Putting Snowblower Away For Season: Best Way ?

[Robert11]

Hello:

First time I've had a snowblower. Will be putting it away for the season, now.

Regarding the best approach to take with the gas that is still in the tank:

Thinking about it a bit, I guess there are 3 possibilities -

a. Put some Stab-Oil in the tank, and just run it all dry. Any small amount of gas left in the Carb would presumably have some Stab-Oil in it.

b. Again with Stab-Oil in tank, but this time just close the fuel shut-off c*ck and run until it stops. There might be a fair amount of gas left in the tank with this approach.

c. Just put some Stab-Oil in tank, run it for few minutes, and leave alone. With this approach, the gas in the Carb would (probably) not be depleted, and any seals would remain wet. Read somewhere that this might be good, as dried out seals are bad news.

d. Or,... ?

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Thanks, Bob

[John Lawrence]

[hallerb]

i ran all my stuff dry.... at the advice of a service place.

way fewer troubles since i started doing this

[Shopdog]

I usually run mine dry too. My genny gets stabilizer cause I may never know when I am going to need it, but I do run it for 10 min every month. Lawnmowers, my tiller and my pressure washer get the run dry method. Whatever gas is in the tank I add stabilizer and then run it dry. My grandfather would save used oil and mix this with the gas then run it dry. Don't quite remember if he ever had any problems, but I guess it worked for him.

Searcher

[Paul Franklin]

I vote for running it dry too. I have one of those cheap hand operated siphon pumps used for fuel transfer. I use that to get most of the gas out of the tank and then just let it run till it quits.

The other advice about changing the oil (if it's not a two cycle) and cleaning and lubing everything is good advice.

Another good tip is to pull the spark plug, squirt in a little motor oil, and then slowly use the starter rope to turn the engine one or two revolutions to spread the oil all up and down the cylinder walls.

Paul

[Joseph Meehan]

I just unplug mine and carry it down to the basement. :-) Electric rules!

[Mys Terry]

What I have done for many years is just ALWAYS have Stabil in any gas I use for small engines. I mix it in when I fill my gas cans. End of season, I change the oil, top up the tank and I'm DONE. NO fuss, no muss. The only other thing I do is fog the crankcase, and fog the combustion chamber. Takes minutes.

My small engines always spring to life without any undo provocation the following year. Always.

Stabil must be added to gas when it is fresh to do any good. It does not freshen stale gasoline. It is a preservative, not a restorative.

[Rich256]

I use exactly the same procedure (recommended in the owners manual) except I just use a small nylon tube for siphoning.. Can't see at Stabil will do any good if you run it dry.

Been doing that with all my engines for 40+ years. Never had one fail to start on the first pull after filling the next season. I wouldn't want to keep any kind of gas in a snow blower all summer. It gets terribly hot where I store it and even with Stabil maybe all will evaporate.

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

Amen--- And next fall- I carry mine back out & hang it on a peg in the garage. Ready to go. [I also check stock to see that I have a spare blade & scraper- most years I use them.]

I also have a small gas blower that was a gift from my neighbor-- a small engine repairman. His instructions were to leave it full of *stabilized* gas. Running them dry used to be the way-- but Stabilizer has improved and seals and gaskets were drying out and cracking.

Jim

[Hogwild]

You should fog the motor after stbilizing the gas.

This is better than squirting oil into the sparkplug hole.

[BocesLib]

Depends on the type of blower....

A 2 cycle blower (oil and gas mix) I would empty as much of the gas out and run it dry. (make sure to put the choke on when it almost out) (there most likely is still gas in the bowl)

2 cycle gas is nasty when it gets old. Turns into tar. Anywho, pull the plug and clean it up. Spray some fogging oil in there and pull it over a few times. Grease the auger bearings and any sort of linkage.

As for a 4 cycle unit, I would run it to warm it up. Then drain the gas by emptying it from the carb (many carb bowls have a drain on them) If not empty the tank as much as possible, put a

little stabile in it and run it with the choke on to empty it all out. When its done, I would change the oil, pull the plug,clean it and put a some fogging oil into the cylinder. I would also then put some never seize

onto the threads of the spark plug while I am on it and put it back together. When done, I would put the starter cord a few times and the lock it in on a compression stroke to seal things up. (most manuals tell you to do this too)

Greese up the unit and away you go. (again this depends on the type of blower, 2 stage units require that you greese up the auger assembly (greese fittings)

If the unit is only a year or two old, I wouldnt bother with the belts. I would always have a spare set as well as a couple of shear pins depending on the type of blower. (again single stage vs. two stage)

The ONLY time I would leave gas in the gas tank is when they are the old ones made of steel. I would top it off to prevent rust in there. Otherwise the newer plastic or aluminum ones dont need it.

One thing that most manufactures dont say anything about is spraying all the exposed metal parts and linkage (around the carb) with a protective lubricant spray (used on outboards) If it works on protecting my outboard in salt water, it'll do GREAT in my shed!

Hope this helps. Tom