castle garden tow stroke oil

Chain saw

hi
can any one tel me if this two stroke oil is of good quality ? I have being hearing some bad reports usealy castle gardens make good products .

Nekarsulm

Would be surprised if it was not adequate. Its not like they make their own oil, just get a supplier to stick their own brand on the same oil as every other retailer gets.

If you were concerned, stick to Stihl's red coloured stuff. The mix ratio would be a lot more important than the brand name, in my opinion.

Zr105

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Would be surprised if it was not adequate. Its not like they make their own oil, just get a supplier to stick their own brand on the same oil as every other retailer gets.

If you were concerned, stick to Stihl's red coloured stuff. The mix ratio would be a lot more important than the brand name, in my opinion.

On mix ratio nek, Stihl recommend 25:1 for most oils but 50:1 for their own due to it being "higher spec" what would you think of using it at 50:1 in other brands engines that list as 25:1?

Nekarsulm

33 to 1 and be sure and get it serviced every year or two in case of carbon build up. Just my unscientific opinion......

Zr105

Nekarsulm wrote: »

33 to 1 and be sure and get it serviced every year or two in case of carbon build up. Just my unscientific opinion......

Interesting take on it alright we've been running both yokes on 50:1 with the stihl oil last while, it does seem a lot stickier of an oil than other brands, it'd be some pain in the balls to have to run another can for it, already have that can, one for 40:1 for the partner and a can of 20:1 for a ryobi leaf blower but hasn't been filled in a while,

Zr105

Meant to add this to the last post! Handy chart for mix ratios! www.rctek.com/pdf/fuel_to_oil_ratio_chart.pdf

DarByrne1980

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Would be surprised if it was not adequate. Its not like they make their own oil, just get a supplier to stick their own brand on the same oil as every other retailer gets.

If you were concerned, stick to Stihl's red coloured stuff. The mix ratio would be a lot more important than the brand name, in my opinion.

Have to agree here. Bad mixing and ur askin for trouble (and probably a load of smoke). You can buy the one litre bottle pack which gives u the measure for the right mix of oil to 5 liters of petrol. just get urself a 5 litres can and keep it aside as mixed.

Midfield9

I also think husqvarna are 50:1 with there own oil and recommend 33:1 for other brands according the the manual for the chainsaw I have.

CJhaughey

25:1 is Marketing bull**** by chainsaw companies to cover themselves IMO.
Any good quality semisynthetic oil for Air-cooled engines with a proper label on it will be good.
I'd look for Jaso FB, FC as a good indicator of a spec.
Labels showing low smoke or no smoke are to be avoided as the key ingredient in low or no smoke oils is polybutene which is used to avoid port blocking by carbon during running.
However the Polybutene doesn't lubricate as well as Mineral oil, or Ester based synthetic oils.
Run good oil at 40:1 or 50:1
Very high oil ratios cause a lean condition which can cause issues with heat, Oil doesn't give power it lubricates, Petrol makes the explosion in the cylinder, mixing at 25:1 will result in less petrol to burn in the mix= less power.
I have run old chainsaws with 40:1 on good oil for years with no ill effects.

Nekarsulm

CJhaughey wrote: »

25:1 is Marketing bull**** by chainsaw companies to cover themselves IMO.

I have run old chainsaws with 40:1 on good oil for years with no ill effects.

CJ, would you run a Solo Rex at 40:1? Or has modern oils rendered obsolete the original makers instructions (24:1) ?

Regards, Nek.

CJhaughey

Nekarsulm wrote: »

CJ, would you run a Solo Rex at 40:1? Or has modern oils rendered obsolete the original makers instructions (24:1) ?

Regards, Nek.

Modern oils render the older oil ratios obsolete, in many cases the saws were run on Motor oil from the period which was most likely straight 50wt oil.
These days oils are so good they lubricate efficiently at 40:1 or 50:1
The Rex was a low revving saw just be aware that the performance may have been based on the high oil/fuel ratio and that it may affect the jetting as in it will run a little richer which is actually good as it will run cooler than a lean mix.

_Brian

CJhaughey wrote: »

Modern oils render the older oil ratios obsolete, in many cases the saws were run on Motor oil from the period which was most likely straight 50wt oil.
These days oils are so good they lubricate efficiently at 40:1 or 50:1
The Rex was a low revving saw just be aware that the performance may have been based on the high oil/fuel ratio and that it may affect the jetting as in it will run a little richer which is actually good as it will run cooler than a lean mix.

Had this conversation recently with a guy who supplies our equipment.

If your using fully synthetic mix then 50:1 is fine.
For semi-synthetic or mineral oil mixes the recommendation is 25:1 to prevent damage.

But he said that only the premium brands of mix are fully synthetic and very few people are using them due to cost.
But, if your needing to use twice as much of the cheaper brands then maybe the premium mix oils are actually better value.

CJhaughey

_Brian wrote: »

Had this conversation recently with a guy who supplies our equipment.

If your using fully synthetic mix then 50:1 is fine.
For semi-synthetic or mineral oil mixes the recommendation is 25:1 to prevent damage.

But he said that only the premium brands of mix are fully synthetic and very few people are using them due to cost.
But, if your needing to use twice as much of the cheaper brands then maybe the premium mix oils are actually better value.

Sorry I can't agree on that.
Synthetic and semi-syn is fine at 50:1 if you run that ratio.
Personally I run 40:1, always have always will, as long as I have 2 stroke engines.
Never ever had any kind of failure related to bore scuffing or undue piston skirt wear or overheated small end bearings from using these oil ratios over hundreds of hours put up on them all..
I do use good quality oil that has a rating on it JASO FB or FC I don't use FD rated oils as they have a strong detergency requirement and low smoke for which they use Polybutene.
Polybutene is actually less lubricating than mineral oil but is used for low smoke and to prevent exhaust port blocking.
It is my contention that if you use a good quality JASO FB or FC sem-syn oil at ratios of 40:1 or 50:1 you will experience no issues provided the equipment is running correctly, not lean and has no mechanical issues like leaking crankseals or blocked airfilter.
The biggest thing that any repair shop will tell you is: Ensure the petrol has oil in it.
I have seen more engines burnt from lack of oil than have worn out from overuse.
I would be very slow to advocate using oils at 25:1 ratios as the exhaust port will block with carbon and they leave deposits on the piston and make the rings stick at these ratio's
I have found that buying 5 litre bottles of oil is quite cost effective, 5 litres of Fuchs Criss Crossing JASO FC rated oil is 35 euro = €6 per litre.
Conversely I have seen 100ml bottles of Prism 2 stroke oil with no rating or spec sell for 3 euro each. = €30 per litre.