Most asked question-Winterizing

[pawandmaw]

I have alot of people ask what steps should I take when putting my mower up for the winter. I tell them to run it dry, am I wrong? I have read that the red stabilizer gums up carbs. but the blue stabilizer works well . I also realize you must run it five minutes after adding the stabilizer to ensure the stabilizer runs through the carb. What are the draw backs of running it Dry?

Thank you for creating this forum
Paw

[JandL]

The draw back for running it "dry" is that you can't get ALL the gas out of the carburetor. If ONE drop of fuel is left in the carburetor and it is the type of fuel that has ethanol in it, chances are it will NOT run next spring. So, with that stated, I tell my customers the following:

1. Fill it up with treated 91 octane gasoline. (By treated I mean with stabilizer that will last at least 4 months.) Use whatever stabilizer you want just read the directions and treat as directed.
2. Give your equipment a break, START IT and run for about 5 minutes every 90 days then shut it down.

By starting it, you will change the fuel in the carburetor and get fuel flowing in the smaller ports and generally help to ensure your equipment will start in the spring.

Others have different opinions and that's fine, the point is, we have to take care of our equipment different then our fathers taught us to do. The gas we have is NOT as it once was, so we have to treat it for what it is.

[bobodu]

The "red goo" seems to come from people who over treat thinking a little is good so more is better. I have switched to the marine grade Sta-Bil. I do not run them dry as the gaskets dry out. I used my chain saw which hasn't been started in two years and she fired up after 10 pulls.....but it doesn't have a primer either..

[bgsengine]

I agree with JandL - In fact, we advise our customers to invest in a bottle of Ethanol Shield - One bottle treats 40 gallons - if you fill up a 5 gallon gas can, dose it with a 1/2 ounce of Ethanol Shield treatment before filling the gas can, if you do that every time you buy gas, you won't even need to *worry* about it. and at a half ounce per 5 gallons, that's 8 fill-ups of your gas can on a single bottle.
- for the last 2 years, we have had *zero* issues with any engine where the fuel was consistently treated that way - even when it was stored in a shed for a year and a half - the next time I pulled it out, it started right up, on the gas that had been left in it a year and a half ago, and ran like a top.

So, we always strongly advise to use a good stabilizer like Ethanol Shield - It helps fuel stay fresh for a very long time.
Never run the machine dry, you'll never burn off all the gas left behind, and what is left behind breaks down just that much faster and leaves behind scaly deposits that plug up your carburetor eventually.

- *ESPECIALLY* 2-stroke engines - when you "run it dry" you are causing damage to the engine because when it runs dry, you're leaning it out so much, there's lack of lubrication, since they depend on oil in the gas for lubrication.
(and Ethanol Shield works in 2-cycle engines as well - *IF* you are not buying a premium quality mix oil such as Echo's Power Blend, or Shindaiwa Red Armor, or Stihl's mix oil - all of which include fuel stabilizers in the oil blend.)

Every machine that comes through our shop that gets any of our fuel, gets treated fuel... we buy our gas from local gas stations, but treat it with Ethanol Shield as mentioned. (And, I cannot possibly fathom why anyone would be wanting to pay $12/gallon plus for ethanol free fuel in a can.. we don't sell it, really do not see any need for it, when Ethanol Shield keeps regular gas station gas fresh and trouble-free for 18 months, which is the longest stretch I've personally known for sure of.)

[wristpin]

Slightly "off topic" but when I had a mower business we had one elderly customer who's ride-on mower would never start in the spring despite having an end of season service - the battery was always flat (discharged), despite both it and the machine checking out OK. The problem was solved one year when I went out with a freshly charged battery and it happened to be the day of the week that his garden man was in attendance. When the owner was out of earshot, confided in me "he pops out and starts it a couple of times a week and switches it off straight away, sometimes he does two or three starts and stops "! After that we stored his battery for the winter and returned it fully charged in the spring.
Fortunately it was not too far away and the owner, an ex WW2 fighter pilot sadly no longer with us, was a lovely old boy and visiting him was a bit of a social occasion, but it just goes to show - things are often not what they seem to be!

[pawandmaw]

Thank you bgsengine,bobodu,JandL for your knowledge on this subject.
I read up on that Ethanol Shield and it treats fuel up to 3 years, . I did not consider the lubrication point for the carb. gaskets. That is main reason I ask questions like this, there is the other view that I did not consider.
I say thanks
Paw
I really enjoy learning good points on this forum!!

[wobbedennis]

ok, What happens if you're not going to store it over the winter, and you're going to store it for a few years. I am currently jumping through the hoops of enlistment into the US Navy, and I have a few cream and orange kids that I will use again, I just doubt that it will be for about 4 to 8 years. I have a Stihl MS441, and an old 051av, two 051s actually, but one doesn't run. I need a complete ignition for it, and a flywheel. I'm not worried about that saw, since it hasn't ran since I got it due to this reason. but the other two I ran quite consistently, and I had the carb fail on the 441. I want these saws, when I need them again, to be pulled out of storage, and run as though they never stopped running. Is there a way to do this?

[crosstalk]

Although I have been using the correct amount of red sta-bil every time I refill my fuel cans, I have had mixed results with sta-bil lately. It could be that my supply is too old (shelf life may not be too stable!). I am going to try ethanol shield as a preservative to see if I have better results. For really long time storage, one option might be to take apart the cube carb, dry everything out, and reassemble with a new kit (or not) and leave it dry.

[bgsengine]

ok, What happens if you're not going to store it over the winter, and you're going to store it for a few years. I am currently jumping through the hoops of enlistment into the US Navy, and I have a few cream and orange kids that I will use again, I just doubt that it will be for about 4 to 8 years. I have a Stihl MS441, and an old 051av, two 051s actually, but one doesn't run. I need a complete ignition for it, and a flywheel. I'm not worried about that saw, since it hasn't ran since I got it due to this reason. but the other two I ran quite consistently, and I had the carb fail on the 441. I want these saws, when I need them again, to be pulled out of storage, and run as though they never stopped running. Is there a way to do this?

If at all possible, put it in *cold* storage keep temperatures as low as possible, run treated fuel through it and drain tank , if euipped with purge bulb, use that until it pumps nothing but air, and re-drain.. Then what *I* would do for that is, I would get a bottle of Mechanic in a Bottle and pull fuel line out of tank, pull fuel filter off, and stick the hose in the MIB and pump primer until MIB comes out the return line, then put filter back on, drop it back in tank and re-purge until purge pumps air, Then squirt some MIB in the intake and crank 'er over (with switch "off") to treat and lubricate crank seals and intake boots.


The MIB will coat and preserve/protect the rubber and plastic parts and probably will store indefinitely - I'd be willing to bet if you do that, you can pull it off the shelf 20 years later, add gas (if gas even exists any more! LOL!) and she'd fire right up and run like a top.

[Mek-a-nik]

Every machine that comes through our shop that gets any of our fuel, gets treated fuel... we buy our gas from local gas stations, but treat it with Ethanol Shield as mentioned. (And, I cannot possibly fathom why anyone would be wanting to pay $12/gallon plus for ethanol free fuel in a can.. we don't sell it, really do not see any need for it, when Ethanol Shield keeps regular gas station gas fresh and trouble-free for 18 months, which is the longest stretch I've personally known for sure of.)

People are different. I wouldn't buy the $12 stuff either. I tell people if they treat their fuel, they won't have a problem. But I can tell by their faces, that they aren't the type of person that can reliably and consistently do so. Some people won't go to the store and get stabilizer, so they won't buy the $12 stuff either. They just want to cut the grass and go back in the house. -And then pay me to clean their carb again, later.