If you have a blower that uses a two stroke engine, then it’s a fact of life you have to face as an owner of that piece of equipment – you have to learn how to mix gas for your leaf blower.
Of course, you can always turn to buying a bottle of pre-mixed gas every time you need to run your blower, but the costs of that will add up really quickly compared to doing your own recipe.
All you need to get your leaf blower going is a good quality regular gas and some two stroke engine oil.
Some gas leaf blowers come with a four stroke engine, and for those, you don’t need to mix oil with your gas. You can just top it up with straight gas and you’re ready to go.
If you are not sure what type of engine you have, then you should make time to consult your user’s manual.
Taking the time to read now will tell you a lot of vital things about your equipment – from the right fuel or fuel mix it requires, to the specific procedure of how to start and run it.
So why do manufacturers still stick to the two stroke engines? Despite the lower fuel efficiency, added noise and the need to mix gas and oil to get them running, two stroke engines still hold some advantages over four stroke engines.
Two stroke engines are very simple mechanisms compared to four stroke engines, and they offer a very good weight to performance ratio compared to the latter.
Two stroke engines are also a lot more inexpensive to manufacture compared to four stroke motors, as well.
Two stroke engines are simpler and lighter partly due to the lack of a dedicated oil lubrication system that a four stroke engine would have.
That’s the reason why you need to add oil to your gas for two stroke motors in the first place – it’s this same oil that circulates throughout the system to lubricate and protect the moving parts of the engine, as well as its other components such as fuel lines and valves.
How to Mix Gas for Leaf Blower
The first step towards putting together an ideal gas and oil mix for your gas leaf blower is to get the right kind of stuff.
You want the right ratio of gas and the right oil that will keep your engine running smoothly for a long time.
Too much gas and you run the risk of not getting enough oil running through the system, which can lead to premature wear and damage to the moving parts of the engine – if it was able to start despite the improper mix, in the first place.
Too much oil, on the other hand, will lead to the engine burning up too much of that oil which comes out as excess smoke.
Aside from the breathing hazard of having your gas leaf blower belch up smoke, the excess oil will also tend to prematurely foul up your spark plugs, as well as your other components such as your reed valves and fuel lines.
The majority of leaf blower manufacturers recommend regular unleaded gasoline for their products. Most of them would recommend 87 octane gas or up, with an ethanol blend of 10 percent or less.
Ethanol enhanced gasoline mixed with 10 percent ethanol is also commonly known as E10, while E15 fuels contain 15 percent ethanol.
Only use the right type of gas that the manufacturer recommends – most of them calibrate their products for a specific type of fuel, and you will risk shortening the useful life of your gas leaf blower if you experiment with other kinds.
Gas with too much ethanol in it may cause your engine to perform poorly or erratically, if it starts at all. In any case, never put in a high ethanol fuel like E85 in your leaf blower – the same goes for diesel fuels, as well.
Fresh gasoline is ideal for ensuring that your leaf blower runs at its very best. The ethanol added to ethanol-enhanced fuels have a tendency to attract water.
Over time, this can cause stale gas to form separate gasoline, ethanol and water layers in their container. Getting that water layer into your engine can cause it to fail to start.
Manufacturers may also recommend specific two cycle engine oils for their motors. There are different types of two cycle oils, so make sure to pick one designed for your motor.
To keep your gas leaf blower running at its best, you may want to consider adding the appropriate fuel stabilizer to your mix, as well.
As manufacturers continue to improve on their existing two stroke engine models, the ratio has come down over the recent years.
Where older models would call for a richer mix of 32 gas for every unit of oil, newer and more modern engines can now operate with an optimum ratio of 40 to 1, 50 to 1, or even less. This is a good thing, since two cycle engine oil can be a bit expensive.
Oil to Gas Ratio
Improper fuel mixes and stale fuel are the most common issues when it comes to gas leaf blowers not being able to start. It’s important to get your ratio right not just to extend the life of your equipment, but also to be able to use it in the first place.
Before you start mixing, it’s a good idea to review the right oil to gas ratio you will need to put together for the specific model of leaf blower you are using.
Check the user’s manual as to the right ratio. Some manufacturers will also place the ratio on the fuel tank of the leaf blower, or inside the fuel cap.
One easy way to get the oil to gas ratio just right is to use your gas container as your reference, and work out your way from there.
If you have a gallon container of fresh regular unleaded gasoline, then you will be able to figure out how many ounces of two cycle oil you will need for that batch.
Making your mix in the gas container also ensures that you will be able to put on a self-venting spout for easy refills, and lets you seal the mixture securely later so that air and humidity will not get to it.
