Lawn Mower Residual Gas Question

I have always added some stabilizer, and filled the tank up all the way. A full tank doesn't allow condensation (water) in the tank, which will happen if there is air space in there. Been doing this for years, on many different mowers (and other gadgets/vehicles), and never had a single gas-related problem.

Hello:

Thinking ahead a bit, but thought I'd ask now while I remember to do so.

Just bought a new Toro walk behind type of lawnmower.

Is it still a good idea to remove all (I guess there would always be a little left in the carburetor) of the gas from the mower by running it dry for the winter ?

Or, just leave what's in it, in it ?

Or, just leave what's in in, in it, but add some fuel stabilizer ?

Thanks, Bob

That's what I do, also this same subject was discussed for 2 days last week. Look for "Re: B&S Engine Off-season Storage: drain gas tank or stabilize?"

I took my Honda to the shop because it wouldn't run. I know about engines, and couldn't make it run. The guy told me NOT to leave the gas in there for any length of time, or it changes completely, and is not very combustible.

I now either empty it out, or let it run dry before stowing.

Steve

I live in Las Vegas where it's 120 in the shade. And probably 160 surface temperature of a lawnmower in the sun.

One size does not fit all. Some people should never wear spandex. What goes for Canada don't work in the middle of the Mojave desert.

HTH.

Steve

And rust can be a problem on a drained tank.

trouble with running itout of gas for storage, you allways leave some gas in there that gums up quik,, and you got the air in the tank to condense droplets into the system all storage season.best way is to treat gasand leave tank full.lucas

Yes.

The gas available today seems to be more stable than the stuff back in the 60's. Leaving gas for 6 months is not likely to cause any problem (unless it has a chance to evaporate.). I would estimate about 18 months as a safe period.

However I generally add a little stabilizer at the end of the season and run it dry. It does not take more than a few minutes. I would not be worried if I forgot one year and I would expect everything to be OK.

Now my cultivator that was run dry and has not been used for three or more years is another thing. I expect I will have a real problem getting it going next time I want it.

I prefer draining and running it dry. You don't want the gas that is still in the carburator to gum up. It won't run very long if you do a good job of draining the tank. I then pull the plug and squirt a little oil into the cylinder, and then turn it over a couple times to coat the inside.

Same thing for my snow blower where I consider it even more important to get all the gas out before a long hot summer.

I have runout my Toro for 13 years now, and it still starts on the first pull; so it seems satisfactory.

I am waiting for it to die so I can buy an electric, but it just keeps chugging.

Hi, I Live in Calgary where the winter weather is severe. I never empty fuel tank on my mower(John Deere), snow blower(Toro), weed eater(Echo), chain saw(Stihl), etc. Never had trouble starting in the spring, never experienced other trouble. I keep them all in tool shed. Tony

I know someone who left gas in their generator for two years and was unable to get started when the next outage came. Yeh, you might get lucky and have no problems, but it is hardly worth the trouble.

I have had my Troy-Bilt 30 inch walk-behind for about 9 years and have never burned anything in it but Amoco (now BP) ultimate gasoline. For those unfamiliar this gas is as clear as a glass of water. I never drain, I never treat, and I never pull more than once (possibly twice the first time in the spring). I figure this costs me an extra 5 or 6 bucks a year over regular unleaded.

I acknowledge that this is purely anecdotal, but I figure that the stuff that turns to gunk is the stuff that is not refined out of normal gas.

Joseph,

What do you hope to gain by putting gas with a stabilizer additive in your mower and then running it dry? The stabilized gas which might have protected some carb seals is gone. Wouldn't it be cheaper to just run it dry without the added stabilizer?hat do you think the stabilizer is doing for you?

Dave M.

I use the stabilizer without any problems. But you could completely drain it.

Leaving it in for two summers is considerably different than one winder in Calgary. Even in the Denver area I don't usually bother with the mower for the winter. But, I would not even think of letting any engine sit for the summer with gas in it. Even with stabilizer. I have a generator but always store it empty.

Frankly almost nothing. It is just that some years I am a little slow about that last lawn cut and I don't get around to running it empty. As for cost I have a couple of containers of stabilizer so the cost is not an issue so I guess I have just not thought of it.

I don't think you will go wrong empting it out, but your Honda rep is wrong, at least partly wrong. It takes considerable time for gas to go bad. It is a standard chemical reaction that starts slow and builds speed using free radicals in the process. Stabilizer just controls the free radicals. However there is a different reaction that can cause gas to go bad in a short time. If it is allowed to evaporate (and some older mowers did allow a lot of this) then it would go bad quickly from the evaporation of the liter components (stabilizer will not help this at all).

And I forgot to add stabilizer won't help much with the long term anyway. The gas will evaporate after two years.