I just scrape the grass off the bottom of my 2 mowers , clean them up a bit and put them in the garage...Weedwacker and chainsaw the same...The non-mowing season is ONLY 6 months long in the snowbelt and less than that down south...Not a YEAR...Gas SHOULD stay good for that short a period of time....JMHO....
With the gas shut off, why not run the mower until the carburetor is empty?
Briggs & Stratton recommends running a mower out of gas if it will be stored where the temperature is pretty steady, such as in a cellar. It recommends a full tank and Stabil if the temperature will fluctuate.
That sounds right to me. Suppose it's left with half a tank in a location where the tank will warm 20F each day and the night air is humid. The vapor pressure of the gas will drop a lot at night, pulling in moist air, and the gasoline will absorb moisture, which will end up on the bottom. During the day, the increased vapor pressure will drive out a lot of air, so more will be sucked in when it cools. I haven't had trouble in my garage, but significant water could accumulate.
How about running a mower out of gas, then leaving it in the sun for a few hours with the cap off the tank so that any remaining gas will dry up and blow away? A completely empty tank shouldn't pump much air in and out, and there will be no gas to absorb water vapor.
Letting a mower battery sit all winter without charging will probably shorten its life. If much grass is left under the deck, corrosion could shorten its life.
It is a 2 stroke, and the oil does not have any kind of stabilizer in it.
In ontario they must say "may contain up to X% ethanol" or they may not have ethanol in it. Shell is on record as stating they will NOT put ethanol in their Ultra.
over the years I have pretty much developed this method...
run dry, put gas cap back on but loose... remove spark plug and spray some wd40 into the cylinder, pull cord a few times to distribute the oil, then replace spark plug.
Ouch! WD-40? Is that really what you meant to say? Or a type? That's not oil, it evaporates rather quickly, and cleans the metal well enough to allow it to rust, including valve surfaces when you turn the engine over. . Plain old 30W oil will do a lot better or if you're concerned it's not burnable, use the kind you mix with gas. But WD-40, well, you're hastening the wear internally. It's definitely not a recommended thing to use.
Here is a brief description of CAS#64742-47-8, ONE of the significant ingredients.
This is a mixture of C10-C14 naphthenes, iso- and n-paraffins. Neither the concentration of aromatics nor of hexane is greater than 0.1 % by volume. Depending on the raw material and the production processes, the composition and physical properties of this solvent can vary considerably. The symptoms of chemical pneumonitis do not become manifest until a few hours or even a few days have passed. Exxsol D70 / D80, Shellsol D70, Hydrosol P 200, among others, are trade names.
It has many other ingredients. It is not "just" any one thing. It is a formula.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.