Snow blower end of season ?

[ADFD1]

Dad and I are getting ready to prep and fog the snow blower to put away until next winter. Last season, I changed to oil to Mobil 1 0W30. The snow blower was used a total of about 3 hours this season. Question: Do I waste good Mobil 1 and drain and refill with new oil, like I always do. Or can I add my stabil, and MMO to the gas, let it run a good 30+ minutes before I fog it and shut it off and call it a season? We change oil at the end of the season, with a good synthetic, so the oil is fresh the following season. Dad's been doing this for years. He says the oil sits in bottles, it can sit in an engine, as long as the engine hasn't been running building up condensation. He drains the oil hot, and at least for 1 hour, refills it and doesn't run it till next season. AD

 

[Johnny]

Your Dad is a wise man. Listen to him.

 

[ADFD1]

Thanks Johnny, I've seen him work, he's pretty impressive! Do you think adding stabil and MMO to the gas, running it the 30 minutes and fogging it would be OK? That would mean leaving the 3 hour old Mobil 1 in there, or should it be change it out? Dad's thinking change it, but is open to suggestions, I hope :) AD

 

[Johnny]

Change it. No need in letting it set in there until next winter. He is right about the condensation and acids.

 

[ADFD1]

Thanks Johnny, I'll concede, and say "father knows best." AD

 

[STRAYDOG]

Just my 2 cents. my father was an Ariens dealer , he passed away 19 years ago .......I worked for him when I was in high school..anyways next door neighber bought a new Ariens snowblower from him, 2 years later the neighber said "my snow blower stopped working " discoverd .....had no oil in it & had siezed ( took off head gently hit piston with hammer handle ) changed oil put on new head gasket .started ran fine.... one year later he ran out of oil again said " dont want it " we took it back & I installed new short block ...........My father keept it at his home as his snowblower, this 8HP ariens was manufactured in 1972.. when my father died in 1987 ..i inherited it & have used it since , last year I installed a 11 HP techumsa engine it it ,as the engine was burning oil & got a great deal on new engine.........so after 36 years , of contiuios operation she ran fine , oil was changed possibly twice a season , ( dinosore oil ) I sill use this snowblower, have installed tires that dont req chains & a new clutch maybee 3 times >> my drive way is 150 feet long ...dont over enginer your snowblower ..so to speek , meaning at the end of the season run the engine till she runs out of fuel..press the little nipple on bottom of fuel bowl (if you have one) add 1 oz of fuel stabiliser ....... thats it , in the next season fill with fresh gas & warm engine up & change oil . this has worked for my 1972 Ariens since 72 with exception os stupid neighber who never checked oil level...... synthetic is eccellant but 5/30 dies the job , at tempetures around 30 F ... My fathers business was Hoys Tool service Lynn Mass 1954/1981... just what wored for me "Semper fi" forgive bad spellin

 

[exranger06]

I was in a similar situation a few years ago when I put my snowblower away. The oil hadn't been used much, but I kinda felt like I should change it. So I changed it, but I saved the oil I drained out and used it to top off my cars. I got fresh oil in the blower, and I didn't waste good oil. Problem solved.

 

[JTK]

 Originally Posted By: STRAYDOG

..at the end of the season run the engine till she runs out of fuel..press the little nipple on bottom of fuel bowl (if you have one) add 1 oz of fuel stabiliser ....... thats it.

That's all I do. Add kind of a rich mixture of Stabil in the last ounce or so of gas and let it run completely out, change the oil and put it away for the off season. I never got the concept of leaving a plastic fuel tanked snowblower (or any OPE) full of of fuel prior to being stored. Why?!? That tank sits there open to atmosphere? Joel

 

[dwendt44]

30 minutes seems way to long to me. 10, maybe 15 max. The engine is shrouded to retain heat and in warmer weather, it can overheat quick. I prefer to run those last few minutes on gas with a double dose of Stabil and turn the gas off and run the carb dry. If for some good reason,(like laziness) I don't run the carb dry, I close throttle and turn chock full on. Of course, I cover the blower with a sheet of plastic during the summer as well. My 2¢

 

[demarpaint]

For the last 10 years with the current snow blower, sometime around late April I service the machine. I fill the tank add stabil and MMO, then run the engine for about 25-30 minutes, then fog the engine with MMO. I drop the oil, let it drain about an hour, then fill it. By that time the engine is nice and cool, I remove the spark plug and pour about 1 table spoon of MMO into the cylinder. I put the plug back in, then pull the cord a few times to get the MMO to coat the piston top and cyl walls. Put it away and that's it until next winter. When winter comes, I leave the engine in the off position, and pull the cord a few times. Then I push the primer ball, choke the engine, and it starts usually on the first pull, if not certainly the second pull. It will smoke due to being fogged. I've done this with all seasonal equipment for over 30 years now and never had a problem. My Honda powered Power Washer is about 15 years old now and has been serviced the same way. With that I make sure the pump has anti-freeze in it so it doesn't freeze during the winter. I replaced the original carb on that machine after 14 years of use last summer. That machine is worked hard.

 

[Pete591]

If you can't easilly drain the gas then install a gas shut off valve to the carb. Add sta-bil and let run for 10 minutes and then shut off gas valve and let run until it "runs out of gas" to the tank. Drain the oil and add a HDEA synthetic...and no M-1 0W-30 is too low on zddp....useAms ase/Mothul 5W-30....Rotella 5W-40 etc. Cover unit nad relax...it's springtime!.

 

[Warstud]

Don't waste your money on stabil or running the engine for any length of time. Just remove the gas line and drain it all out of the tank. Also remove the carb bowl and dump whatever remaining gas out of that and clean it out. Since the oil is fairly new I'd leave it in until next winter then replace then. Also remove spark plug and squirt some oil down the cylinder..pull cord once squirt oil again..call it good.

 

[H2GURU]

1.Warm up engine for several minutes then shut down. 2.Drain out all gas and forget the Sta-bil. Blow air thru the gas filler hole (your mouth is fine for this)to empty the bowl at carbuerator as this is where later stalling or no-run situations originate. 3.Drain oil. 4.Tip machine on it's nose and remove bottom plate. Inspect belts and lube moving parts and grease any fittings being careful to keep traction disc and it's plate lubricant free. 5.Place machine back to it's original position and check auger lube level. 6.Remove shear pins,lube grease fittings on auger shaft and spin to distribute lube. Skipping this step can lead to auger seized to it's shaft and the resulting trashed gear box if foreign matter gets ingested. Replace shear pins. 7. Remove spark plug, gap and clean. Squirt an ounce of oil into cylinder and pull the rope to distribute oil to make for a faster start next winter. Replace plug. 8. Fill engine with 5W-20. 9.If you can get some spray lube try to hit the main bearing where the auger shaft goes between the 2 housings as this is a major component that fails because it's out of sight. 10. Touch up bare or rusty spots. (If you were smart enough to purchase an Ariens, Krylon CHEVY ENGINE ORANGE is the same as the original Ariens paint -ALLIS-CHALMERS ORANGE at half the price!) I've had the same machine for 32 years in tough New England blizzards and my double width driveway is 120 ft. long and I do paths to my woodpiles too. " The GURU "