Do you store your OPE equipment DRY or Wet

[UNC201]

There seems to be 2 schools of thought.
The majority being run dry, drain carb bowl, etc - storing the machine dry. FWIW, I store mine dry but do use 2Oz per gallon of Seafoam.


The latter being Seafoam, Stabil, - fuel stabilize the fuel and store the equipment with fuel.

 

[Spazdog]

If I'm storing it for a long period of time, then I will drain the carburetor.

My old Homely-lite string trimmer is dry. Tank and useless carb drained. Fogged with DeepCreep until I get around to trying the Walbro from a beat to death McCulloch I found.

But I start my generator at least once a month and the gas is treated with SeaFoam. My good mower and trimmer won't sit long enough to worry about it. I probably have one or two more mow and trims this year and we'll start again in March.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Dry. All of my OPE fuel is always treated with Amsoil AST stabilizer because, no matter what the season, the weather often does something wacky and I will stop mowing or blowing for a while.

I personally feel dry is better but a big factor tipping the scales in that direction for me is that there is 0 change of any kind of float/seat/other problem dumping fuel all over beside the machine when you're not watching it. I've read all kinds of stories of it happening before and it doesn't take much for even a rodent to chomp on a fuel line. Why take the chance?

In my case, some of my OPE comes indoors to the basement for the winter - no gasoline in the house, please. The snowthrower always lives in my garage which is part of the house and has a bedroom over it and has the most tempermental carb of the bunch (Tecumseh HM80).

If I had "outbuildings", workshops or garden sheds I might be a little more relaxed about it, but I wouldn't need any of those burning down either.

Standby generators are an interesting exception, depending on how likely it is you feel you'll need them before the fuel goes bad anyways. Adding "fuel up" to the list of things to do like connections, rolling into place, manual transfer switches or whatever your situation is wouldn't be all that much extra work, honestly.

 

[The_Jeff]

The stuff that leaks I store dry, otherwise I store wet with 2x the recommended dose of sta-bil.

My tecumseh stuff has enough ventilation in the carbs that it all evaporates out anyway, but a quick drop of the carb bowl, wipe the goo with a paper towel, and it's ready for another year.

I like the idea of the float not hanging straight down with its seat unseated.

 

[JHZR2]

Lately I've been running mine dry. I put stabilizer in the fuel when I buy it (we use about 1.5gal/yr).

My parents never do anything. They try to run out of gas the last mow of the year, but if there is a gallon in the can, it gets used next spring. What is in the tank is what is in the tank.

Their old B&S afield riding mower ran and started perfect from 86-06 when we repowered it due to oil consumption and smoking. Their Ryan weedwacker from 83 would still run great if not for the pull start mechanism. Their current craftsman weedwacker and blower both from 94, start and run perfect.nas does their echo chainsaw from 83.

Maybe NJ/PA gas is better than elsewhere, or else I don't know...

 

[fdcg27]

I leave mine as they were when I last used them.
I make no special effort to drain them or run them out of fuel.
In our climate, the maximum sit time for a mower is ~5 months.
In the spring, I usually pull the thing through a few times to splash some oil around, and then get serious with a little ether.
I also have no problem using a can a fuel left over from the previous season, with no effort to add any fuel stabilizer.
The engines don't seem to have any problem with it either, so there you go.

 

[demarpaint]

For seasonal storage I store my equipment wet. I found storing the machines dry was asking for trouble. I add Stabil and MMO to the mix run them good and hot and shut them down, no problems that way. If you plan on storing for longer than one year then run them dry, and plan on spending some time getting them to run properly if you have the luck that I have. There always seemed to be float issues running them dry. I fog my 4 stroke engines with MMO, nothing has gotten stuck doing that.

 

[boraticus]

"I fog my 4 stroke engines with MMO, nothing has gotten stuck doing that."

What will get stuck if you didn't do it?

Anything with a steel tank that will see use the following season will be stored with a full tank of gas and a drained carb. Steel tank machines being stored longer term are left with tank/carb empty and the fuel cap open but covered with a fine screen mesh to keep critter & debris out but to allow for ventilation to prevent condensation. Plastic fuel tank machines will usually be drained with the carburetor run dry.

Longer term storage, everything drained.

I used to put SeaFoam/Stabil into my fuel for overwinter storage but have found that it doesn't make any difference whether it's added or not. Personally, from my experience, any fuel being stored over the winter in a cold climate doesn't need any additives. Doesn't matter if it's straight gasoline or mixed fuel.

Over many years of use/experimentation, I have never seen an additive yet that has done anything of any significance in a gasoline engine regardless of how it was applied.

I've come to the conclusion that they're just more needless products to solve problems that don't exist, unless the problem is filling the coffers of the manufacturers.

 

[UNC201]

I've always stored all my stuff dry. Everything will evaporate, and while I have not tested it, I assume that even fuel stabilizers do settle, dissipate, separate even moreso with the E10 and the pending E15 fuel we get.

I see that there really are 2 sides of the camp and it's a interesting read on everyones opinion on why they choose either

 

[fdcg27]

chefwong,

I used to store everything dry until with something I didn't, and found no problems the next season.
From what I have personally experienced, storing wet will cause no problems, using last year's gas will cause no problems, and there is no noticeable benefit to Stabil (which I have tried).
Bottom line is that these OPEs are tough, and merely storing them wet over the winter won't cause them any problems.
These ain't Ferraris were talkin' 'bout.

 

[UNC201]

So assuming that fuel is shut (tank is mid full, semi, whatever) and you drain the carb, all is good. No fuel stabilizer in the fuel and let's say 9-11 months later, all is well.

