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The Lawn Mower Fuel You Should Always Avoid Using
By CHRISTY RAE AMMONS
Checking the lawn mower's manual is the best way to ensure you're using the best fuel for it, but usually, gasoline with an octane rating of 87 or higher will work well.
Fuels with an octane rating lower than 87 are more likely to hurt your machine, and using lower-quality gas may void the warranty of your mower altogether.
While using premium gas (gasoline that has an octane rating of 91 to 94) might seem like the best choice for your lawn mower's care, it usually isn't more beneficial.
Consider the levels of ethanol in the fuel, too. Gasoline with more than 10% ethanol is generally cheaper, but mowers aren't typically designed to handle levels that high.
Such fuel may overheat a small engine, wear down its metal or rubber, and hurt the fuel lines. Ethanol may also absorb water into the gas tank, messing up the filters and pumps.
One should always check the octane levels as well as the ethanol, as sometimes one is appropriate while the other is not.
For example, E15 fuel usually has 15% ethanol, but its octane level is 88. Meanwhile, E10 fuel has no more than 10% ethanol and has an octane rating of 87.