[Shop-talk] Winterizing (summerizing?) an engine?

[Brian Kemp]

I second the fuel shutoff.  I have one on my wood chipper that may go 
8-10 months without being used.  I run Stabil in my gas, but I'm 
California and they really mess gas up here.

I had a lawnmower valve stick after about two months a while ago. After 
getting it unstuck, when the mower was seldom used in the California 
winter, I'd slowly pull the cord every few weeks to make sure nothing 
stuck again.

I have a commercial grade string trimmer for brush clearance and was 
told by the local shop to try and make sure I start it every couple 
months to keep the carb clean.  I only use TruFuel in the trimmer and it 
makes a big difference over my past trimmers.  They make a 4-cycle 
version.  It may be worth it to drain the regular gas and put some of 
this in, run the blower a few minutes, then shutoff the gas and let the 
engine run out of fuel.  It is stable for the long term and doesn't gum 
things up like regular gas.

Sample: 
https://www.homedepot.com/p/TruFuel-4-Cycle-Ethanol-Free-Fuel-6527238/203571144 


Brian

On 4/13/2021 11:03 AM, Scott Hall wrote:
> Guys,
>
> I have a snowblower. It might not get used at all in a winter, it 
> might get used ten times. And I have a long driveway, so I don't want 
> to sell it.
>
> I would like to winterize it such that next October if I want to fire 
> it up I don't have to do what I did this February and disassemble it 
> in the cold to get it to run.
>
> It doesn't have a battery, so this is a gas/carb. issue only.
>
> Is it best to drain most of the gas and let it run until it dies from 
> starvation? Would that leave residue on the jets that might varnish? 
> I'm hesitant to use Sta-bil--I had a bad experience with that once. 
> Drain the gas, take it apart and spray everything with carb cleaner or 
> the like?
>
> This is the first engine I have that might sit for two years straight 
> then need to get fired up as quickly as possible, so I'd like to do 
> this right.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
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