Aspen Fuel

[ginbottle]

Hi,

I have recently bought a small boat with outboard and was dismayed to discover that it runs on a very smelly 2stroke Mercury engine. After googling, I found that 2 strokes are now only available second hand, as new ones have been banned! I consider myself to be quite environmentally friendly, so googled further to see someone had mentioned Aspen fuel as a cleaner alternative to 2 stroke mixture. We headed off to buy some, only to find that it states it is suitable for land based garden machines! Please help?!

[CambridgeCabby]

From their web site 

[ginbottle]

Many thanks for the speedy reply! Why then do you think it says on the can of Aspen fuel that it is suitable for all ‘land based’ garden machinery? Do you think I am ok to put the Aspen 2 stroke fuel in my Mercury outboard motor? I can’t wait to go out in my boat, but would be embarrassed by the smoke that follows me! 🤔

[deebee29]

Sorry I know nothing about boat fuels but why not drop them an email (got this address from their website)

aspen@aaoil.co.uk

[ginbottle]

Thanks, deebee29

I will try that! I just thought trying on here might be quicker! I have found this forum to be a great help in the past, but haven’t been on here in a while!  😊

[ginbottle]

I received a reply from the company, who weren’t as slow as I thought they might be! They say I should use 4 stroke and mix it, so as the shop where I bought the Aspen fuel from will be closed now, I will try that tomorrow and will report back here, just in case anyone else thinks Aspen fuel might be a good idea! 🙄

[Smoggy]

Aspen is good for the last carb full of the season as it doesn't go gummy like regular unleaded but it's going to be very expensive to run on it full time, you would be better investing in a decent 4 stroke outboard.

What size and shaft length is the old one?

[ginbottle]

Errmm size and shaft length? Gosh! 25hp, but no idea on shaft length? We will be using it all year round, as we live on the Riverbank, so end of season doesn’t really apply? We have a couple of other boats, so we do not have to rely on this little boat, but I just really like it! Our main boat has a normal petrol engine. We use it as a work horse, to carry shopping, logs for the wood burner, etc. up the river. My new (to me) little boat is purely a fun boat!

[MauriceMynah]

25 horses is no small engine on the inland waterways, and it'll be pretty thirsty. What's the boat?

[SteveO]

I expect the stuff that says "for boats" will be several ££s more expensive than the land-based stuff. It is often the way.

 

[Turnoar]

25 2 stroke, the merc’s etc. back in their day are a lovely outboard to power a dory quickly onto the plane, much lighter than the modern fours, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, I envy your acquisition!

[Smoggy]

2 stroke for outboards is better for cooler running engines as it is a different spec, land based 2 strokes tend to run quite a bit hotter, all about burning the oil off I believe.

[marshman]

They do both 2 stroke mix and 4 stroke fuel and I  have been using both for some time. Its not technically petrol and has at least a 5yr shelf life

Aspen is a little hard to get hold of but Stihl sell it in both formats. Good stuff and many professionals such as tree surgeons etc use it by the pallet load. It starts easier and the 2 stroke burns clean i.e . without the blue haze. Despite the last post, I do not think there is any difference for land or water use and if I was using smaller quantities I would not hesitate to put it in my outboard. You do not get carbon deposits as such

It is pricey however £15 for 5 l. 

[ginbottle]

Thanks for all the replies, most interesting. MauriceMynah, it is a Dory. I agree that 25hp is rather big for such a small boat and won’t be used to anything like full extent due to the low speed limits on the Broads.

Marshman, Aspen has increased in price, as you say, not that easy to get hold of and we paid £20 for 5litre bottle. I think it is possible that the fuel that is in the dory tank might be stale as there was a lot of blue smoke and the smell of fumes, although the motor started on the second attempt and ran ok. I have only used it once as the rain has been relentless for the last few days.

[Paul]

A properly maintained 2 stroke engine with correctly measured fuel shouldn't be giving the level of smoke you describe. It might be worth draining down the old fuel, put some fresh correctly mixed 2 stroke in give it a new plug and air filter and try it then. Perhaps even a fuel cleaner. 

