Is it best to run these dry and store them in the garage or put Stabil in to a full tank of gas???????????????
Winter storage lawn mower and weed whipper ???????
- Thread starter dbvettez061
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I heard the gaskets dry out if empty??????????
Maybe after a few years. Not over the course of a season, though.
That's alot of question marks.
That's alot of question marks.
Originally Posted By: greenaccord02
Maybe after a few years. Not over the course of a season, though.
That's alot of question marks.
Sorry............................
Maybe after a few years. Not over the course of a season, though.
That's alot of question marks.
Sorry............................
I run Stabil year round in my Snapper. Every cutting season it starts right up with no problems. I leave fuel in the tank year round.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
I know it's not ideal to run a 2-stroke completely out of fuel, but IMO, the pros are better than the cons. I add some Sta-bil prior to running any of my equipment out of fuel, 2 or 4 stroke. Mainly to use up my Sta-bil. I'm going to need a stabilizer for my Sta-bil pretty soon.
I run mine dry
Other than changing the oil in the lawnmower and filling the gas tanks. I have never used Stabil and do not see any value in doing so, and have not had any problems in springtime when I start the units up.
I never run them completely dry, but I don't fill either. I always have Stabil in my small engine fuel. On the mower, I do a fresh oil change, clean it up, pull the rope a few times, and let it sit with however gas is left from the previous mow (not much).
OKAY guess i will fill both, add stabil run them for a while and keep in the garage....
Either fill them all the way up or run them dry. When you leave the tank half full is when gas tends to go bad.
My mower gets filled up to top, gas stabilizer added, fuel valve shut and run out of gas. Two strokes get emptied of gas and run dry. In both cases engine fogging oil used to prevent internal rust, plugs changed beginning of year.
Andy
Andy
I found most of the times I ran the engines dry I had problems with the float the following season. Now I fill the tank, add stabil and a good dose of MMO. Then run the engine till hot, fog it with MMO, change the oil, and put it away till the spring. This method hasn't let me down in over 25 years. Prior to that I'd run them dry and curse them in the spring!
I run stabilizer all year (Amsoil), run dry, drain bowl, puff fogging oil into the cylinder, and pull the rope to TDC to close all of the valves. Every now and then when I think of it I try to give the rope a pull and stop at TDC again.
Everything I have stays squeaky clean (my Honda carbs look like they just came out of a parts box) except my 1986 Toro snowthrower. Even with a brand new carb, Sta-bil, brand new carb and draining dry it gunked up enough not to start the next fall.
This is why I switched to Amsoil stabilizer from Sta-bil. We'll see how that worked in about a week.
Everything I have stays squeaky clean (my Honda carbs look like they just came out of a parts box) except my 1986 Toro snowthrower. Even with a brand new carb, Sta-bil, brand new carb and draining dry it gunked up enough not to start the next fall.
This is why I switched to Amsoil stabilizer from Sta-bil. We'll see how that worked in about a week.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
There seems to be a fine line to the length of time gasoline stored in the fuel tank of a piece of equipment will hold it's own so to speak. OPE fuel tanks are basically wide open to the atmosphere. It's not going to store indefinitely that way obviously. Your portable 'gas can' on the other hand is sealed and will last a long time. Case in point, I just inherited a wreck of a go cart w/ a 5hp Briggs flathead. It sat for about 6-8 months with a tank full of gasoline. What poured out when I dumped it was some funky looking/smelling gasoline with a layer of what looked like chocolate milk on the bottom. In clean, dry storage, you'll probably get a good 4-5mo out of the fuel in your equipment. I bet you could get almost a year out of a decent sealed portable gas can.
Joel
Joel
After many years of fixing people's small engines, I have found that running the carb out is the best way to store them for a long time.
Originally Posted By: Troy_Built
After many years of fixing people's small engines, I have found that running the carb out is the best way to store them for a long time.
I found that if the engine is going to be used the next season filling the tank as I mentioned above always worked better for me. Storing for more than a year I would make sure there is no fuel in the engine at all. YMMV
After many years of fixing people's small engines, I have found that running the carb out is the best way to store them for a long time.
I found that if the engine is going to be used the next season filling the tank as I mentioned above always worked better for me. Storing for more than a year I would make sure there is no fuel in the engine at all. YMMV
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