I wouldn't bother with the engine storage spray unless you think it might be more than a year before its next use. If your fuel tank is metal, then store it with a full tank of stabilized gas. If it's plastic then you can do the same OR can just drain it. Reason is that the metal tank will rust inside if left empty. Apologies if he mentions this in the video, I don't have any audio so I don't know what he's saying in the vid.
The mixing ratio for stabilizer is normally about 300 to 1 so it looks like you put enough stabil in the gas tank to treat about 9 litres of fuel. The only blower I've seen with a proper carburetor drain is the Honda. Some carburetors have a plug at the bottom of the bowl that you can loosen but it also contains the needle for the main jet so draining the fuel could cause a problem with the jet adjustment. The Honda even has a separate sediment trap that you are supposed to clean out. None seem to have an easy to use fuel tank drain system. Other things to do before putting it to bed. 1. Check all fasteners and tighten as necessary; 2. Change the engine oil, that way its sitting in fresh oil not old used oil; 3. Touch up any paint chips; 4. Clean and wax all metal except the engine; 5. Grease gun to all zerks, especially the auger rakes which shold also be rotated after greasing; 6. Oil all bushings and anywhere else the manual states. 7. Store with the weight off of the tires. You can normally get a manual from the manufacturer's web site.
great tips, another reason for storing your small 4 stroke engine in compression is so all the valves are closed and no moisture or critters can get in.
Once again Dony you are the best, I came on youtube, asking how to store a snowblower for the summer, and BANG there you again at my rescue. I am such a fan of yours - saving me time and money - I now own three snowblowers as I have a snow removal company, Thanks for giving me the brains to fix my machines on the fly. Folks... I feel DONYBOY should have his own TV SHOW... I'll see if I can come up and make a website to have you folks vote on getting Dony on TV. This man is so helpful to us. Dony Thank you ever so much for taking the time and show us dummies how to fix the simple things and making the harder things so easy to fix. -Cheers Dony-
I was told many years ago by the local shop I purchased my blower from was to run the unit throughout the off season. So ever three or so weeks I start the unit and let it run, all year long. My unit is 18 years old and this approach has worked. I do grease, change the oil and use the gas stabilizer year round. I have tried storing my unit and it has caused me carb. issues in the past.
Another handy thing on older tecumseh engines is there is a spring loaded drain on the bowl of the carb. The hondas and chinese engines have a drain bolt as well.
Great video. I store all my small gas engines dry of fuel, including my generators, and I never have any trouble starting them up even after months of storage. I also spray down all the sheet metal and auger/impeller on my snowblower with Rustcheck before putting it away for the summer.
One thing that I always don is to cover a cement block with newspaper and then rest the snow blower on it so the wheels are not touching the floor. A snow blower tends to stay in one place for long periods this way there will be no flat spots on the tyres
I have a plane that flies with two radios and a bunch of plane parts and motors, goggles ect. I just don't have the time to play anymore. I am going to list the whole lot soon. BTW, great videos, you sure know your stuff.
Awesome video. Can you do one on a Husqvarna? I am a woman, and don’t have a lot of experience with this, but I want to eep it in tip top shape after this coming winter.
I have a 2.5 gallon fuel container to store my ETHANOL FREE gasoline for use on all my power equipment. I add the Standard-Bil to it when I fill it up at the pump. I have never had any engine problems running Ethanol free gasoline. Sure it costs a few cents more but it is a whole lot less expensive than engine repairs or new equipment. I have a 19 year old Craftsman snow thrower that has only seen Ethanol free gas and it runs like a champ! Start on one or two pulls. Lawn tractor is a baby at only 9 years old but it also has had zero problems. Whomever decided to cut gasoline with Ethanol should be jailed.
Is it possible to install from the new Ariens 28 about caterpillars to the old caterpillar model 824 years old in 2008, and if possible, what is needed for this.?
I poured motor oil in my spark plug hole instead of buying fogging oil. I used too much. About an ounce. It squirted out of the hole when the starter rope was pulled and the rope wouldn't pull if the plug was installed. I put some gas in the hole and pulled the cord to get as much to squirt out as possible. It worked after that, but smoked. I looked at the plug again and it was dirty (wet with oil) Will running it more help dry out the cylinder? Should I replace the plug? Seems like a new one will just get covered in oil too. Any other way to clean it out? Thanks
Great stuff donyboy yet again, I usually use fogging oil in the cylinder the same way you do and replace the spark plug with a new at this time, and I also drain the gas rather then burning it all up, and save a tiny bit to run with fuel stabilizer and seafoam in the fuel, just cleans up some gunk in the cylinders and what not
Don fuel stabilizer is a waste of money. Run it dry. also I think you should get the fuel out of the float bowl either by draining it if it has a drain screw or removing it and dumping it out.
