Storing lawn mower with no oil..

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Does anyone do this or see any problem? Storing my lawn mower for the winter with no oil, and save the fresh oil for the beginning of the season. Of course I'm going to put a label on the mower that says no oil.. New mowers don't come prefilled with oil and their being stored, unless I'm missing something..
 
New mowers have never been run so no contaminants are in it. I would go ahead and put fresh oil in it, start it up then turn off the gas valve and let it run until it runs out of gas. Drain the gas tank and you will be all ready to go next spring.

Now that's the advise of someone that only owns Lawn Boy 2-cycle mowers and I don't have to worry about the oil.
 
I wouldn't think there wouldn't be an issue provided it's stored in a clean and dry environment. I would tape off the spark plug wire just in case though. Why the concern? If you want to fill it with fresh oil, it will be just as fresh on your first startup of the year?

Joel
 
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The oil is fresh if stored on the shelf or poured into the motor. I always store my snowblower or lawn mower with fresh oil and ready to go for next sprng or winter.
 
Originally Posted By: dave123
The oil is fresh if stored on the shelf or poured into the motor. I always store my snowblower or lawn mower with fresh oil and ready to go for next sprng or winter.


+1 I add Stabil and MMO to the gas, run it until its hot and fog the engine. I drain the oil and fill with fresh oil and put the mower away. It has been working well for me.
 
Always store it with oil. You might forget that you drained it out come spring time and start it up without oil. It will be too late by the time you figure out what happened.
 
Originally Posted By: Troy_Built
Just think if you tried to start it....boom.....just put Fresh oil in it.


Trust me... A Flathead will not go boom. An OHV/OHC, maybe. But I always store with oil in it. Maybe not fresh oil, but oil.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: Troy_Built
Just think if you tried to start it....boom.....just put Fresh oil in it.


Trust me... A Flathead will not go boom. An OHV/OHC, maybe. But I always store with oil in it. Maybe not fresh oil, but oil.
Tell my buddy that. He almost got hit by a piece of the block when his briggs threw a rod because he forgot to fill it with oil after he moved to another house.
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Always store it with oil. You might forget that you drained it out come spring time and start it up without oil. It will be too late by the time you figure out what happened.


Very good point!
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: Troy_Built
Just think if you tried to start it....boom.....just put Fresh oil in it.


Trust me... A Flathead will not go boom. An OHV/OHC, maybe. But I always store with oil in it. Maybe not fresh oil, but oil.
Tell my buddy that. He almost got hit by a piece of the block when his briggs threw a rod because he forgot to fill it with oil after he moved to another house.


That's right, you are a newer member, you weren't around when I attempted to kill a flathead briggs, and failed.

I can't find my original thread for some reason.... If anyone else can, and can post a link, I'd appreciate it. Or even bump it.
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: Troy_Built
Just think if you tried to start it....boom.....just put Fresh oil in it.


Trust me... A Flathead will not go boom. An OHV/OHC, maybe. But I always store with oil in it. Maybe not fresh oil, but oil.
Tell my buddy that. He almost got hit by a piece of the block when his briggs threw a rod because he forgot to fill it with oil after he moved to another house.


Not saying it didn't happen, just saying I was unable to duplicate it with a LOT of abuse.
 
just put some cheap oil in it. Drain the last of a few empty bottles of ATF, brake fluid or pretty much any other petroleum product in the crank case. It's just something to keep the rust off the guts over the winter and protect you in case you do something stupid.
 
I too would change the oil and drain the gas tank.

That's what I'm planning on doing once I stop mowing in Nov-Dec.
I might have 1-2 runs where I use the mower to mulch leaves, but there will be fresh Rotella T-6 5w40 in there.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
That's right, you are a newer member, you weren't around when I attempted to kill a flathead briggs, and failed.

I can't find my original thread for some reason.... If anyone else can, and can post a link, I'd appreciate it. Or even bump it.


For Nick: Unkillable Briggs
 
Originally Posted By: greenaccord02
just put some cheap oil in it. Drain the last of a few empty bottles of ATF, brake fluid or pretty much any other petroleum product in the crank case. It's just something to keep the rust off the guts over the winter and protect you in case you do something stupid.


Do NOT put brake fluid in it. Brake fluid can eat seals, after swelling them for a bit. OLD transmission trick. Can revive wary seals for a a few weeks, keeping pressures up, then guarantee rapid deterioration of seals an o-rings, and kaput. Great way to eek the last few miles out of a worn AT.

I wouldn't do it to a mower. No telling if its rubber is compatible or not.
 
Two cycle engines have no oil in their crank cases. They seem to last.

I doubt it would make any mechanical difference whatsoever if the engine has oil in it or not for storage purposes provided it's stored in a reasonable environment.

However, if it were my engine, it would be stored with oil in it. It's going to need oil in it sooner or later. So why hold off putting it in?
 
I run the gas out in mine, but store it with the oil from that season. I run a Synthetic oil in my mower so I'm not worried about it sitting until the next spring. It stays lubricated, and there isn't a chance of moisture building up over the winter because I'm going to throw fresh oil in it before I start it the first time. I would rather store it with the old oil and throw the fresh oil in at the beginning of the season.

Plus, it's part of my ritual. At the beginning of the season I change the oil and spark plug in all my equipment.
 
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