using mixed petrol in a 4stroke gennie

[DeanS]

I used to have a 2 stroke smaller gennie...and you needed to mix a little 2 stroke oil into the petrol before pouring it into the gennie.

With the new bigger 4 stroke gennie I have...the oil is not mixed into the petrol, but goes in seperately.

 

I have an old 5litre container of petrol which is full, and may contain the 2stroke mix. Can I use it in the 4 stroke gennie, or do I have to throw it away?

 

Thanks o great masters of much wisdom.

[Alan de Enfield]

Depending on how 'old' it is gives variable performance - after about 3 months its octane rating starts to go down, this should'nt give any great problems in running but will make starting harder.

 

Re the question - yes you can use it in a 4-stroke engine but it will give a smokey exhaust, and depending on what the mix ratio was could lead to oiling up of the plug.

 

Suggest that you put in (say) 5 litres of new (non-mixed) petrol and then 1 litre of the old (mixed) petrol, this will have the effect of 'watering down' the oil and will improve the starting compared to using old petrol only

[DeanS]

Depending on how 'old' it is gives variable performance - after about 3 months its octane rating starts to go down, this should'nt give any great problems in running but will make starting harder.

 

Re the question - yes you can use it in a 4-stroke engine but it will give a smokey exhaust, and depending on what the mix ratio was could lead to oiling up of the plug.

 

Suggest that you put in (say) 5 litres of new (non-mixed) petrol and then 1 litre of the old (mixed) petrol, this will have the effect of 'watering down' the oil and will improve the starting compared to using old petrol only

 

Thanks. WILL DO:) Just a shame to waste it....besides the hassle of trying to dispose of 5litres petrol.

[onionbargee]

100 % what he said.

[Paul C]

Do you know the mix ratio? If you do, then why not swap it for 5l of straight petrol, with someone who owns a chainsaw (or other 2 stroke engined device).

[ditchcrawler]

At home I use the same mix in my chain saw and my 4 stroke lawn mower and don't notice any ill effects, not even smoke. I think its 40:1

[Arthur Brown]

If it's a "modern" mix such as 40 : 1 then just run the petrol engine on it. If it's an old fashioned mix nearer to 20:1 then dilute it with the same amout of petrol

[WJM]

If you gennie has a catalytic converter then the oil could damage it.

 

The best thing is to add, say, a litre of your oil mix to every fresh tank fill. Then you would be burning a very small amount of oil each time.

[wullie]

yes you could do this, just be carefull, i work at missfulling on all type of vehicles and as per other answer, if used too much mix will cause smoking exhaust and will oil up sparkplug, i would only use 1/2 ltr. and top off with pure unleaded.

[DeanS]

I did as suggested....mixed a little in with normal petrol, till it was all gone. So I'm back to buying new stuff now

[gazza]

Big draw back of running a new car is not being able to throw crap fuel at it.

I had a 1.1 Peugeot 205 that would run on a week mix of pesel, a heady brew of petrol and diesel, used to get the odd can sent my way from miss fueling of modern diesel or petrol cars.

A mate of mine had an old 1.8 Sierra and used to get gallons of free petrol at the start of the yachty season, outboatds etc being kicked back into life after a winter lay up.

Now all I can do with manky fuel is light the bonfire with it!