saw blends hydrocarbons in gasoline with oxygen from the air.  This air/fuel "cocktail" finds its way into the engine's combustion chamber.  The chemical reaction we call "combustion," produces heat which pushes down on the piston.  This, in turn, rotates the crankshaft and... you know the rest of the story. 

 If you didn't get all that, don't worry.  The only thing you need to know is, in the old days, the oxygen in the air/fuel cocktail used to come only from one source, the air -- that is until fuel companies started oxygenating gasoline. 

You are probably saying to yourself: I just want to cut trees.  Why do I have to know this? For one, it explains why your saw may require more frequent carburetor adjustments.  The chemical makeup of fuel (amount of oxygen in it) can change even if you always buy the same fuel from the same source.  Atmospheric conditions also make a difference.  Changes in temperature, pressure, and humidity play a part.  So does the elevation  where you are working.

Have you ever hiked in the mountains and noticed that you got "winded" more easily?  Compared to air at sea level, air at an elevation is less dense and has less oxygen in it.  Each time you take a breath, your lungs absorb less oxygen than they would if you were breathing at sea level.  Your saw notices this, too.  When it is set for sea-level operation and you move to a job at a higher elevation, it will run rich.

Often, with oxygenated fuel, the opposite happens.  Without making any changes, except fuel, the saw may run lean. Unless the carburetor is reset to put more gasoline in the mixture, this extra oxygen, makes the saw run lean.
When the combustion charge is too lean, the engine may run hot and even detonate... the result is piston scuffing or seizure.  Over-speeding can also occur.  This can damage or destroy the rod bearing.  These are all costly repairs.

Adjusting The Carburetor

Today's new saws all have limiting caps on their adjustment needles.  The idea behind them is the limiting caps restrict adjustment so a carburetor can not be set in an overly "rich" condition, causing excess emissions.  The range of these caps are preset at the factory. Most of the time proper adjustment is within this range, but not always.  Sometimes, it is impossible to correctly adjust the carburetor, because the limiting caps prohibit the needles from going to a position where they need to be -- usually a richer adjustment.  When this occurs, it is necessary to bring the saw into the shop. We have special tools that allow us to remove the limiters, reset the range, and reinstall them. 

You are already thinking: I'll just take my saw in and have them take those pesky limiting caps taken off for good.  This isn't a good idea because the limiting caps also keep the needles from vibrating out of adjustment during use.  You may recall, earlier adjustment needles were fitted with springs that held tension on the threads.  These kept adjustment needles in place.  Today's carburetors don't have these, so if the limit caps are removed and not reinstalled, your carburetor will not stay in adjustment.

Octane Rating

In addition to understanding a little about oxygenated fuel, some working knowledge on octane is also important.   Most pro users think a fuel's octane rating determines how hot a fuel burns.  Some think that if 91 octane fuel works good in their saw, then 110 octane race fuel or super high octane aviation fuel should work better. This is not true.

The octane rating of a fuel relates to its ability to resist knocking.  Knocking is the sound of the air/fuel mixture "exploding" inside a engine.  Most everyone has run low grade gasoline in their car or truck at one time or another and heard a rattling sound come from under the hood.  This knocking robs power from the engine and causes moments of extreme pressure on its internal components.  It can also cause heat to build up.  The same thing can happen to a pro saw engine, but you aren't likely to hear it knock.  Cutting noise masks the sound of detonation.  If you are running low octane fuel, you may not realize what is occurring until it is too late.

The only thing you really need to know about octane is today's pro saws need fuel with a minimum octane of 89. We suggest you run 91 octane, which is readily available as "supreme" at most gas stations.  So, unless a saw is modified to have more compression and spark advance than factory specs, fuel above 91 octane offers no real advantage.  In fact, some of the additives in these fuels are undesirable.