If your fuel tank is metal don’t drain it it as it will rust and clog the carburettor. At the end of the season fill your tank with fresh fuel then switch off the fuel and only drain the carb. Also disconnect the battery.
Thanks for the info.. just bought new snowblower and was looking for that type of info.. Cost me a small fortune and want to protect it.. Thanks again, your the best :-)
This sounds like similar advice for winter storage of a motorcycle. I've heard both schools of thought regarding the question about leaving the gas tank full, with Stabil, vs empty and run dry. My bike has a steel gas tank and I worry about rust inside, so I've usually stored it full. Strangely, both methods seem to work.
Donyboy73 I have been used 89 octane and on every gas fillup for for 2 1/2 gallon container I put some star tron inside with fresh gas. For both my Honda and my ariens I always put the gas inside the fuel tank, let it run for few minutes, turn off fuel shutoff and let it die on its own, with a full tank of gas with star tron. Think this method will be okay? Thanks for your great videos!
Hi Dony, thanks for the video. Consider showing people where to grease prior to storage in the same video. I also spray my Honda 928 with Rust Check twice a year too. Take care...
Good video. I run my machines dry and put it away. All my gas machines. And if you use stabilizer too you shouldn't have startup problems when it's time to use it next season.
dang I wish I watched this 9 months ago. Blower was working fine all winter but I left gas in the tank and now it won't start... I changed the spark plug but that didn't help at all :( Any suggestions?
Usually after every use i shut off the fuel valve, and let the engines run dry until dead. Even after doing this i still end up cleaning the fuel bowls out every year which is not a big deal because it usually takes a few minutes anyways.
Don't tell anyone! I have good luck with burning the engine dry and then keeping in moisture-low conditions and that seems to work fine for me. No offense!
Due to the changes in fuel formulation and the affects it has on small engines, once the fuel is drained from the tank and carburetor, is there a solution (perhaps alcohol) you'd recommend to run through the tank and carburetor?
I personally store my equipment with a mix of both Marine (blue) and Standard (red) Sta-Bil. The blue helps ethanol. For what it is worth, I confirmed this method as preferable with Gold Eagle, who makes it. I also drain the carbs as noted below. To those who merely drain the fuel without stabilizer, be aware that such does NOT get the fuel out of the carb bowl, which can and will still turn to mush or worse, especially with ethanol. To prevent this one must drain the carb bowl, which on many models has a drain button or screw. My Honda generators, for example, have dedicated carb drain plugs. This said, I store my equipment with stabilized fuel as I intend to use it within a several month period. If, however, one needs to store equipment for over a year I suggest , and as Honda recommends, that stabilized fuel be run through the system and then drained. Be aware that storing metal gas tanks empty can eventually cause rust.
Dony what about this routine?: Warm up the engine and run it at stationary, fog the engine with fogging oil through the carburator until the engine dies, then you may assume there is enough protection inside the system to last the whole winter. That is how I treat my boat motor as well.
So you just leave the used, old oil in the motor? Then change it next season? That's what I've always done anyways. But now that I think of it, is that a good idea? Would it be a good idea to drain the oil at the end of the season as well as the gas? Probably not? Because then you risk the chance of parts not being covered in oil and rusting or getting moisture on them. Or maybe it would be a better idea to just change the oil at the end of the season. If i did that, would that be smart? or no
I have a Husqvarna 125 dirt bike. Considering it is a 2 stroke motor, is it ok for me to run the carb dry prior to storage or should I remove the plug under the carb and manually drain it? She runs a little lean before running dry and I don't want to damage the motor due to insufficient oil. Also, do you recommend fogging it? I have never fogged it and it has been stored for several years at a time. Thanks a lot for the great videos. Cheers from Illinois.
Hey man nice tip.No snow blowers here though.Having a big problem with gasoline.The alcohol content in the gasoline much more than the 10% that they say.I know u probably use fuel line TYGON that has served me just fine in the past.I replaced the fuel lines on a Bolens BL100 trimmer and in 24hrs. the line that goes up through the tank had hardened,and begun to leak.Have u heard anything about the alcohol in gasoline and is there a more better fuel line than Tygon now a days.Thanks man
excellent video as usual. Just a quick question though...Aren't you loosing business by telling people how to repair and store their mowers and blowers and small engines? I'm all for helping people out but if it comes to a guys living I would get a little nervous.
FWIW, the recommendation to store the engine while on the compression stroke is to ensure the valves are closed; the position of the piston isn't as much of a concern. After all, while you can feel you are on the compression stroke, you really don't have an easy way to tell if you are actually at TDC or not. Anyway, keep up the good work!
