ORIGINAL: Twin Star
I have to admit, I was using Outboard oil in ALL my two strokes. I have since been told to, STOP IT! and I have followed this advise, although, I'm not sure why.
My rational was: Outboards are a fairly high performance engine so there oil should provide good wear protection. Outboard oil has good anti-corrosion additives and I buy it by the gallon, so I only had to have one kind of oil in my garage.
I had engaged in this practice for many, many years with no discernible problems. None of my power equip. has ever seen the inside of a repair shop and some weed trimmers and blowers are over 20 years old and there used weekly every season.
I have an old chainsaw in my garage (came from an old, long since gone relative) that ran its whole life with diesel tractor oil for lube. He used the same stuff for chain lube too! I doubt the gas / oil mix was ever really measured with any accuracy so who knows what the ratio was. That engine looks great inside and with a carb and ignition rebuild would run well today. I know oil is important but sometimes I think that for our hobby use, people put way too much stock in selecting the "perfect oil"!