Another octane related item involves mix oil.  When oil is mixed with gasoline, the end result is a mixture with lower octane than the gasoline alone.  This is one reason it is important to mix according to the manufacturer's specifications.  Some people add extra oil figuring they are doing their saw a favor.  They are not.  This can lower the octane of the mix, plus cause carbon to build up in the combustion chamber and exhaust system.  Our advice is to mix according to the specs -- and do it accurately.

While on the subject of mix oil, it is important to know that some of today's fuel doesn't stay blended once it is mixed with oil.  As mixed fuel ages (and gets exposure to moisture) it may separate. When this occurs, even shaking the container does not reblend it.  The result is a portion of fuel inside a saw's tank with no oil in it. 

Mix Oil Improvements

Both Stihl and Husqvarna have done excessive testing to come up with their mix oil formulation. We've looked at the internals of many pro saws and observed that both brands of oil work fine in pro saw engines. They both provide good lubrication and neither causes excessive carbon build up. This is not the case for all mix oils.  Our advice is pretty simple: run either  Stihl or Husqvarna brand oil. 

Mix oil has gone through an evolution of its own. Saw manufacturers have developed special additives that improve its ability to blend with and stabilize today's fuel.  Some of this new oil also uses synthetic base stock.  Tests indicate it is superior to conventional mix oil in many ways. 

If you want to run what we think is the best mix oil for pro saws, try Stihl's Ultra oil.  It is 100% synthetic. Internals of saws running this oil look very good.  It is the oil that most of us who work at Madsen's use in our personal power equipment.  Husky offers a similar "premium" mix oil that is made from a blend of conventional and synthetic oil.  Both of these oils are fairly new on the market, and of the two, we admit that we have had the most experience with the Ultra.

It is also important to realize how little oil there is in a 50 :1 mixture.  Only 1/50 of the mix in a saw's fuel tank is lubricant.  With this little oil in the mix, it needs to be good stuff!   

Why Can't I Run High Quality Boat Motor Oil?

Two-cycle oil blended for an outboard won't work well in your pro chain saw. The reason is, water cooled two-cycles (boat motors) run at lower temperatures than air cooled two-cycles (pro chain saws). What this means is, boat motor oil is formulated to work at the wrong temperature for a pro saw.  Boat motors don't work well with chain saw oil either. These are different engines and have different lubrication needs.

Storing Mixed Fuel

We suggest that any fuel that has been in a container for over six weeks not be used.  Part of the reason for this is the fuel's octane rating degrades.  Fuel can also be contaminated by moisture or condensation. Running fuel whose phases have separated can lead to a catastrophic engine failure.

E85 Fuel

E85 fuel is becoming available at more gas stations.  It is made of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.  Some of today's cars and trucks are designed to be able to run this and other blends of gasoline and alcohol.  Their electronic engine control system is flexible enough to automatically adjust to different fuels.  Your pro saw lacks this ability. Don't use it.

Frequent Carb Adjustments

If you are finding it necessary to make more frequent carburetor adjustments, this is normal.  Since the amount of oxygenation in fuel can vary from tank to tank, keeping the saw adjusted properly is an ongoing challenge.  This is compounded by the fact that today's EPA compliant saws already run very lean.  This makes them less tolerant of being out of adjustment -- especially on the lean side. 

Future Pro Saws

Sometimes the future is difficult to see, but in this case, it is clear. It is just a matter of time before electronic engine management finds its way into pro saws.  Today's carburetors will soon be replaced with what the automotive world calls electronic fuel injection.  Such systems monitor a number of engine characteristics and adjust for perfect fuel delivery and ignition timing.  Like  automotive engines, this technology will allow pro saws to be built with more performance and less emissions.

What started on high-performance sports cars has already been miniaturized and applied to motorcycles, snowmobiles, and large outboard motors.  The cost, size, and durability of the components are evolving to the point they will be incorporated into the design of a new pro saw engines.

Our Advice

Got questions about fuel for pro chain saws? Call or stop in.