Jon , I change mine at the end of the winter and put new oil in , this way if there moisture from snow that may have got in the old oil goes out with oil . But be sure to run the motor so the old oil will drain . turn it over a few times with new oil and fog it .
Donyboy One question . Do change the oil at this time or wait and do it just before you are going to use it . Personaly I change mine when I put it away for the summer , then before I use it I check it as well as change the spark plug .WHAT DO YOU DO ??
After draining the fuel and fogging the cyclinder, would it be ok to store the snowblower in the service position (standing on the front end)? It seems like it would take up less space in my garage that way.
Wow, did a google search to determine how to store my snowblower over the summer and I got this. Lucky me. Now if only I had you when I stored my lawnmower over the winter with fuel in it. After 3 years I am afraid it can't be resuscitated.
Yeah, I also close the fuel shutoff valve and run the motor dry (mowers and blowers.) my grandpa's riding mower was stored all winter and I'm gonna post a video soon of the cold start. It was the first pull of the year and it starts right up!!
I run the machines dry. Nice tip on angling the spray into cylinder head. You reminded me to finish installing fuel shut offs on the rest of my stuff. Thank you, Steve, Plymouth, MA
Dony , are not wered there may be moiture from snow in the oil. As I have done with my boat motor i fall .I do all I can to keep moisture out of the motor .
Great video. My craftsman snowblower 4 years old nothing has been fixed on it as of yet.Started surging this year with small backfires once and a while. The surge and backfire happens when coming out of being under load. (running with no snow to move)(turning around) (surges not as noticeable under heavy load,no backfire) can you help. Thanks.
I would NOT recommend emptying your gas tank. If you do, the gaskets and seals are completely exposed to the air and will dry out. Also, it's impossible to burn off all of the gas in the fuel system, so use stabilizer and keep the tank full of premium gas {it has more octane than regular and less ethanol} so it's easier to start the engine next winter.
Aztec Airbrush Remember to mix it into your gas the day you buy the gas. Don't wait for a month or two to go by. The gas will be stale by then for sure.
I never "store" any of my machines..i leave a small amount of fuel and start them up once a month let run for 10min..never had any problems..15yrs on generator..10 yrs on lawn tractor..12 yrs on snow blower
Many people don't have the room, they have their equipment stored away behind other crap so it's a real pain the ass to haul it out to use it in the off-season. Easier to just prep it and forget it.
Like someone else said - use only non-ethanol gasoline, especially when storing. Personally I've had better luck with Seafoam as a fuel stabilizer. I've had problems with seals drying so I never run it dry anymore.
I just store everything with a full tank of regular gas with sta-bil in it. Never had an issue in over ten years on many pieces of equipment. Even my 4-cycle string trimmer started with no drama after sitting like that for 3 years. Around here the non-ethanol stuff is $10/gallon, just not worth it when I don't see any real benefit.
Great vid, I pretty well followed your instructions to a tee, as most of this is already outlined in my Craftsmans manual. One thing was different, Instead of what you did with the engine storage spray for the cylinder, it said put an ounce of clean engine oil inside prior to replacing the spark plug. I did that, and got a bit of smoke. I'm a bit of a novice, but is that common practice with some manufacturers? Thanks.
I've tried several things. Put fuel stabilizer but at the end of the summer, the nozzle was clogged. Then I tried to store it after empting the gas tank, but the nozzle got corroded and clogged because it was exposed to air. Next summer I'll keep the gas tank full and I'll be running the blower once every summer month.
I have been using STA-BIL for years, never had a problem, I even use it in my car and pick-up, I bought my pick-up used and it didn't have any power, after using sta-bil it runs great. Gas is so nasty these days that you have to use it all the time.
i use seafoam for my ethanol free gas and startron for e-10. startron will prevent the gas from separating and varnishing unlike many other products out there. 10 years ago it was the only one available that i was aware of performing like this.
i forgot to mention that in addition to startron or seafoam, i only use ethanol free in my small engines, snowmobile and boat. i will on occasion use e10 in high use applications like UTV/ATV but as the season slows i switch back to ethanol free to make sure it doesn't get stored with ethanol in it. sure saves me time and money down the road.
I always have gas with stabilizer in it already, plus I leave my tank full of stabilized gas that is the best way to store it. Plus checking the air jet in the carburetor is a good idea to make sure it isn’t clogged. I would fog the engine as well as put fog in the spark plug hole. Last but not least of course you want to change your oil.
Hi Dony. What I do is put enough fresh gas in to let the machine run for about 3 to 5 minutes and start it every two to three weeks in the summer. Is that a good idea?
Just want to thanks for the videos you do. My Snowblower auger broke at the weld over the winter and it was you who taught me how to remove the front of my snow-blower from the engine so I could fit it in my jeep and get it welded. And now - how to store it properly. Thanks so much.
