So I figured if anyone had a reasonable answer to this question it would be DMS folks. Does anyone have any good information about using TruFuel vs E10 pump gas for lawn equipment. I am switching back to gas from an electric mower and this whole TruFuel thing is new to me. I would be using the 4 cycle version in a 4 cycle mower.
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It’s all I use. I got tired of replacing my fuel lines on my equipment every year. About every 2 years I’d have to replace my primer bulbs. So really it’s a wash. Either spend the money on the better fuel or replace the hoses every year. I am glad that I went with it.
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But replacing fuel lines is a pain in the ass with extra opportunity to screw something up or have something not go right. Canned fuel is pretty easy.
I’ve not gone that route, but I have considered it. I HAVE adopted Sta-bil (or comparable stabilizer) at the pump, so it’s all always treated. So far, no problems with this route, but I still wonder about canned fuel instead.
Alternately, if you travel, it might be worth your while to fill up a can at an ethanol-free pump.
http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=TX
But as you can see, there’s nothing near DFW (legalese, etc. that it can’t be sold in the metroplex)
This discussion went a little off the rails (as they are wont to do here at DMS Talk) but has some good info, I think
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Having just moved down here, I was shocked that I can’t get 100% gas anywhere near the metroplex, so I looked at TruFuel.
I did the math on it, checked it against my average yearly fuel use, and figured out it’s cheaper for me to just drive all my tanks north at once and fill them at the place on the way to Sherman than it is to get trufuel. That stuff works out to like $35 per gallon.
Now, what I haven’t done yet but keep meaning to is call the FBO at Addison Airport and see if they’ll sell me 100LL. If so, even at $8 a gallon, I’m still coming in cheapest, and the little bit of lead in 100LL isn’t enough to cause an issue, particularly in my high-compression engines.
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you lost me there…
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~$23.33/gal (6 pack) but I see your point. Wow, dallas area doesn’t even sell 91/96UL (Mogas) at airports.
All my 2 cycle stuff is high compression, and that little bit of lead in 100LL doesn’t impact performance in any meaningful way.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen brown at an airport that wasn’t hosting an airshow. Even if your engine will burn it, no one will fuel a plane that’s got blue in it with brown.
I just did some more internet checking, and it looks like Lonestar Performance sells race fuel including Sunoco 105, so it might be worth calling them to get pricing too.
And finally, based on some old forum posts, it looks like Bates Cycle (which is like 45 seconds from the space) carries VP fuels.
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You can buy a gallon of tru-fuel but it’s about 18-19$. I’m still working off my gallon can of 50-1 from last year.
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This got me wondering on shelf life.
from http://trufuel50.com/about-us/
The product features a re-sealable cap and has a shelf life greater than 2 years after opening the can and more than 5 years unopened for convenient storage.
And the orange store claims to have them in stock in gallons at $19.97 (lowers to $17.97 per for 4 or more)
http://www.homedepot.com/p/TruSouth-TruFuel-110-oz-4-Cycle-Ethanol-Free-Fuel-6527206/205915694
I bought mine from Richardson saw. It was 18, IIRC.
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This is a bad idea.
The TEL content in 100LL AVGAS is roughly 3.5x that which used to be in leaded auto fuel (0.56 g/l versus 0.15 g/l). This would rapidly incapacitate your catalytic converter and oxygen sensors, the latter causing your car to run like crap and light the CEL.
Though you’re not likely the be prosecuted, you’d also be violating the 1996 Clean Air Act, which has a $10k fine.
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But if it’s for offroad use, e.g. lawn care equipment, 2-strokes, etc., then none of that other stuff matters.
I have to say I found this article confounding, since among the premises it has is that the tetra-ethyl lead in avgas does exactly the opposite in your car engine of what tetra-ethyl lead is purported to have done in road fuel in your car engine. This seem dubious. That whole article (other than the clause about it likely being unlawful) seemed cooked up to be discouraging, rather than factually sound.
In the end, though, I’ll bet it’ll just be cheaper and easier to buy VP Racing fuel than fiddle with avgas. Curious to see if @bknapp finds a venue, though…
Now, I do not know if this station carries ethanol free fuel or not but I remember them being labeled VP Racing fuel station. I want to say there are a few more in the metroplex.
Granted, other than the emissions concerns.
As for myself, I use 87 octane pump gas and drain fuel bowls before the winter, etc. I’ve replaced a few rotted fuel hoses on the string trimmer, but that’s about it.
TruFuel seems like a very expensive option to avoid the occasional hassle of replacing a fuel line or having to partially disassemble a carburetor for a couple quick blasts of cleaner/air hose. (edit: I enjoy working on small engines, so, for me, this counts as “fun” time. I could see how it might not to others. Then again, even with electric you’ve still got bad battery packs to deal with and recharging time.)
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Having dealt with 100LL in the past (pilot), I will say that it is really easy to foul a spark plug if your mixture is too rich. Sometimes, it even requires removing the plug and manually cleaning it to get it to idle right on that mag (piston airplanes have a L and R mag, with two spark plugs for each cylinder.)
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I enjoy working on them when I want to. I do not enjoy it when I have some other task to get done, and need to use the tool. Seems like it’s too often the latter.
Another alternative is the good old fashioned electric, complete with cord. 'Tis its own special hassle, with specific limitations, too. Ya always end up paying the piper, it seems.
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Oh, yeah. Special fun. 
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This is the rule not the exception to most anything with a motor, wheels, and uses batteries or is supposed to float…
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Not a big concern for the weedeaters, the chainsaw, the mower, the blower, and my boat motor. Which is all I’m putting it in.
Also, leaded gas had about 4 grams per gallon, or roughly a gram a liter. 100LL has half that (the LL is for Less Lead).
The Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, and was just amended later, but either way, the restrictions on leaded fuel is limited to on-road vehicles only. Racecars, boats, and (most notably) airplanes are still allowed to burn leaded fuel. 100LL is far and away the most popular fuel for general aviation internal combustion engines.
I love my turbo diesel and like my non turbo diesel…
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