# Premixed gas/oil vs. DIY



## longislandcamper22 (Jan 7, 2017)

I've never had a problem making my own 50:1 mix for my leaf blowers and trimmers. I make a batch, add stabilizer and everything still runs fine when I reach the end of the can even if it's 6 months later. That was until I got a 98CC Toro snowblower a few years ago.

The carb on this little thing gums up all the time, even after a recent cleaning. Quite a few times I would make a new batch of gas and clean the carb right before a storm. I'd start her up the day before the storm and there were no issues. The very next day when I went to use it on the driveway it wouldn't start. :smiley-confused013:So frustrating. Keep in mind the leaf blower and trimmer would still work fine even if they weren't used in months from the same gas.

Last week the snowblower wouldn't start again on a fresh batch of gas. Usually all I have to do it remove the main jet, clean out the holes on the side of the main jet and then I'm good to go. I did and she still wouldn't start last week. Today I finally got around to looking at it. I siphoned all the gas out and removed the carb. Turns out the same holes I unclogged last week were clogged again as well as the center hole so I poked some wire through, sprayed some carb cleaner and hit everything with my air compressor. I sprayed down the rest of the carb but I never removed the float and needle. I then cleaned out the float bowl and put everything back together and put in some of the store bought 50:1. Two pulls later and she started. Woo hoo! 5 seconds later she died. 

OK, I figured maybe there was still some bad gas somewhere so I primed and pulled and she started right up and didn't shut down. That worked well until she shut down about a minute later. lol She would also immediately shut down when moving the choke too.

I guess I'll have to go back and tear into the float now but stupid me was hoping I solved the problem. Later in the week I'll look into it again and if I get it running properly then I'm either going to stick with the store bought 50:1 fuel or make my own mix with ethanol free gas. I'm sick of this thing clogging up and now that I purchased a two stage Ariens this thing will sit for longer periods of time before use. 

What are your thoughts?


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## Rob711 (Feb 5, 2015)

I've been using premixed from lowes, my weedwacker runs better and I don't have to worry about adding stabilizer, smells better too! Kinda pricey though


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## JD in NJ (Dec 21, 2016)

Have you cleaned out your fuel tank and lines to make sure that you're not just running crud back into the carb immediately?


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## e.fisher26 (Nov 6, 2016)

Theres a lot of passages behind the welch plugs in the snowblower carb. They slowly fill with gas, and eng will run then die after the passages are drained and cant keep up when clogged. Is this a single stage blower with a 90cc eng?


-efisher-


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

I've always used seafoam to help keep the carb cleaned, stabilizer won't do that


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## e.fisher26 (Nov 6, 2016)

A simple inline fuel filter may take care of crap on the tank. Stabil for gas longevity, and sea foam for carb


-efisher-


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## mrfixit (Dec 3, 2016)

Agree with detdrbuzzard.
Use it all the time. SeaFoam is always in stock.

Everybody treats for storage rarely for cleaning.


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## Boosted3g (Oct 9, 2016)

I've been using stihl motomix in both my chainsaws, a leaf blower and my hedge trimmer for years without a problem. They will start in any weather every time. Stihl doubled my warranty if I bought 6 cans of fuel so I just kept using it since it works so well and there is most certainly a power increase.


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## Duff Daddy (Sep 22, 2014)

Vp has has ALOT of issues with their premix... I make my own with stihl 2 stroke mix

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk


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## e.fisher26 (Nov 6, 2016)

Walmart has a briggs&stratton brand mix, depot has a powercare mix, lowes has good brand... VP price is ridiculous, double then most, glad i didnt try it. 


-efisher-


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## DuffyJr (Oct 15, 2015)

JD in NJ said:


> Have you cleaned out your fuel tank and lines to make sure that you're not just running crud back into the carb immediately?


Got to agree, carbs shouldn't gum up that quick. If you've been using E10 your fuel lines could be deteriorating on the inside or you just got some dirt in the tank. I would clean tank and install a new fuel line. The fact that your other equipment is running fine on the same gas would suggest this.

Pull the line off the carb and let it drain into a glass jar, if it's that bad you will see the culprit.


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## mrfixit (Dec 3, 2016)

The Briggs and Stratton brand is what my Toro dealer sells.


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## mikeinri (Mar 16, 2015)

Don't want to jinx myself, but I've had outstanding success/luck with Echo oil and 93 octane gas, used in my Husqvarna chainsaw, Stihl trimmer, and Echo backpack blower. Can't get gas here without ethanol. I sometimes add SeaFoam for good measure, but no extra stabilizers.

Mike


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## longislandcamper22 (Jan 7, 2017)

I just got some seafoam today. I got the liquid and the aerosol. I plan to redo the carb in the next few days. I've already got a bit of the premixed store bought 50:1 in the machine so after cleaning the carb I'll dump some liquid seafoam in the gas tank and see what happens.


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