Small Engine Storage - engine oil?

[nieuport17]

I bought a HF 2” 212cc water pump and used it 3 times (flooding down in the south)
Now I need to storage it. I already cleaned out the gas.
Do I leave the engine oil in?

I searched the web and the only thing that people worried about is the gasoline.

What would you guys do?

Thanks in advance.

 

[M6erfan]

Leave it in. Or better, change it and leave in the fresh stuff.

 

[warren.albert.77]

I always change oil in fall to store for winter.

With a situation like that change it and you can employ it when needed with a piece of mind.


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[metlmunchr]

For the best long term protection, give it a dose of fogging oil. Parts houses might stock it and all boat dealers definitely have it.

Changing the engine oil would be unlikely to have any significant beneficial effect for storage. It's much more useful to change the oil immediately prior to the next use as that assures you're rid of any moisture that might have condensed into the oil during storage.

 

[sberry]

How many hours on it? Little or modest I wouldn't bother, if you ran the living **** out of it an oil change cant hurt and if its been a while they make oil better all the time. This is a simple air cooled engine, no coolant leaks, if its in decent shape could go its service life, still work with a couple changes. I got some I use once in a while, havnt changed them in 10 years.
I used to panic and keep track of it all but the truth is oil got so much better and better for old equipment that some of it we simply add and when it wont run and comes in for other work gets a change. We also went to modified pans got 2x the original. I gonna have a gas V* on LP has several hundred hard hours on it to a change, my forklift 20 years at least.
I put T6 in the Kohler mower and been running it 250 hrs. Old van I drive going on years now. You can still see thru it at 10K. Looks like it has 10 minutes on it. I had a free filter about 3 or 4 years ago and felt sorry for it then at about 25K and changed it when it was in for routine brake, I had intended then for it to be its last change.

 

[Iowafox]

I have always been told and I do this with all my small engines regardless of age.
I change them before the first use piece of mind its done right. Then if you use them leave the old oil in there because when it's in storage who the changing temps make water vapors and you want to change the oil before the first use of the next season or when ever you need it.
Like my snowblower I change it right every fall around December 1st or a week or 2 sooner. Then leave it over the summer months and then change it yearly since the summer humidity surely leaves some moisture in the oil. My lawnmower I change it every spring because the same way over winter. Just leave a piece of paper in a zip lock tapped on the unit saying change my oil before use and date it.
Is this a bit overkill maybe but I see it as if I invest in it I want to make it last and take care of it the best I can.
This is just my 2cents.

 

[redmondjp]

I would change the oil now. It will probably be a grayish tint, which is from the metals worn off inside during the breaking-in process. This is completely normal, and a good reason to change the oil on any new engine after a few hours' worth of use.

 

[sberry]

The question is,,, can you possibly wear it out? I seen Kawasaki water coolers run 5-6000 hours on a few changes, these call for 200 maybe 250 and they running a thousand hours. They are built better than the HF air cooled, some got a limited life anyway. If I wanted to be done fooling with it might break it in a little, change it out and forget it. If I was gonna run it long enough to require a change in the next few years might try a synthetic in its recommended rating especially if its under real load in blistering heat. Saying that its going in to storage says the hours are few, drain the gas, pull the cord once in a while to roll it over.

 

[lardy1]

I like to put seasonal things away with fresh oil in them. No contaminants (real or perceived) fouling up machined surfaces. If not, I change the oil before I run them again. I still believe oil is cheap insurance.

 

[Den69rs96]

I would keep the oil in it. If your going to store it in a moist environment fog the cylinder. Wouldn’t hurt to pull the cord and rotate the engine once in a while if you store it long term. It probably wouldn’t hurt to run some pump saver or RV antifreeze through the water pump.

 

[zendriver]

Leave it in.

 

[bpjr]

I've owned that exact HF pump for 7-8 yrs for hurricane flooding. It sits most of the time but I store with fresh oil and change it annually when test running before hurricane season. It has maybe 75-100 hrs of full throttle pumping now.

I stored the pump chamber it with antifreeze the 1st yr and it leaked back into the crankcase...so I only did that once. I spray oil down into the pump vane for storage now. Probably overkill but after that it ran it 30-40 hrs at full bore and had zero water in the oil at oil change.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

If you are worried about changing the oil in general, change it before you store, you mostly change oil to remove the contaminates, so why would you store any engine with acidic oil ? To change it just before use and after storage is just backwards.

Get rid of the moisture and byproducts of combustion, so the oil is not slowing eating away at your bearing surfaces.

Ive seen this in the junk business, pull a good sounding motor, install it, and then about 1000 miles later the bottom end is knocking because the bearings went soft while it sat with contaminated oil over time.

Just my 2 cents..

