Choosing the Correct Fuel for Outdoor Power Equipment

Source: www.TurfMagazine.com

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Know your fuel facts before you fuel up your outdoor power equipment. As alternative energy sources become more popular, such as ethanol-gasoline blends, choosing the right type of fuel plays a crucial role in ensuring proper machine performance. When prepping your lawn mower, snowblower or other outdoor power equipment, remember to fuel up with gasoline no more than E10 (10% ethanol).

Toro mowers and snowblowers, in general, are approved for ethanol-gasoline blends up to E10. Current Toro products sold in the United States, and those sold throughout our company’s history, were not designed to run on fuel blends containing more than 10% ethanol.

Using gasoline containing more than E10 (10% ethanol), such as E15 (15% ethanol), E20 (20% ethanol), or E85 (up to 85% ethanol), may affect performance, damage the engine, and cause problems that may not be covered by the engine manufacturer’s or Toro’s warranty.

Read the Engine Operator’s Manual and Equipment Operator’s Manual for information on what fuel can, and cannot, be used in their machine and to understand applicable warranty coverage and exclusions.

To prevent performance issues,  use fresh fuel. Most carburetors and the gas tank are vented to the atmosphere in some manner. Consequently, nothing prevents fuel from absorbing moisture over time. Using fresh fuel (less than 30 days old) will help prevent water absorption from becoming a problem, as will adding a fuel stabilizer the day you buy the fuel. Toro offers a Premium Fuel Treatment to help ensure reliable engine performance and protection against ethanol’s harmful effects. The product is available from authorized Toro dealers or can be ordered from www.torodealer.com.

Maintenance tips to minimize fuel system issues:

. Purchase only the amount of fuel that will be used in 30 days.

. Add fuel stabilizer to the fuel the day you buy it.

. Purchase unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of at least 87 when possible.

. Consider using gasoline without any ethanol (E0).

. Gasoline with up to 10% ethanol (gasohol) or 15% MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) by volume is acceptable.  Ethanol and MTBE are not the same. Gasoline with 15% ethanol (E15) by volume is not approved for use.

. Never use gasoline that contains more than 10% ethanol by volume ethanol, such as E15 (contains 15% ethanol), E20 (contains 20% ethanol), or E85 (contains up to 85% ethanol).

Using unapproved gasoline may cause performance problems and/or engine damage that may not be covered under warranty.

Throughout its nearly 100-year history, Toro has been, and continues to be, committed to manufacturing products that operate safely and efficiently. Read your operator’s manual for more information on what fuel can, and cannot, be used in your machine.

For a more extensive list of tips to minimize fuel system problems when using ethanol-blended gasoline in Toro equipment, visit www.toro.com/fuelfacts.