Skip to main content

Why Top Landscapers (Like Duluth Lawn Care) Trust AMSOIL

Why Top Landscapers (Like Duluth Lawn Care) Trust AMSOIL

Landscape professionals provide the most demanding proving grounds for two-stoke equipment. Their string trimmers, backpack blowers, chainsaws and other equipment run continuously in hot, dirty and wet conditions. And their brutal schedules leave no time for breakdowns.

As the video shows, AMSOIL synthetic lubricants have earned the trust of landscape professionals like Duluth Lawn Care.

video
play-sharp-fill

Small businesses with big challenges

Running a lawn and landscape business is tough. According to Lawn & Landscape magazine 2018 State Of The Industry Report, 72 percent of survey respondents said their location’s gross revenue in 2017 was less than $1 million.

The report listed the following challenges landscapers face to turning a profit:

  1. Quality labor shortage
  2. Fuel prices
  3. Low-ball competitors
  4. Personal stress
  5. High health insurance costs
  6. Abused equipment
  7. Expensive gourmet morning coffee and energy drinks

Large companies can have 5-10 zero-turn mowers at $15,000 a crack. They can also maintain eight or more string trimmers and backpack blowers, which can log 500-600 hours per year. That’s a lot of gas and oil.

Creating a profitable business in this environment demands maximum efficiency and cost control. Scheduling and executing jobs is critical and downtime due to unexpected equipment repairs can eat away at narrow margins.

AMSOIL delivers reserve protection

We focus on building protection into our synthetic lubricants that goes beyond the most demanding standards.

For example, AMSOIL SABER Professional Synthetic 2-Stroke Oil is guaranteed for any mix ratio up to 100:1. Using less oil compared to traditional 50:1 ratios lets professionals cut two-stroke oil costs considerably.

As noted in the video, Duluth Lawn Care mixes SABER Professional at the SABER Ratio™ of 80:1.

“The reason we mix it a little bit leaner that the manufacturer recommends is simply for the fact that we haven’t had issues mixing it at this rate,” said Duluth Lawn Care owner Matt Marciniak. “The cost savings is huge.”

Not only does SABER Professional reduce oil costs, it allows landscapers to use one mix ratio for all their equipment, eliminating confusion.

Equipment starts easier and runs better

Mixed at the SABER Ratio (either 80:1 or 100:1), SABER Professional is proven to fight power-robbing carbon deposits.

These images of Stihl string trimmer components from Duluth Lawn Care’s fleet offer visual proof. The exhaust port, piston and spark-arrestor screen are virtually free of power-robbing deposits following 1,200 hours of operation at 80:1.

By fighting power-robbing carbon, SABER Professional helps equipment start easier, run better and last longer. This adds up to big savings for small businesses fighting to preserve their margins.

Buy SABER Professional

SABER Professional extends equipment life

Since its inception, Duluth Lawn Care has trusted AMSOIL products to protect and extend equipment life. In this industry, landscapers commonly replace two-stroke equipment every two years. That hasn’t been the case with Duluth Lawn Care. Thanks to diligent maintenance and the excellent protection of SABER Professional, some of its two-stroke equipment is more than 10 years old an has accumulated 6,000-8,000 hours.

Duluth Lawn Care is a prime example of a lawn and landscape company that overcomes the top industry challenges. Not only has Duluth Lawn Care met these challenges, it has thrived for more than 13 years delivering quality service for its 4,500 customers. We’re proud to be a trusted partner of lawn and landscape professionals around North America.

Shop AMSOIL Products for Professionals

Why are There Different Two-Stroke Oil Mix Ratios for Chainsaw Oil

Why are There Different Two-Stroke Oil Mix Ratios for Chainsaw Oil

Swamp mix.

That’s what you call a concoction of two-stroke oil and gas that’s been slopped together with no measuring tools and no regard for engine protection. Your chainsaw or string trimmer could be running on a 50:1 mix. Could be 72:1. Could be 147:1. There’s no telling.

I often made swamp mix back in the day. Like other adherents to the dark art of mixing foul-smelling liquids in a dimly lit shed, I did it for a couple reasons: 1) I didn’t have clearly marked measuring containers at the ready, and 2) even if I had, I wouldn’t have felt like playing chemist with my chainsaw when I’d rather be cutting brush.

I never blew up a saw doing this. But, then again, I’m not a professional logger, so I didn’t cut often.

Some people don’t like mixing two-stroke fuel/oil because it’s a mess. Some hate it because math makes their brain hurt.

video
play-sharp-fill

What is a two-stroke mix ratio?

The math isn’t that tough to understand. Say your chainsaw manufacturer recommends a 50:1 fuel/oil mix. This simply means you need 50 parts of gas to one part two-stroke oil. Two-stroke engines derive lubrication from the oil mixed directly into the gasoline, unlike your car engine, which lubricates itself with oil housed in an oil sump and circulated by an oil pump.

Complicating things, some equipment manufacturers recommend different mix ratios. While most modern trimmers, chainsaws, leaf blowers and the like call for 50:1, some older equipment recommends 32:1. If you have multiple pieces of equipment with different mix ratios, you have to mix and store multiple cans of fuel. That’s not only a hassle, it’s a situation begging for problems when you accidentally dump 50:1 in your saw that takes 32:1.

This scenario likely isn’t a problem for landscapers, loggers and other professionals who replace their equipment often due to heavy use. But plenty of homeowners still use older equipment that calls for a richer fuel mixture.

Life would be much easier if every manufacturer recommended the same mix ratio, right?

They don’t. But we do.

AMSOIL SABER Professional Synthetic 2-Stroke Oil is tested and proven at any mix ratio up to 100:1. That means you can mix one can of fuel and use it in all your two-stroke equipment. Done. Problem solved. If you want to use 50:1, use that. Or 80:1. For best value, use 100:1. You could mix at 71:1 if you want. It’s up to you.

And, to eliminate the hassles of mixing fuel, we offer bottle sizes matched to certain sizes of gas cans. For example, to mix AMSOIL SABER Professional at 50:1 in a 2.5-gallon gas can, just use an entire 6.4-oz. bottle. Use half the bottle for a 100:1 mix ratio.

That’s the ratio I now use in my chainsaw. As the piston images show, SABER Professional mixed at 100:1 outperforms other two-stroke oils at 50:1, fighting power-robbing deposits and maintaining operability.

AMSOIL SABER Professional mixed at 100:1 delivers better protection against power-robbing deposits than other oils mixed at 50:1.

With SABER Professional you spend less on oil, get better protection and eliminate hassle when mixing fuel. And you never have to make swamp mix again.