Every situation is different and in mind, all is stored outdoors and I'm thinking the summerheat may accelerate/cook out the gas and leave varnish. So with metal tanks (condenstation), what is the better route to go. Some gas, full gas or no gas.....bearing that summer heat in a shed in blazing sun -- and it probably won't get used till late December/Early January.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: chefwong
So assuming that fuel is shut (tank is mid full, semi, whatever) and you drain the carb, all is good. No fuel stabilizer in the fuel and let's say 9-11 months later, all is well.

Every situation is different and in mind, all is stored outdoors and I'm thinking the summerheat may accelerate/cook out the gas and leave varnish. So with metal tanks (condenstation), what is the better route to go. Some gas, full gas or no gas.....bearing that summer heat in a shed in blazing sun -- and it probably won't get used till late December/Early January.


Cool weather - full tank. To prevent condensation.

Warm weather - drained. To minimize fuel degradation in hot weather.

Shut fuel valves off and nun carbs dry in both scenarios.

That's the way I'd do it.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
"I fog my 4 stroke engines with MMO, nothing has gotten stuck doing that."

What will get stuck if you didn't do it?



Floats get stuck. Storing more than a year I use a different approach. It is very rare that I store anything over a year, so I store my engines wet. MMO used to fog an engine doesn't evaporate should the carb leak out or the gas evaporate.

 

[JTK]

Much of it depends on how and where the piece of OPE is being stored. You are almost guaranteed fuel system issues if you store "wet" for a year or more, especially with today's gasoline blends. That time frame can be reduced drastically if the machine is stored for example, outdoors with a tarp over it, under a porch or in an area with extremes of temperature or humidity. A nice clean, dry garage or shed is your safest bet.

I've had to clean enough fuel tanks, carbs and replace fuel lines and primer systems to know that long term "wet" storage IS an issue.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
and there is no noticeable benefit to Stabil (which I have tried).
Bottom line is that these OPEs are tough, and merely storing them wet over the winter won't cause them any problems.
These ain't Ferraris were talkin' 'bout.


My snowthrower with the Tech HM80 didn't run properly after storing dry after having run fuel with Stabil in it. It required disassembly to remove soft deposits in the brand new carb. On one hand, the Stabil did something because ordinarily deposits like this are hard. On the other, there should have been no despoits.

I switched to Amsoil AST and have had no more problems like this.

My Honda and Echo OPE have always been stored dry and there have been no issues and the carbs look like they came out of a parts box.

 

[UNC201]

While off topic or on, fuel aside, what about the degradation of ocatane regarless of fuel stabilizer in the fuel. I recall reading a blurb where it stated Stabil sits ontop of the fuel, keeping the mixture of oxygen atbay. Whereas with Seafoam, it mixed with the fuel, etc, etc.

 

[oil_spaz]

I store my mower and snowthrower wet with Stabil. My father has been putting his equipment away without doing anything for 50 years. I have friends and neighbors who store their stuff dry.

Seems like everything starts and runs fine.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: boraticus
"I fog my 4 stroke engines with MMO, nothing has gotten stuck doing that."

What will get stuck if you didn't do it?



Floats get stuck. Storing more than a year I use a different approach. It is very rare that I store anything over a year, so I store my engines wet. MMO used to fog an engine doesn't evaporate should the carb leak out or the gas evaporate.


Fogging the engine with MMO or any other additive will not have any effect on the float needle or float sticking. When fogging an engine, the spray is run right through the carb's venturi into the combustion chamber on a four stroke and/or into the crankcase/combustion chamber of a two cycle. None of it gets to the the internals of the carburetor.

The best way to keep float needles from sticking, is to drain the carb so that there is no residual fuel left in it to allow varnish to build up. Draining the carb is a lot less costly than using expensive additives, of which effectiveness is more than a little questionable.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: boraticus
"I fog my 4 stroke engines with MMO, nothing has gotten stuck doing that."

What will get stuck if you didn't do it?



Floats get stuck. Storing more than a year I use a different approach. It is very rare that I store anything over a year, so I store my engines wet. MMO used to fog an engine doesn't evaporate should the carb leak out or the gas evaporate.


Fogging the engine with MMO or any other additive will not have any effect on the float needle or float sticking. When fogging an engine, the spray is run right through the carb's venturi into the combustion chamber on a four stroke and/or into the crankcase/combustion chamber of a two cycle. None of it gets to the the internals of the carburetor.

The best way to keep float needles from sticking, is to drain the carb so that there is no residual fuel left in it to allow varnish to build up. Draining the carb is a lot less costly than using expensive additives, of which effectiveness is more than a little questionable.


I fog an engine differently, so the MMO goes into the carb bowl. No varnish will form and nothing will stick or bind in the presence of MMO. I also mix a hefty dose of MMO with the gas in the tank so once again it goes into the bowl. I've been doing this since the 70's and the method works well for me. Maybe I should have been a little clearer in my explanation. I have a Tee fitting I install on the fuel line and a bottle of MMO hooked up like an I-V, I also use a syringe and squirt it into the carb's air intake. The method works very well.

Your method works well for you, mine works well for me. When I deviated I had problems. The only engine I cut the fuel supply to is a Honda engine, but I leave the carb bowl full if it is stored seasonally. If the carb fails the contents of the gas tank will find its way into the crankcase.

My engines usually start with one to two pulls and bellow smoke when they are ready for use again.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint


I fog an engine differently, so the MMO goes into the carb bowl.... I have a Tee fitting I install on the fuel line and a bottle of MMO hooked up like an I-V.


Wow!! That has got to be the most aggressive OPE winterization procedure I've ever read of.

Joel