[CambridgeCabby]

Ernest Doe of Wymondham (01245 380311) are an authorised supplier , RRP for 5ltr currently £19.50  

Due to current conditions is best to check stock levels prior to travelling 

[Smoggy]

If old fuel some of the petroleum element would have evaporated and the oil element left behind giving a way too high percentage of oil, modern petrol is crap for it, as Paul says try fresh fuel and make sure the mix is spot on.

Some manufacturers reduced the oil quantity on their engines despite being exactly the same engine, my old yam had gone from 50:1 to 100:1 so I went somewhere in between.

[TheQ]

8 hours ago, Paul said:

A properly maintained 2 stroke engine with correctly measured fuel shouldn't be giving the level of smoke you describe. It might be worth draining down the old fuel, put some fresh correctly mixed 2 stroke in give it a new plug and air filter and try it then. Perhaps even a fuel cleaner. 

unless it's a seagull...

[Woodie]

Merc 25 really shouldn’t be too bad for smoke, even if it’s the 50:1 version. Current fleet includes a 49 year old merc 6 cylinder that once above idle is barely noticeable and above 4000 revs your going that ruddy quick you’ve left it behind!!

probably is old fuel, this modern stuff really doesn’t keep as well as 4 star did!

when I was working on outboards stale fuel and it’s effects were a regular thing at the start of the season.

Always use oil designed for outboards, not garden machinery etc as water cooled outboards run cooler than air cooled machinery.

You can see in picture small writing TC-W3 that’s two cycle water cooled. Oils for machinery used to say TC-A obviously for two Cycle air cooled. They burn differently.

[marshman]

I am not sure some of you quite understand - the joy of this fuel is that it is premixed and you do not need to pfaff about mixing it!! Its based on a 50/1 ratio. And there is no need to search out suppliers of Aspen - just buy it from most places that sell garden machinery. All Stihl stockists sell their version in both 2 and 4 stroke version - they dont just sell it for garden machinery, you can use it in any machine using either fuel. It starts easier, produces no blue haze in the case of 2 stroke and the Stihl stuff is cheaper! But best of all it has a 5 yr shelf life so its perfect for use in say, machines you store and use occasionally. Its ethanol free and has none of the issues of modern fuels.

I have been using Aspen, and now Stihl, in both 2 and 4 stroke versions, for well over 5 yrs with only positive results - I am not convinced with modern synthetic oils that the old 2 strokes use are very relevant these days!

A few years ago Aspen was the only such fuel  available but Stihl spotted a gap in the market and filled it

[Smoggy]

I'm with you MM as I use it in my chainsaw, but I wouldn't use it the rate a 25hp 2t outboard can use it at that price.

Just pointing out that outboard 2t oil is a different spec. (I've used all sorts of cheap old 2t oil in outboards myself)

[Bytheriver]

5 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

I'm with you MM as I use it in my chainsaw, but I wouldn't use it the rate a 25hp 2t outboard can use it at that price.

Just pointing out that outboard 2t oil is a different spec. (I've used all sorts of cheap old 2t oil in outboards myself)

I was just about to write that the quality of 2 Stroke oil is key - Sthil is usually at a different dilution to standard 2 stroke oil. When I took over buying oil for strimmer's & chain saws in parks the finance officer at the time questioned why when I started doing the buying I had to have the most expensive oil (They had been simply using SAE30 till then with all the inbuilt maintenance issues that brought. (I won) (Getting the staff to measure precisely the mix was another matter) But the air was certainly cleaner!

[marshman]

Don't forget that that was when petrol was actually petrol! I accept that the premix is 50/1 but if that is what the outboard takes, I would use the more modern fuel, just as I use Stihl 4 stroke in my mower! Its no coincidence that my source use both 2 stroke and 4 stroke by the pallet load!

[Woodie]

Quite understand the benefits of this fuel. Have used it in my chainsaw in the past, but went back to draining it down for winter and using petrol!

my point, like others,  is it’s perhaps not the fuel for an engine with the consumption of a 25hp . Normal fuel with the correct oil should be fine if the engine is in regular use.

[MauriceMynah]

Perhaps a bit of a compromise could work. If the engine isn't going to be run for a while, use the aspens, and use it again after the prolonged period. Then for the season and greater usage, use standard petrol mixed with the oil.