Ask your Sioux Falls small engine sales and repair shop to carry the standard which makes all 2-stroke work motors easy to maintain. SABER-PRO synthetic 2-cycle oil.

Hotter, leaner-running engines require less oil to do more work.

Dan Peterson - AMSOIL Technical Development

AMSOIL’s Dan Peterson.

Dan Peterson | VICE PRESIDENT, TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

I spent my 53rd birthday in Tampa, Fla., during the 2016 DJ Convention, talking, listening, learning and making notes on how AMSOIL Dealer businesses have changed and what has driven those changes. This prompted a story I told the group about how AMSOIL is studying changes in handheld twostroke equipment. Allow me to share for those who weren’t in Tampa.

I grew up operating a range of two stroke equipment – mowers and string trimmers in the ‘70s and chainsaws in the ‘80s. I still have a 1980 25hp Mercury* outboard and an old two-stroke Lawn-Boy* mower, which has journeyed from Dayton, Ohio to Appleton, Wis. to Hermantown, Minn. It now resides at the cabin in Eagle River, Wis. The old Lawn-Boy runs great on SABER® Professional at 100:1. Occasionally, I use my equipment to burn the last of my neighbor’s summer gas. He uses Valvoline* mixed at 50:1. Boy, does it smoke in the old LawnBoy, but he’s a good neighbor and I like to help him out.

When I put the Valvoline mixed at 50:1 in my new Stihl* leaf blower, I don’t see as big a difference in exhaust smoke compared to SABER Professional at 100:1. There is some difference, but nothing compared to the Lawn-Boy.

Why? The answer lies in the design of the equipment. Before I was introduced to AMSOIL, I ran the Lawn-Boy at 50:1 and it always smoked, especially before it warmed up. It continued to spew blue smoke the whole time I mowed, just like it does on my neighbor’s end-of summer gas. When I start my new Stihl leaf blower and use the end-of-summer gas, it does not smoke nearly as much as the Lawn-Boy.

Older equipment was designed to run rich, which means it burned a lot of fuel/oil. Not all of it burned, so the partially burned fuel and oil exited the exhaust as smoke. In response to government mandates to reduce emissions, much of the handheld twostroke equipment built in the last four years is designed to run leaner. This means it burns less fuel/oil and more air. When engines run on less fuel/oil and more air, they generate less smoke and emissions, but they run much hotter.

The problems with older two-stroke equipment included fouled spark plugs, gummy deposits and smoke. SABER Professional mixed at 100:1 helped resolve those issues in older equipment. Now, however, the challenges to equipment operability and longevity have changed. Modern equipment runs on the ragged edge due to burning less oil. The intense heat leads to deposits, which can cause the following:

Piston-ring sticking
Blocked exhaust ports
Plugged spark arrestor screens

As a result, equipment can lose power, become difficult to start and eventually quit running.

To be proactive with modern 2-cycle equipment, we went to work testing many different oil formulations in different types of equipment. In the end, we developed a formulation that delivers excellent protection against high heat and deposits. We tested and validated it at both 100:1 and 50:1. Although it’s safe and effective at both ratios, the benefits of reduced deposits and better cleanliness are more noticeable at 50:1 since more oil is available to lubricate the engine. For proof of SABER Professional’s performance at 50:1, see the ECHO String Trimmer Technical Study (G3455).

Here is where we all need to adapt to change. We all know our founder and Chairman of the Board Al Amatuzio designed the original SABER Professional to provide extraordinary benefits for the equipment of the time. In the same spirit, we’ve identified the most disruptive problems for lawn and landscapers when running today’s two-stroke equipment. And then we developed a formulation proven to address these issues.

What does this mean to your business?

If your customers are happy using SABER Professional at 80:1 or 100:1, great. They can continue to rely on its safe, effective performance. However, perhaps you encounter a prospect who rejects our 80:1 or 100:1 recommendation. Let’s face it – some prospects simply aren’t interested in the benefits of using less oil. Use the results of the ECHO String Trimmer Technical Study to sell them on SABER Professional’s exceptional performance at 50:1. You can also use the study to sell current customers on the benefits of running a 50:1 ratio in their equipment.

