Winterizing small engines...what do you do?

[JoeyP]

Related to this thread, just wondering how you winterize your small engines.

For mine, I mix up 5 gallons of non-ethanol gasoline with the prescribed amounts of Sta-Bil and Star Tron. Then fill the tanks with this for the last usage, and top them off. Turn off fuel shutoff if available and then run until it stops. Then a shot of oil in each cylinder along with a couple turns of the engine. My pressure washer (Ridgid RD80701 with Cat triplex pump) also gets pump saver. Any batteries get stored in basement and occasionally trickle charged.

My snowblower gets "summerized" similarly, but I drain all gas and also remove the bowl (an old Tecumseh) and spray with carb cleaner to remove the varnish, which shows up no matter how well I clean it before storing when winter is over.

 

[SuperSix]

Looks like you have it pretty well covered.. Maybe a caot of lithium grease or something under the mower deck to limit rust..

 

[phucheneh]

1) Throw lawnmower in shed.
2) Hope it doesn't have much gas in it.
3) Deal with it next year.

I can write an informational pamphlet if someone would like. 'The lazy asshole's guide to small engine care: you can't kill these damned things.'

 

[nerp]

My push mower was about $125 or so. I just change the oil in the spring. After five years, still going fine. I have no problem spending another $125 for another five years if it's dead in the spring. If it was a nice lawn tractor or something, I'd probably care more about it.

 

[JoeyP]

1) Throw lawnmower in shed.
2) Hope it doesn't have much gas in it.
3) Deal with it next year.

I can write an informational pamphlet if someone would like. 'The lazy asshole's guide to small engine care: you can't kill these damned things.'

Want to know the pisser?

I babied my new B&S 20hp intek v-twin for 10 years: regular oil changes, oil filter every year, fuel filter, air filter, good fuel, winterizing, etc. My neighbor has an old B&S on a craftsman lawn tractor for about as long, never changed the oil (he asked me if the oil he'd been using to top it off was good...2 CYCLE OIL!!!) and never does regular maintenance.

Care to guess whose engine's governor detonated while running around 1200 rpm?

Oh well, it makes me feel better doing this. At least I can blame the engineering and not me when something goes wrong.

 

[desy]

I drain the gas, remove batteries and trickle charge 2X over winter
Rarely change oil, plugs, air filters. my 16 yr old JD mower is starting to get fussy after starting ie won't start easily after it warms up, I may have to do something there
My 30 yr old motorcycle 'yamaha' runs like a champ, my 34 yr old boat engine 'mercury' runs like it did 30 yrs ago

 

[iamwiz82]

I leave the gas in over the winter and have never had a problem with any of my engines.

 

[sjwaste]

I pretty much did nothing for my Supra the last two winters, and the old bastard still runs just fine. Pretty sure the gas in it is almost 3 years old, with some stabilizer in it. It's not optimal, the car just got neglected the past two years due to moving and having a baby.

I recently had new tires put on it, and it otherwise passes Maine safety. So this year it's in the garage where I'll hopefully have some time to work on it. Needs valve cover gaskets so that I stop blowing oil smoke out of the engine bay.

 

[Raizinman]

I have a larger 30 hp tractor. I put stabil in the gas on the last grass cutting. I then change the oil and filter. I then pull out the oil plugs and fog the cylinders and then install a new plug. Starting in the spring is always easy. I prefer to fog the cylinder as over 6 or so months, the cylinder can develop rust on the bare metal and cause a problem.

 

[JoeyP]

I have a larger 30 hp tractor. I put stabil in the gas on the last grass cutting. I then change the oil and filter. I then pull out the oil plugs and fog the cylinders and then install a new plug. Starting in the spring is always easy. I prefer to fog the cylinder as over 6 or so months, the cylinder can develop rust on the bare metal and cause a problem.

Good idea. I fog my outboard, and think fogging will provide better coverage than oil squirted into the cylinder for my lawn tractor.

 

[Sluggo]

1) Throw lawnmower in shed.
2) Hope it doesn't have much gas in it.
3) Deal with it next year.