 

[KnurledNut]

IMO:
Fresh oil
Fill tank with non-ethanol fuel with stabilizer added
Drain/flush trash pump

FYI From the manufacturer:
“NOTICE: For every 3 months of an extended storage period, the pump must be connected to a water supply, primed, started, and allowed to run for 15 – 20 minutes or the Warranty is VOID.”

 

[thool]

I like to put seasonal things away with fresh oil in them. No contaminants (real or perceived) fouling up machined surfaces. If not, I change the oil before I run them again. I still believe oil is cheap insurance.

Same here, plus fogging. If possible, put a squirt of oil in the spark plug hole, give a couple slow pulls on the starter, then store with the piston at TDC. It doesn't hurt to tag the machine with some info: date, type of oil, what you did at time of storage, etc.

I agree 100% on the cheap insurance concept. I *always* change the oil at the time of storage to establish a habit and also to remove doubt when I go to put it back into service.

 

[American Locomotive]

Most small engines have a reed valve on the crankcase that only lets vapors out - not in.

FWIW, we just change small engine oil by hours/run time. Never had a problem. We have two snow blowers, and one rarely gets used. It has had the same oil in it for 13 years because it gets used maybe an hour per year, if that.

I agree that it's cheap insurance to just change the oil, but I've personally have never had an issue with any of my power equipment.

FYI From the manufacturer:
“NOTICE: For every 3 months of an extended storage period, the pump must be connected to a water supply, primed, started, and allowed to run for 15 – 20 minutes or the Warranty is VOID.”

That's for the pump seals, not the engine.

 

[KnurledNut]

That's for the pump seals, not the engine.

Obviously.
Worth mentioning though.

 

[seber]

Engine oil is fortified with high PH to counter the acid buildup produced by the
running engine. If you have run it long enough to get to lower than neutral PH then definitely change it before storage. Otherwise, it's just how you feel about it. PH test strips are really cheap. I like to use synthetic oil in motors that sit for long times because I worry about oxidation of the oil.

 

[sberry]

I quit worrying about it. ..less work than changing it.

 

[American Locomotive]

I quit worrying about it. ..less work than changing it.

Yup. Maybe if it was some high dollar piece of equipment with precision bearings and a high pressure full-flow lube system I'd worry about it.

Splash-lubed Briggs and Strattons with soft aluminum rod bearings and plastic camshafts literally don't care. I'm not saying you should neglect them, but like I said, I have a snowblower going on 13 years with the same oil in it. Still runs great and doesn't smoke at all or burn any oil.

 

[nelstomlinson]

A little engine holds about a quart of oil. The time to change that quart costs more than the quart.

 

[demarpaint]

Lots of different opinions on the topic. Here's what has worked for me for quite a few decades. I store OPE with fresh oil, and a fogged engine, with fuel if it is seasonal equipment, like my power washer, mower, and snow blower. At the end of the season I get the engine hot, the fuel in it is fresh, treated with Stabil and Marvel Oil. While running with fresh treated fuel, I fog it, turn it off, and change the oil. Then I put the machine way until the next season. Oil gets dirty and contaminated with combustion by-products, fuel dilution, etc. I'd rather have that **** out of the oil when storing the equipment. Will the fresh oil take on moisture from sitting in a garage? Sure, but it is better with fresh oi, and less harmful. At the following season, any moisture will burn off once the engine reaches operating temperature. Regarding fuel, if a machine is going to be stored for a year or more, I'll run it dry. I found seasonal equipment is easier to start the following season with fuel treated as I mentioned. Opinions vary, that's what's worked for me after almost 40 years of owning a home, and maintaining power washers for my business.

 

[sberry]

Yup. Maybe if it was some high dollar piece of equipment with precision bearings and a high pressure full-flow lube system I'd worry about it.

Splash-lubed Briggs and Strattons with soft aluminum rod bearings and plastic camshafts literally don't care. I'm not saying you should neglect them, but like I said, I have a snowblower going on 13 years with the same oil in it. Still runs great and doesn't smoke at all or burn any oil.

That's kind of my point. No need to neglect it but we don't worry about it. I changed one the other day, it had been a while and had a lot of use and was in for other work on the machine. No reason not to.

 

[bpjr]

The main reason I change oil frequently on my hf pump is to purge water that may get past the pump seal...like mentioned earlier when I filled the chamber with antifreeze for storage. It didn't leak enough to show on the dip stick but foamed the oil enough on first start to shut the engine down for low oil pressure. Water getting past the seal while pumping full bore for long days hasn't happened afterward but I can watch for it with oil changes. I don't change oil in my other 212cc gen engine as often.

 

[laser3kw]

some new small engines don't even have drain plugs. The manufacture claim "never needs oil change - check and fill as needed"
Some don't have drain plugs and in the manual they show tipping the motor over and "draining" the oil through the fill tube.
I hate them for ruining my "fun"
Leaving the oil for extended intervals won't hurt it. If it went more than a couple of years, I'd start it, warm it up good, then change it before putting it back into service.