2 stroke motor oil

dverstege · 17 September 2008, 22:58

I was told that AMSOIL 2 stroke oil was the best. I picked up another kind at Bass Pro Shop ½ the price because I could not find any amsoil. The owner of the marina were I keep my boat says it doesn’t matter much unless you are racing they are all the same basically.
Just wondering if I should go back to the more expensive amsoil and keep the other stuff for emergency, motor runs great with the cheaper brand though?

Nos4r2 · 17 September 2008, 23:01

As long as it's all TCW3 don't worry about it.

dverstege · 18 September 2008, 00:02

I'll check out what I bought. It would be nice to spend $20 and not the $44 though I only use 1-1 ½ litre a year. That brings me to another point, is there a shelf life for oil? I noticed when I was getting to the bottom of the amsoil the motor seemed to smoke a little more.

Nos4r2 · 18 September 2008, 02:21

I don't know. I've never had any lying round long enough to find out

captnjack · 18 September 2008, 16:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by dverstege

I'll check out what I bought. It would be nice to spend $20 and not the $44 though I only use 1-1 ½ litre a year. That brings me to another point, is there a shelf life for oil? I noticed when I was getting to the bottom of the amsoil the motor seemed to smoke a little more.

Practically I don't think there's a shelf life. If you keep it for a decade that might be an issue, but more with whatever's been gunking up the motor while its sitting around!

dverstege · 18 September 2008, 21:32

The amsoil I was using was about 2 years old. That’s about 100 L of gas. This summer due to weather it might set 14 days before starting up. The smoke is always worse heading out than coming in I figure the motor has warmed up. Would you recommend a gas additive to keep the motor clean?

Nos4r2 · 18 September 2008, 21:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by dverstege

The amsoil I was using was about 2 years old. That’s about 100 L of gas. This summer due to weather it might set 14 days before starting up. The smoke is always worse heading out than coming in I figure the motor has warmed up. Would you recommend a gas additive to keep the motor clean?

Try giving the tank a shake.

dverstege · 18 September 2008, 22:50

Did that, figuring maybe some old oil stuck to the walls of the tank. One thing I have not done though was change the spark plugs after the impeller acted up. The motor did get hot and maybe the plugs suffered the consequences. I changed them start of summer but may need it again. I am going to put a tachometer and heat gauge or buzzer on it over the winter so it does not happen again.

Stoo · 19 September 2008, 03:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by dverstege

This summer due to weather it might set 14 days before starting up. The smoke is always worse heading out than coming in I figure the motor has warmed up. Would you recommend a gas additive to keep the motor clean?

Some of that "smoke" might also be "steam"... with all of the wet weather, you might have had some moisture under the cowling that evaporates as the engine warms up. I ran into this on my old engine. If I had it tipped way up, and it happened to rain hard, on the just the right angle, I would get moisture in through the vent at the back of the cowling...

dverstege · 19 September 2008, 11:13

Thanks I'll check that out to.