How to properly store a snowblower off-season?

[luca]

I've been getting alot of mixed answers on this.

Most online research I've done has said to pour some Sta-Bil into the gas tank, run it for five minutes, do a fresh oil change and store it and it'll be good for until I need it again (like 9 months from now).

My snowblower manual says to:

1) Remove all fuel from the tank (Siphon/Run it dry)

2) Remove spark plug, squirt 1/2 an ounce of engine oil into combustion chamber and crank it slowly to distribute. (it's a 4 stroke OHV Powermore motor BTW)

3) Oil change

4) Store it.

The manual says it's safe to use stabilizer if it's being stored for
Thoughts?

 

[mva]

I use stabil, ensure the tank is full for storage.

Then I start and warm up the snow blower.

Change the oil.

Run again and close the fuel shut off to run all the gas out of the carb.

With my small engines I have also run all the fuel out of the tank for storage, if convenient to do so.

 

[The motor guy]

I have had bad luck with running the carb dry. When you do this it doesn't actually run until all the fuel is out of the carb. So then you have a very small amount of fuel left in there to evaporate and leave a varnish/white powder like residue. What I do is I use the blue marine stabilizer and put it in the fuel tank with the fuel. Then I start up the engine once a month. I have a boat and many other small engines that I do this with. You start it up and let it run for 5-10 minutes once a month to keep things lubricated and prevent rust and also after a month or so the fuel evaporates from the float bowl of the carb so running it always keeps fuel in the carb and prevents the problem i stated earlier.

 

[Warstud]

I agree with what the manual says....except for the "change oil" part. I would much rather have fresh oil in there when the engine is in operation....then in storage.

 

[AandPDan]

Change the oil before you store it. The idea is to get all the moisture and stuff being held in suspension out of the engine.

 

[Boomer]

I've had mine for 24 years and use it hard. Tecumseh engine 8 hp on a Lawn Boy (Gilson) gear drive 2 stage.
1. Run it until there is no fuel in the system. Remove screw from bottom of bowl and drain. Replace screw.
2. Drain hot oil and replace with fresh oil Now use Rotella T 5W-40.
3. Remove spark plug and spray storage fogging oil into hole while pulling starter rope to distribute storage oil into the engine.
4. Replace plug. Put in a new one every other year.
5. Next season, fill with fuel that contains Stabil and recommended amount of MMO. Prime and it starts on second or third pull. Has for many years.

 

[boraticus]

Drain fuel from tank. Run engine to burn off fuel in carb. Grease all fittings and put it away in a dry protected place. Do the oil change and general inspection in the fall before the snow flies. That's what I've been doing for decades. Works for me.

 

[demarpaint]

Opinions vary here's what has worked best for me for more years than I care to count. I've fooled around with different ways but found this worked best for ME. I fill the tank add stabil and MMO. I run the engine until it gets good and hot, usually about half an hour. I'll rig it so the auger turns to put a little load on the engine. I fog the engine with MMO just before I shut it down and drain the oil hot. I fill it with fresh oil, grease it, remove the spark plug when it cools off and squirt some MMO into the cylinder. I reinstall the plug, and pull the starter cord to slop the MMO around. Put the plug wire back on and put in away.

I found storing it with gas worked better for me, as long as I was only storing it until the following season. I change the oil before storing it because I want all the junk out of the oil while the machine is no longer in use. Once again JMO. Some people do nothing to store the machine and had good results too. Although I'm always helping my neighbor next door who runs his dry and sticks it in the corner of his garage doing nothing else.

Typically at the start of the new snow season I'll treat it to a new gas filter.

 

[Bror Jace]

Lots of good methods listed above.

I especially agree with squirting fogging oil or MMO into the cylinder (through spark plug hole) instead of motor oil (which will take longer to burn off and might even leave unwanted residue).

Sta-Bil fogging oil

And yes, store it with new/clean oil in the sump. You don't want the crank and the internals marinating in acidic, used oil all summer.

 

[boraticus]

"And yes, store it with new/clean oil in the sump. You don't want the crank and the internals marinating in acidic, used oil all summer."

There's been plenty of discussion about this fallacy as well.

I read one post where a guy pulled an old motorcycle engine that had been sitting in a scrap yard with used oil in it for fifteen years. The oil analysis proved that there wasn't anything wrong with the oil and acid deposits at better than acceptable levels.

Think about it.

How much sulfur will have to be present in the oil to make acid?

How much water will have to be added to the sulfur to make acid?

If the engine is run up to temperature and stored in a dry place, there will be virtually no water in the oil. It will be cooked off.

If, by chance, a bit of moisture does get into the oil, it will settle to the bottom of the crank case. Now, in order to have oxidation, oxygen must be added to the mix. If the water is on the bottom of the crankcase, covered in oil, how does the oxygen get to it?

Leaving the engine for a few months with used oil in it will not have any negative consequences.

Think of the millions of old lawn mowers and other machines left out in the back yard under a flimsy covering all winter, year after year that don't even get oil changes. If the acid problem was as critical as some claim, those old machines would be dead by spring. Yet, miraculously they survive year after year.

 

[Warstud]

Is it me or does everything you say contradict itself?

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: Warstud
Is it me or does everything you say contradict itself?


I'd have to say it's you.

 

[Bror Jace]

I see your point boraticus, any oil with some TBN left in it is likely to be enough to thwart corrosion.

But I'd rather err on the side of changing the oil at the end of the season and storing the unit with fresh oil in it ... as opposed to changing it with the first run in the spring.

It might not matter either way.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: Bror Jace
I see your point boraticus, any oil with some TBN left in it is likely to be enough to thwart corrosion.

But I'd rather err on the side of changing the oil at the end of the season and storing the unit with fresh oil in it ... as opposed to changing it with the first run in the spring.

It might not matter either way.


Good enough.

The point I'm trying to make is to challenge the element of hysteria caused by those who say leaving used oil in an engine for a few months will corrode the internals due to acid developing and accumulating in the oil.

Under normal circumstances, the likelihood of that happening is nonsense.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
Originally Posted By: Bror Jace
I see your point boraticus, any oil with some TBN left in it is likely to be enough to thwart corrosion.

But I'd rather err on the side of changing the oil at the end of the season and storing the unit with fresh oil in it ... as opposed to changing it with the first run in the spring.

It might not matter either way.


Good enough.

The point I'm trying to make is to challenge the element of hysteria caused by those who say leaving used oil in an engine for a few months will corrode the internals due to acid developing and accumulating in the oil.

Under normal circumstances, the likelihood of that happening is nonsense.



Good point, well explained. For me I change the oil once a year if the machine is used. The way I worked it out is the end of the season. This year it got a real workout!