Based on a one US gallon container of gas (which is equivalent to 128 US fluid ounces), you will need 6.4 ounces of oil to get a 20 to 1 mix. A 30 to 1 mix for the same container will require 4.3 ounces of oil. A 32 to 1 recipe is easy to figure out – you will need exactly 4 ounces of oil for every gallon of gas.
40 to 1 ratio is one of the most common for two cycle engines on the market today. To get that from one gallon of gas, you will need to add 3.2 ounces of oil. A 45 to 1 ratio, on the other hand, calls for 2.8 ounces of oil.
50 to 1 ratio is yet another common recommendation for many newer leaf blower models. To get the right 50 to 1 mix, add 2.6 ounces of oil to a gallon of gas. A 60 to 1 mix calls for 2.1 ounces of oil for the same gallon, while an 80 to 1 mix needs just 1.6 ounces of oil.
If you prefer the metric way of measuring things, then you will have to work with liters as your standard. A typical gas can you will usually find is the 5 liter container, which is equivalent to around 1 1/4 gallons.
Getting a 20 to 1 ratio with a 5 liter can of gas is straightforward – you will need 250 ml or 1/4 liter of oil for the whole container. For a 30 to 1 ratio, add 167 ml of oil to the gas. To get a 32 to 1 mix, then that calls for 156 ml of oil.
The typical 40 to 1 ratio is easy to compute in liters. You need 1/8 of a liter, or 125 ml, of oil for every 5 liters of gas. A 45 to 1 ratio, on the other hand, calls for 111 ml of oil.
The 50 to 1 ratio, another common type of mix, is also easily done with liters. You just need to measure out 100 ml, or 1/10 of a liter, of oil for every 5 liters of gas. A 60 to 1 mix calls for 83 ml of oil, while an 80 to 1 mix needs just 63 ml.
Gas Container Sizes
Now that you have the recipe figured out, it’s a good idea to write it down somewhere for future reference – you can sharpie it on a convenient spot on your leaf blower if you need to.
If you base it around the basic one gallon or 5 liter gas containers, then it becomes simple to scale it up for larger gas container sizes.
For gallon containers, you can have 2 gallon, 2.5 gallons and 5 gallon cans in addition to your standard 1 gallon container. For metric users, you may also find 10 liter and 20 liter gas cans in addition to the basic 5 liter unit.
As you scale up to these larger gas container sizes, you just need to multiply the oil needed in your recipe accordingly. If your 32 to 1 mix calls for 4 ounces of oil for a gallon container, for example, then you will simply need to add 8 ounces of oil to a 2 gallon gas container.
Manufacturer's Gas to Oil Ratios
Manufacturers tend to use the same lines of two cycle engines for their products, so they may tend to stick to one or two gas to oil ratio recommendations for their models.
That said, you should always check with the manual on the proper mix for a specific leaf blower, even if you already owned a similar machine from the same manufacturer before.
Ryobi leaf blowers have come a long way from their older models that require a rich 32 to 1 ratio. Most of their newer models use a 50 to 1 fuel mix, which is just 2.6 ounces of oil to the gallon.
Craftsman leaf blowers often include a two cycle engine oil with every purchase of their equipment. Most models from this brand call for a 40 to 1 gas to oil mix, so you will need 3.2 ounces of that oil per US gallon of gas.
Husqvarna, another brand well regarded for their line of gas powered leaf blowers, also recommend a 40 to 1 mix for many of their models.
The brand recommends 3.2 ounces of McCulloch oil for every gallon of gas, and they also offer the oil in pre-measured 3.2 ounce containers as well – just open and pour in.
Poulan Pro tools, a manufacturer well regarded for their line of leaf blowers, trimmers and chainsaws, also recommend a 40 to 1 gas to oil ratio for their two cycle products. They also recommend running 87 octane regular unleaded gasoline, as well.
Troy-Bilt, another manufacturer that makes a wide selection of two stroke gardening tools, recommends a 40 to 1 ratio for the models they put out after 2003.
That’s 3.2 ounces of two cycle oil with every gallon of gas. They also recommend a richer 32 to 1 ratio for their handheld models released in 2002 and before.
Makita’s newer gas leaf blowers go easy on the environment with the 50 to 1 mix that they recommend for their two stroke engine tools.
The manufacturer recommends that owners only use Makita two cycle engine oil with premium unleaded gasoline, mixed at a 50 to 1 ratio.
That means using 1/10 of a liter of oil for every 5 liters of gas. Many of Makita’s newer models are of the four stroke variety, though, so if you have one of those, then straight premium unleaded gas is all you will need to fuel one up.