In the end, it’s up to you to know your customers and prospects and sell SABER Professional as the solution to the problems they’re facing. This study gives you the flexibility to do that.

Look for more SABER Professional comparisons soon.

Available in the Sioux Falls store at 4610 W. 12th st. Call 402-399-3902

Exploring Causes of Motor Oil Consumption

What Causes Motor Oil Consumption?

Ed Newman|Oct 14, 2016 9:37 AM

Everyone who owns a vehicle knows you need to regularly check the oil level. (Note: If you do not know this, you’d better go check your oil. and Check your tires too!!

A certain amount of oil loss is normal due to motor oil volatility – that is, boil-off due to the high-heat conditions inside an engine. I once attended two days of training at a quick lube (part of a major oil company chain) wherein they showed how their conventional oil lost up to 30 percent of its weight and their synthetic only 12 percent in a volatility test. It drove home the message I’d already adopted that synthetics were more resistant to oil consumption than conventional oils. AMSOIL synthetic motor oils are even more resistant to volatility. (Read about AMSOIL performance in the NOACK Volatility Test.)

Volatility isn’t the only reason you need to replenish your oil supply now and then. The problem of abnormal oil usage is far more complicated and, in fact, most of the causes are mechanical, not lubricant-related at all.

One of the major causes is engine leaks. An AMSOIL technical service bulletin titled “The Reasons for Motor Oil Consumption” says:

Some of the many points where external oil leaks may occur include oil lines, crankcase drain plug, oil-pan gasket, valve-cover gaskets, oil-pump gasket, fuel-pump gasket, timing case cover and camshaft bearing seal. No possible source of leakage should be neglected because even a very small leak can cause extremely high oil consumption. For example, it has been estimated that a leak of one drop of oil every 20 feet is approximately equal to a loss of one quart of oil every 100 miles. One way to check for external leaks is to road test the vehicle with a large piece of light-colored cloth tied under the engine. Oil on the cloth will indicate a leak, which should be traced to its source.

I recently burned a lot of cash trying to get an oil leak fixed. The first task is accurately locating the source of the leak. The problem may be front or rear main bearing seals, worn or damaged main bearings, worn or damaged connecting rod bearings, worn or damaged camshaft bearings, worn crankshaft journals, distorted cylinders, worn ring grooves, cracked or broken ring lands, problems with the wrist pins, clogged oil passages or even unequal tightening of bolts.

Sometimes a defective cooling system can cause engine overheating, which may result in localized hot spots in some of the cylinders that can lead to scuffing and scoring of cylinders, pistons and rings, resulting in high oil consumption.

If you really want to sink your teeth into it, causes for oil consumption can include too much oil in the crankcase, worn or broken piston rings, improper valve timing, incorrect oil pressure, piston slap, an internal gasket intake breach, spark knock, aftermarket performance chips and modifications, lugging engines, inappropriate operation of overdrive, leaking turbocharger seals, a restricted air intake and fuel dilution.

In short, few things are as simple as they might initially appear. When all is said and done, however, even though there may be multiple reasons for oil loss, in a mechanically sound engine it boils down to one: oil volatility. In this matter, synthetic motor oil provides better resistance to oil consumption. If you have a mechanically sound engine, you should be using synthetic oil to reduce oil consumption and to protect your investment. In addition to reduced oil usage, synthetics can reduce emissions and improve fuel economy.

During my three decades of writing about oil, I’ve always recommended a synthetic solution.

Local note: From our Sioux Falls store staff we hope you enjoy Ed’s blog. We will be posting more from his decades in the industry. It’s our quest to serve and inform Sioux Falls drivers and auto enthusiasts to the highest degree and always provide products which not only out perform but solve problems just the same.

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Two-stroke equipment is changing