Tag: what type of gas for my mowr

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

What Kind of Gas Do I Use In My Lawn Mower

This is a very common question and many different people will have different answers.

First, I like to seek out what the engine manufacturer recommends as they have spent hours and many dollars determining the best gasoline octane rating to put in your lawn mower engine. Gasoline is pretty much the same except some companies put different additives in it to help it burn cleaner and keep your engine parts such as your fuel injectors clean as well.

What we are concerned about is the octane rating for the gas. There are normally 3 or 4 different octanes at your local gas station. You will see 87, 89, 91 and 93. 93 would be referred to as Premium and some people swear by using Premium in all their small engine equipment.

What fuel you use in your lawn mower is decided by the compression ratio of the engine. In a high compression ration such as 12:1, you would use Premium gasoline to prevent the engine from knocking or pinging under a load such as driving your car up a hill.

Most lawn mower engines are low compression engines, so 89 octane gasoline is perfectly suited for them and will provide the most power for this application. So, save your money and buy 87 and if you have access to non-ethanol gasoline, opt for that instead.

Lawn Mower Repair Tips

What Kind of Gas Should I Put in My Lawn Mower?

Your lawn mower is usually has a 4-cycle engine on it. Some older models had a 2-cycle engine but there are not many of those left so we won’t worry about them.

A 4-cycle engine is designed to work on unleaded gasoline. There are normally 3 or 4 different octane levels of gasoline available. 85, 87, 90 and 93 are very common throughout the country. A lot of people are under the misconception that if they buy 93 octane, their engine will run better when actually the opposite will occur. A higher octane fuel is designed for a higher compression engine. Most lawn mower engines are on the lower scale of compression.

Find the lowest octane rating such as 85 and that will work fine. You could also use non-ethanol fuel to help prevent your carburetor from experiencing problems. Ethanol has been a terrible additive for gasoline engines and especially carburetor engines. Ethanol is alcohol and it attracts moisture and this adds water to your fuel. Water is never good to have in fuel.

Do not put E-85 in your lawn mower gas tank or any other alternative fuels. They will destroy your engine over time. So if you just stick with regular old pump gas, your lawn mower will run like it should.