Mowed the lawn for the first time this year, left the gas in all winter.

[brianl703]

As the title says, I mowed the lawn today. It's a circa 2013 Troy-Bilt riding mower I bought used back in 2017.

The engine started right up even though I left the E10 gas in it all winter (probably last ran it in October).

Just like it has every spring for the last 6 years, even though I've left E10 gas in it all winter for the last 6 winters.

The battery in it is almost 6 years old, too. Sticker says 08/17. I keep it on a cheap $10 Harbor Freight trickle charger all winter.

I keep it in my garage. I shove it against the back wall after I let it cool off so I can pull my car in front of it.

Getting "ethanol free" gas means a 40-mile round trip to the nearest gas station that sells it, which is out of the EPA "non-attainment zone" that I live in.

Would've mowed the lawn a couple of weeks ago but I had to deal with the remains of a tree that decided to fall apart and land on my drain field. Electric chainsaw and 150 feet of extension cord took care of that....the drain field is what needed to be mowed the worst.

 

[wpod]

I Have never had a problem leaving gas in my ope all winter and never had any problems.

 

[blufeb95]

I think where the equipment it stored is a big factor, if it's stored in a fairly tight garage (especially an attached garage) the temperatures should stay pretty consistent and reduce the risk of condensation in the fuel, but if it's stored in some place where the fuel tank is exposed to sunlight and widely varying temperatures then the risk of condensation and forming varnish or having corrosion flake off in the jet grows.

 

[DemoFly]

I've never had an issue leaving E10 in my OPE for any amount of time. I actually want the condensation advantages of ethanol.

 

[brianl703]

I think where the equipment it stored is a big factor, if it's stored in a fairly tight garage (especially an attached garage) the temperatures should stay pretty consistent and reduce the risk of condensation in the fuel, but if it's stored in some place where the fuel tank is exposed to sunlight and widely varying temperatures

My garage, while an attached garage (it's well insulated from the attached house), can be as cold as 30F and as hot as 105F (as when, for example, I'm charging my Chevy Volt at the full 240V/3.3kW charge level and it's 95F outside--unless I need to drive the car again that day, I normally charge it on 120V at 1.4kW when it's that hot outside).

 

[brianl703]

I've never had an issue leaving E10 in my OPE for any amount of time. I actually want the condensation advantages of ethanol.

This riding mower seems to have a pretty well sealed fuel system. I detect no gasoline odor anywhere near it. I expect that helps.

 

[Zee09]

I always had problems even with fuel stabilizer. I went fuel injected in 2017 and will never go back..

 

[fisher83]

I only go through maybe 10 gallons of gas per mowing season so I just run Stabil year round. Sometimes I'll buy ethanol free but usually I just use the standard 10% ethanol stuff. That's worked for me without carb problems across multiple pieces of equipment for many years. My stuff sits in the shed from about Halloween through Easter give or take.

 

[Soft Cars]

What happened to mine this year was rust formation blocking the screen at the end of the pickup tube. The fuel tank has corrosion inside on the floor from leaving fuel in over the Winter. Metal fuel tank.

 

[brianl703]

The fuel tank has corrosion inside on the floor from leaving fuel in over the Winter. Metal fuel tank.

Fuel tank on this is transparent plastic (probably HDPE). Nice to be able to see how much gas is in it.

 

[blufeb95]

What happened to mine was rust formation blocking the screen at the end of the pickup tube. The fuel tank has corrosion inside on the floor from leaving fuel in over the Winter. Metal fuel tank.

I'm glad most things have plastic fuel tanks now, I actually really like the plastic Briggs carbs too, I think they're really easy to clean if you do have trouble, just use a 7mm socket to drop the bowl and use a screwdriver to pop out the jet cartrisge, clean it and pop it back in.

 

[Soft Cars]

I'm glad most things have plastic fuel tanks now, I actually really like the plastic Briggs carbs too, I think they're really easy to clean if you do have trouble, just use a 7mm socket to drop the bowl and use a screwdriver to pop out the jet cartrisge, clean it and pop it back in.

I like the plastic carburetors too. Normally I'll replace the diaphragm and its mating gasket every year since the ethanol will harden up the diaphragm while sitting over Winter, which I did, but I forgot to check the pickup tube.

 

[FT92]

never had any trouble with gas left in my mowers over winter, now if it's something like my generator or snow blower, things that may not be used for extended amount of time then I'll drain the gas..

 

[CharBaby]

I only have a push mower(21"Tro-Built w/Honda160GCV...purchased 2009) and I do the same thing. I use E10, fill the tank, leave it all winter. I too just started cutting this season. I do however, buy a fresh can of gas(OCT-NOV) prior to filling the tank for storage and use Sta-Bil/MMO mix. It's been an amazing mower.

 

[Cujet]

E-10 fuel will hold up for a year, no problem, as long as there is no water in it. Add in heat and moisture, and conventional carburetor corrosion happens at insane levels.

 

[honeeagle]

I buy the highest octane ,its usually alcohol free.The smart car requires it . Otherwise I do the same I do run the snowblower dry however.

 

[John105]

my snowblower is simply too large to drain and I don't want to idle it empty either. So to the OPs point, it's had gas left in it for 19 years straight, and no issues. The starter broke long ago so no it doesn't start first try, maybe 3rd. It's rated 9 HP so it's much harder to pull than a lawnmower. imho on this topic, the theoretical, and practical, and reality, are all different things.

 

[Kestas]

I have twice had problems storing ope for the season with E10 gas in it. Now I use E0 in case I forget to drain gas for the season.

I make my own E0 by mixing E10 with water, then decant the gasoline.

 

[MSCH]

gawd protects fools and small children..

 

[wag123]

All I have to say is that those of you who have not had any problems leaving E10 in your OPE over the winter (or summer) have been very, VERY lucky. For every person who claims to have done this and not had a problem, there 9 other people who have had problems doing this. For many years I made a good living off of people who habitually did this.