Surprisingly enough, a lot of people don’t know what kind of gas they should put in their snow blower. Naturally, this can be quite problematic, because, without the right kind of gas, the snow blower doesn’t work as well – if at all – and in some cases, it can actually damage and even destroy the unit. All are making your purchase effectively worthless.
For those reasons, it’s important to know exactly what kind of gas you need to use in your snow blower. In this article, you’ll learn what kind of gas is the right gas for your snow blower.
What Kind Of Engine Does Your Snow Blower Have?
There are two kinds of engines: two-cycle engines, and four-cycle engines. As of today, two-cycle engines are considered outdated and irrelevant, so just about every snow blower has a four-cycle engine. However, if you have an older snow blower from six-to-twelve years back, then there’s a good chance it has a two-cycle engine.
Now, if you have a four-cycle engine, then the only thing you need is gas. Of course, it’s good to change your oil once every season.
However, if you have a two-cycle engine, you’ll need gas, and you’ll also need oil. You’ll need to mix them in a certain ratio – the exact ratio is different for every snow blower, and you can find it in the manual of the snow blower; if you don’t have the manual, go on Google and type in the brand, model number, along with the word “manual”, and you’ll find it.
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How Often Do You Use Your Snow Blower?
If you live in a climate where it frequently snows, and you use your snow blower around once a month – or even more than that – then this section isn’t that important. However, if your usage is quite infrequent, then it is highly recommended that you add a little bit of fuel stabilizer into the fuel tank.
As time passes, your snow blower gradually builds up water. If you don’t use your snow blower for a prolonged period, more and more water builds up. When there is a lot of water build-up, it affects the ethanol that is in the fuel your snow blower needs. The impact of the ethanol is reduced, making the snow blower less powerful, and potentially damaging the snowblower itself.
By adding a little bit of fuel stabilizer, you ensure that water doesn’t build up in the tank, preventing the problems stated above from taking place.
This brings us to the third point…
Don’t Use Fuel That Has A High Ethanol Content
For the most part, snow blowers are smaller pieces of equipment. They don’t have the largest engines, and this means that you really can’t be using fuel that has a high ethanol content because too much ethanol can easily clog the engine and its components, while also leading to the engine and its components becoming corroded and unusable.
Now, most gas station fuel has an ethanol content of ten percent. That’s a good percentage to shoot for. However, anything above that is usually not ideal. For example, fifteen-percent ethanol content is a bad choice. If you have the opportunity to, it can be a great choice to purchase gas with no added ethanol content, but this is also quite difficult to find and may not be worth the time investment. However, it usually doesn’t have any extra cost, so if you live near a place where it is sold, then you should pick it up because it will enhance the lifespan of your snow blower.
One Final Thing To Remember
Ultimately, much of this information can be found in the user manual of your snow blower. In the User Manual, you’ll find all of the information you need regarding the engine, what you need to get the snow blower to work properly, along with any recommendations, on the part of the manufacturer, when it comes to getting the most out of your snow blower. Every snow blower is a little different, and while all of this information is very general, some things may differ a little bit, so it’s important to keep that in mind when you’re applying this information.
Nevertheless, the key things to remember are as follows: two-cycle engines require gas and oil, four-cycle engines require gas only; use a fuel stabilizer if you don’t use your snow blower that often; look for gas with lower ethanol content.
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