school me in winterizing lawn equipment

[chipper]

I have a couple blowers, mowers and trimmers but i have never done a any winterizing os it really just as simple as putting some stabile in. do you dump your gas first or levevit in and what about your gas cans that are full....i just got a new pricey blower and just want to start doing the right thing also with my new blower they say since i use premix npn ethonal gas that i don't have to winterize it is this itrue?

 

[John316]

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[theoldwizard1]

Already a bit late for the "lazy man's method". You should start this method early enough so that you can refill/top off your equipment tank 2 times.

• Dump you fuel can into your vehicle. (Less than a gallon of pre-mix 2 cycle fuel mixed with 10+ gallons of straight gasoline will not hurt anything.)
• Buy fresh fuel
• Mix in you favorite fuel stabilizer
• Fill equipment
• Run it

I have a 50+yo rototiller with a B&S 5hp. Starts every spring. Same with my 10+yo 2 stroke Stihl leaf blower and 5+yo string trimmer as well as my 10+yo 2 stroke snow blower.

Yes, I use E10. Yes, I have had a carb clog occasionally. I fix it. The most common "no start" problem on 2 stroke engines is air leaks in the fuel lines. "Better to light a lamp then to curse the darkness !"

Another piece of good advice. On warm winter days (upper 30s-40s) start your equipment if possible. Don't kill your self. Quit after 5-6 pulls. If it does start, let it run long enough for it to fully warm up. I do the same with the snow blower in summer except I only run it for a minute or 2 (they can overheat in the summer).

And SeaFoam is about as close of a miracle cure as exists !

 

[CWP1616L]

Use STA-BIL in your gas. One ounce per every 2-1/2 gallons.

 

[bobcatdan]

I don't care for stability, seems I have problems when I use it. I run ethonal free premium in small engines. I mix the propper amount of seafoam in the gas and that is. I run the equipment down, but not out. I start the equipment about once a month just to see if it starts. Never a problem starting or running.

 

[deter]

just run them out of gas. winterized

 

[stratman977]

just run them out of gas. winterized

+1

It also helps to pull the carb bowl and get the last bit out of the bottom. I also pull the batteries out of the riders and keep them in my basement. I have heard keeping them full keeps the tank from rusting from moisture but what has a steel tank anymore, even then I would rather have the tank rust than have a junk carb.

Never had one not start the next year for as long as I can remember.

 

[Knuckle Buster]

I must be lucky. All I put in any gas tank is gas, don't believe in adding anything. My riding mower spent ten years in the weather outside before I made room to shelter it and it always fires right up on the last seasons gas. My push mower is still sitting outside uncovered for 22 years now and it starts by the third pull every spring.. on the gas that was left in it. Maybe gas differs by location? I've never had an issue. I just sold a 1985 Suzuki 250 four wheeler that I had since brand new and it had sat for three years since last using it. Pulled the choke, pulled the rope a few times and it fired right up and ran fine on the gas it was parked with. The carb has never been off of it since buying it new. It was beat all to heck from hard use over the years but the carb never once gummed up. I still have my kids 1991 Honda 50 4 stroke that I got for them at age five ( my kids are grown adults ) that I'm saving for grandkids and I fire it up a few times a year on the last gas they had in it like five years ago. It takes a long time to run a tank of gas out of it only starting it once in a while but it still starts on the old gas thats in it. It has never had the carb off of it neither and the tank is still grey metal inside looking through the cap.

 

[bobcatdan]

Mainly use seafoam to control moister when the gas is sitting in the can. My 2 1/2 gallon can last 6 months.

 

[Rickster]

I winterize every year at Thanksgiving weekend. Use a garage turkey baster to drain the gas tanks from the mower and weed whacker then get them started and run them out of fuel. Get some fresh fuel for the snow blower.

 

[byoungblood]

just run them out of gas. winterized

That's all I do. I also spend the extra little bit of money and buy ethanol free fuel for my lawn equipment. Extra 20 cents a gallon far outweighs the headaches from that **** being in the gas. I had a blower, trimmer rendered useless by it, and it clogged up the carb on a garden tractor. All ran fine for years until that stuff showed up.

 

[cassidy]

Where are you guys getting the ethanol free fuel? I checked a few gas stations around here and all of the fuel was said to be blended.

 

[Davefr]

Where are you guys getting the ethanol free fuel? I checked a few gas stations around here and all of the fuel was said to be blended.

http://pure-gas.org/

You can also get airplane gas (AVGAS 100LL)

 

[Mike662]

I drain the gas tanks and then run the engine until it dies. I also usually pull the spark plug, put a little bit of 30wt in the cylinder, replace the plug, and then turn it over slowly a few times. That coats the cylinder and keeps it from rusting during the downtime. Or at least I like to think it does.

My push mower is electric start; I disconnect the battery leads and leave the battery in the mower, per the owners manual.

I try to run ethanol-free gas (find it via the link Dave posted above). And I add stabil. But I still don't leave the old gas in over the winter.

