Using E10 Fuel & Stihl Motomix & Motoplus fuel alternative products                                                                                                                             

E10 petrol will contain up to 10% renewable ethanol. This is intended to help reduce CO2 emissions, but we know that some of you may have concerns about how this will affect your petrol tools. We recommend in all of our owners’ manuals that you should only use high-quality brand-name petrol with a minimum octane rating of 90, but we can reassure you that petrol with an ethanol content of 10% or less, like the new E10 petrol will not cause a problem with your STIHL petrol tool.

In fact, our STIHL M-Tronic engines can still deliver full power when run using petrol with an ethanol content of up to 25% (E25).

However, petrol with an ethanol content of more than 10% can cause running problems in engines with a manually adjustable carburettor so should not be used in such engines.

As with any petrol, we would still recommend not storing your machine with E10 petrol in it, to avoid any blockages in the fuel delivery parts of the tool. We also recommend that you store E10 fuel for no longer than 30 days in order to minimize the degree of fuel segregation.

This is where the moisture in the air binds with the ethanol and settles on the bottom of the canister. This can cause running problems and shaking the container does not completely resolve fuel segregation. If you are concerned about the use of ethanol in your machines, then you can always consider our premium, patented fuel formula, MotoMix. STIHL MotoMix is completely free from ethanol and has virtually no olefins or aromatic compounds. Emission-wise, this makes it a cleaner, more environmentally-friendly choice than regular fuels, plus it lasts longer so you can store it for up to 5 years.

However, if you still want to use standard petrol, we are happy to reassure you that the new E10 petrol is fine to use in your STIHL petrol tools.

Q. When E10 fuel first came out, I heard that it could cause a reduction in fuel efficiency. Is this correct?

This is possible, particularly in some older machines. Ethanol contains oxygen so when the ethanol content is higher, so is the oxygen content. This means that more fuel needs to be burned to compensate so it will be slightly less fuel efficient to use E10 fuel. STIHL MotoMix is ethanol-free so will automatically be more efficient.

Q. If E10 fuel is mixed with STIHL HP Ultra Oil will it last longer?

STIHL HP Ultra does contain a fuel stabiliser which is designed to slow the rate of deterioration in fuel but by its nature, ethanol is hygroscopic, which means it absorbs moisture more easily and will go stale quicker then fuels without ethanol, such as MotoMix. Even if you use HP Ultra oil with E10 fuel, we still recommend not storing it for longer than 30 days.

Q. Where are STIHL fuels made?

Both STIHL MotoMix and Moto4Plus, our fuel for small 4-stroke engines, are made in Germany.