Here is the simple answer. Get a one galon gas can (BTW, in
New York, here, there are 128 ounces in a galon). Go to the
Dollar Store, and buy a baby bottle which is graduated in
ounces. Pour four ounces of two stroke oil into the baby
bottle. Pour all that oil into the gascan. Go to the store,
buy about .98 or so galons of premium. Pump it into the gas
can. Screw the cap on the gascan, and shake it.

Gas mix with 4 ounces of oil to 1 galon of gas is called
"thirty two to one mix" also called 32:1 and will run fine
in nearly every two cycle equipment made.

The reason I don't suggest a two galon can, it takes a long
time to use that much gas mix on household gadgets.

Store the baby bottle in a tool box, don't put it on the
shelf where grandma will find it and think it's for Scooter.

Shake the gascan before you fill the tank. Every time. I
know... oil isn't supposed to separate out. And planes
aren't supposed to crash in the world trade center. Shake
the gas every time you use it.
--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Dan Hartung" wrote in message
...
Yes, a follow up to my leaf blower question. I'd rather move
on and
learn from this. I *do* know that 2-cycles require a proper
mix of oil
in the fuel, and I *did* read the manual, but I managed to
screw it up
for a variety of reasons.

Given that I'm not the only person with a busy life and
crazy-ass
distractions, how do YOU try to make sure that you get the
right oil
mixture in your yard tools?

US measurements are just the first of many ridiculous parts
of the
equation here (sorry, traditionalists). You get a 32-ounce
gallon (or
64-ounce two-gallon) container and some other container for
the oil and
directions to put (say) 6.4oz (out of 8oz in the container!)
in the gas
-- but who has a fluid measure with tenths marks? Not to
mention that
the containers themselves are opaque (the cans, at least, by
federal
law) and unmarked with fill lines or any such. (One can
ensure an even
two gallons via the gas pump, but that supposes a 100% empty
container
to start with.) Eyeballing it, which is what I have always
done (without
seizing engines in the process, either), just seems risky
now.

[In any case, I don't think it was a poor mix on my part,
but use of the
wrong container in a rush.]

So, you have to have some gas sitting around for various
purposes. You
don't want to run to the Shell every time you need to touch
up the
driveway or whatnot. You may need to have different mixes
for different
engines (no oil for the 4-cycle mower, 40:1 for the leaf
blower, 50:1
for the chain saw, etc.). The containers aren't well
designed for this
task. The measuring system is ridiculous. Math is involved.
Yet a
mistake seems like it can kill an engine.

Do you mix each one in advance, or add the oil on fueling?
What do you
measure with? Do you label and separate the containers?
(What do you do
if you label something 40:1 and then forget to mix it once?)
What do you
do with leftovers (mixing fresh gasoline with mixed, or the
last 1.6oz
of oil)? Is there a visible color change you can get used to
in seeing
the fuel (and legal transparent containers to keep it in)?
Has some
smartypants invented a device which does the mixing for you,
and is
available if you call 1-800-GAS-MSTR in the next fifteen
minutes (but
wait, there's more)? Surely somebody has put their brains to
this
problem before.

I found one google result for "pre-measured 2-cycle oil" --
the Mantis
products offer a kit with six just-the-right-amount
containers. Surely
there's more?