Put whatever gas is left at the end of the season (including a gallon or two of 2-cycle mix) in my '66 pickup. I figure that engine doesn't have any sensors that might get messed up by a little 2-cycle oil, and the stabil helps since I don't drive it much over the winter anyway.

 

[theoldwizard1]

http://pure-gas.org/

Very few in the Metro Detroit area. I would have to drive more than 10 miles, one way.

Not worth it.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I love the DonyBoy video !

If you have any equipment that has a stamped steel deck, cleaning and spraying with WD40 or other light oil will make a huge difference in how long it will last.

 

[jmm]

In about September, I quit buying gas for my mower. If I need some, I'll siphon it from my truck. It goes bad, especially if you have blended gas.

Last mow, I run the mower sputtering dry. I don't do anything special -- but at the beginning of the season I usually run some carb cleaner through the system and change the oil.

Sometimes I get lucky and have some old gas leftover. As a responsible small engine owner, I gotta dispose of it. Raging bonfire.

 

[jakemac]

just run them out of gas. winterized

^^^ THIS ^^^^
But, I also use Sta-Bil in my gas cans. I put it in when the can is empty, so that it mixes when I fill the can at the gas station. I don't use the red stuff, I splurge and get the blue marine grade stuff. It protects against the water that ethanol attracts better than the regular stuff.

 

[Ncognito]

just run them out of gas. winterized

I don't even do that. Just park 'em after the last use. Never had a problem.

 

[Skin]

http://pure-gas.org/

You can also get airplane gas (AVGAS 100LL)

Word of caution about that site. Anyone can register including dealers of the $30/gal canned fuels. Its not all actual gas stations. 80% or more of the stations in the USA are 10% blend in all grades so the vast majority of people will have to drive considerable distances just to get some.

Follow this:

Small 2 stroke equipment like chainsaws/trimmers, run dry. Make sure you were using a 2-cycle oil with a stabilizer additive (most have it these days).

Larger 4 stroke yard equipment, use a quality fuel stabilizer (not Stabil brand), purchase fresh gasoline, mix the two according to instructions. When the equipment is going to be used for its last time top it off with the fresh fuel/stabilizer and let it run for about 5 minutes to cycle it through the fuel system. Store it FULL of this new fuel with stabilizer.

This keeps the gaskets and fuel line supple, prevents varnish and corrosion, and stops tank sweating as well as rust (if its a metal tank).

Doing nothing causes, at the very least, hard starting and debris to settle in the bowl from the inevitable corrosion that takes place as fuel ages. 3 months or less, you'll probably escape with this method for quite some time, 5-6 months or more and you'll absolutely have issues. For me yard equipment is parked from November to March or April so that's pushing it.

Running dry exacerbates the above because of the ounce or two left in the carburetor bowl that couldn't be reached by the nozzle. This tiny amount of fuel can turn into a thick varnish in just a few months which eats into the bowl and the carburetor body. The only real way to run a machine dry is to completely empty the fuel tank then dismantle the carburetor and dry it completely. When compared with the effort required to just top it off with fresh fuel/stabil you can see which I prefer.

 

[rick carpenter]

Use Sta-bil and fire 'em up at the same interval as growing season use.

 

[Provincial]

I turn off the gas and run my equipment until it stops. I haven't been draining the sediment bowls or changing the inline filters. This has worked pretty well, even with ethanol-blended fuel. This spring I had a Honda motor on an air compressor that leaked when I turned on the fuel valve. It turns out that the sediment bowl had filled with water from the ethanol and frozen, breaking the carb. casting where the bowl screws in.

I changed over to non-ethanol premium gas this spring. It is delivered by my bulk distributor to my 250 gallon farm tank. I run my 2N Ford tractor and a bunch of small engines (Honda, B&S, and Kohler) with it, along with my Stihl (mix-gas) chainsaws, weed eater, and blower. I expect to see less corrosion in my fuel systems.

 

[Skin]

I turn off the gas and run my equipment until it stops. I haven't been draining the sediment bowls or changing the inline filters. This has worked pretty well, even with ethanol-blended fuel. This spring I had a Honda motor on an air compressor that leaked when I turned on the fuel valve. It turns out that the sediment bowl had filled with water from the ethanol and frozen, breaking the carb. casting where the bowl screws in.

I changed over to non-ethanol premium gas this spring. It is delivered by my bulk distributor to my 250 gallon farm tank. I run my 2N Ford tractor and a bunch of small engines (Honda, B&S, and Kohler) with it, along with my Stihl (mix-gas) chainsaws, weed eater, and blower. I expect to see less corrosion in my fuel systems.

Ethanol doesn't "fill" carburetors with water. Either it was dumped in through a contaminated fuel tank or the piece of equipment was left outside through rain storms and/or winter thaw.

 

[Paco Pena]

I use premium gas with no ethanol and a shot of Stabil year round. Anything filled from a jerry can gets the same treatment. Two stroke of course gets proper mix of oil. Never had a spring no start doing this. Change oil in mower, sharpen blade, clean air filter, new plug every couple of seasons and paint the under side of the mower deck with some of the used oil. Still using the same cheap mower 20 years later.

Paco