Most of our repairs are fuel related. Typically, ethanol damaging fuel lines and primer bulbs, water contaminated fuel, or folks may not be mixing the 2-cycle fuel properly.

- 2-Cycle Oil: Using cheap 2-cycle oil is never a good idea. Stihl has had third-party testing done with leading oils compared to their own HP Ultra Oil and the Ultra has done exceedingly well. In fact, so well that Stihl offers a Double Warranty if you purchase Ultra Oil with your Stihl power product. You may also avoid the hassle of mixing your own fuel by using Stihl Motomix, a premixed, non-ethanol, high octane fuel.

- Ethanol Fuel: The worst thing you can do for your unit is leave mixed fuel in it if the gas contains ethanol. More than 98% of U.S. gasoline contains ethanol to reduce air pollution. That’s good for your car but not for small 2-cycle engines. Ethanol gas absorbs water and causes the fuel mixture to break apart. To combat ethanol issues, only mix what you need for 30 days and when you know you're not touching the unit for at least a week, drain the fuel back into your gas can and run a small amount of Stihl Motomix fuel through it to flush everything out. This can help you avoid the headaches associated with ethanol and keep your product in tip top condition for years.

Flush out your units with Stihl Motomix before storing, use a tune up kit once a year, check your spark arrestor screen on your muffler, and make sure you have fresh fuel when starting up and you will be good to go!