comments:
I haven't run into fuel related problems with my small engines, unless I let them sit for over a year without running them, at least for the engines without fuel shutoff valves, where I can't run the carburetor dry. I treat all of my farm gas with a good dose of Stabil Marine 360, just in case it sits around for a while. 4 stroke engines get Exxon E10 87 AKI, and the 2 strokes (and 4-mixes) get Exxon E10 93 AKI w/ whatever 2-stroke oil I have on hand. That's usually Stihl HP Ultra, Husq XP+, or Amsoil Sabre. It's mostly just regular maintenance for me, too. I do need to send a 4 year old Kombi KM131 into the shop, but I suspect it's a valve timing issue or sheared flywheel key, and nothing to do with the fuel system. That unit gets some hard use with big steel brushcutter blades. I use the 14" AireCut blades. I'm always smacking into stumps and grounding out with them, so lots of shock loads. I'm surprised at how well those Kombi units hold up. My MS 362 C-M saw is also around 4 years old, and has never needed anything other than basic maintenance. If I left it to sit for too long, I'm sure the carb would gum up much faster than if I was using pre-mixed gas, though. I let that happen to a Makita DCS6421 64cc saw. A carb rebuild or replacement has been on my to-do list for years, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. It's just sitting around in my shop collecting dust.