I can write an informational pamphlet if someone would like. 'The lazy asshole's guide to small engine care: you can't kill these damned things.'

I use the same system, all my yard equipment works fine year after year.

 

[A5]

Yeah. I'm going to do 1 more mow (mostly mulching leaves) and then hope that runs the gas down enough to not cause problems. I have Sta-bil in the gas can already, so it should be fine either way.

 

[LTC8K6]

I usually just run it for a few minutes a couple times in the winter. I do use sta-bil.

 

[WackyDan]

Meh... I run some fresh gas with stabil and some Sea Foam cleaner or what not through it until it runs out of gas....

Then I empty the oil....

Then I wash the mower deck top and bottom removing all debris.

Then I remove and sharpen the blades.

Then I clean/replace any air elements.

Then I spray the bottom of the decks and bolts with penetrating oil to delay the inevitable.

Then I fill with oil and put away for the winter.

Basically do similar stuff for 2 stroke engines and additional winterizing needs of the pressure washer, etc.

The only problem I've had is the stupid $100 Murray mower with the B&S 3.5 engine... Those damn plastic carbs or the membrane between them and the tank never lasts long regardless of the care you give the mower. My more expensive mower with a larger B&S never has any issues.

 

[sjwaste]

I meant to ask in this thread: Does seafoam cause my exhaust to stink and emit a lot of grey smoke? Or is that because I'm trying to burn through a bunch of old gasoline?

 

[soccerballtux]

winter gas is already winterized. I don't bother. Haven't had problems.

 

[Doppel]

I have always drained the fuel in lawn mower and snow blower, then run the engine until it's out of gas. I change oil at beginning of season before starting it, and use fresh gas. I don't really rely on stabil. Not saying that's ideal but I like to drain it.

 

[Colt45]

Nothing.

I make sure fuel for the snowblower has booze in it, as it gets down to -40 here.

If the lawnmower won't start in the spring, i put a few drops of oil in the cylinder.

 

[AmdEmAll]

I just started up an older mower that has been stored in the shed for years.. wasn't touched at all. Well the spark plug wire broke when I tried to take it off the spark plug but after rigging it back up and putting some gas in it started right up and ran great. I figured it would be seized.

 

[AMCRambler]

I throw a cap or two of stabil in the tank with whatever gas is left in it, put the cap on and slosh the mower around a bit. Then start it up and run it for a few minutes so the gas with the stuff in it gets through the carb and then I set it aside. Sometimes I change the oil at the end of the season, sometimes when I pull it out next season. Depending on what I've got time for.

 

[LTC8K6]

I just started up an older mower that has been stored in the shed for years.. wasn't touched at all. Well the spark plug wire broke when I tried to take it off the spark plug but after rigging it back up and putting some gas in it started right up and ran great. I figured it would be seized.

You may have damaged the piston/cylinder bore if you started it without any oil in the cylinder.

 

[AmdEmAll]

You may have damaged the piston/cylinder bore if you started it without any oil in the cylinder.

Maybe.. but I don't really care. Its most likely going in the trash anyway.

 

[Jumpem]

Put it in the garage when I am done using it. Use it again in the Spring. Nothing special needs to be done.

 

[Raizinman]

Everyone needs to consider a safety issue when storing their lawnmower. I store my mower in the basement during the winter and then store my snow blower in the basement during the summer months. If you store any type of machine that has gas in it, (with or without Sta-bil) and the gas line cracks and leaks (it can happen) the gas fumes will run across the basement floor to your gas furnace or gas hot water tank and you WILL have a fire. Often, people have their hot water tank in their garage, and this can also happen there.

Just a word of caution about storing any machine that contains gasoline in a place that has an open flame. In these situations, it is best to add Sta-bil to the gas, and then let the mower run out of gas. Also, remember to disconnect the battery during storage.

 

[SparkyJJO]

My mower is a 2 cycle, and the 2 cycle oil I use has fuel stabilizer in it. When winter gets here I just leave the shed door closed Takes a few pulls to start in the spring and is a little cranky for a minute or so, but it is good to go pretty quick.