I hate small engines that have sat not used.

[JRobyn]

In my experience, Stabil does great to KEEP fuel from deteriorating, but does little to clean carbs once deteriorated fuel has gummed things up.

On the other hand, SeaFoam does a terrific job of cleaning mildly gummed systems. I use it at twice the intended dilution on a fuel system that is known to be gummy.

Once gum has turned to solid varnish or corrosion has set in, only disassembly and "mechanical" cleaning with piano wire rods, carb cleaner, and the air hose will do.

 

[CalG]

I pulled the 30 + year old Lawn Boy out of the barn to mow up a few of the leaves around the house.
Hadn't been run since last year about this time.
Nothing special, just two stroke mix in the tank. Opened the petcock, gave the primer bulb a couple of stabs with my thumb. It started second pull and runs without skipping a beat.

Lucky I suppose.

 

[JRobyn]

I have the little HF 900w generator. Its carb has the main jet designed so that it sits right at the very bottom of the bowl. So if you cut off the fuel valve and then run it "dry" there is just a little bit of residual fuel sitting right at the jet orifice. This inevitably dries and clogs the jet, even when I run non-ethanol and Stabil-treated fuel. If I open the actual bowl drain screw, only a tiny bit (<1 tsp) comes out, but then subsequent restarts are easy.

 

[yomax4]

A little Seafoam and stabilizer in non ethanol fuel works well short term like a year but once the gas dries it's a labor of frustration to get the motor running perfectly. most parts houses don't carry carb kits anymore due to the low cost of a new carb. I had a Stihl pole saw that sat 3 years. Carb kit was $26. New carb was $18. 4 stroke carbs are cheap too and not worth the anguish of tearing apart 2-3 times to get them right.

 

[muddstopper]

A little Seafoam and stabilizer in non ethanol fuel works well short term like a year but once the gas dries it's a labor of frustration to get the motor running perfectly. most parts houses don't carry carb kits anymore due to the low cost of a new carb. I had a Stihl pole saw that sat 3 years. Carb kit was $26. New carb was $18. 4 stroke carbs are cheap too and not worth the anguish of tearing apart 2-3 times to get them right.

I had to take the carb apart twice before I got the engine to run. The honda carb was pretty simple, except for the plastic filter covers and stuff. The insides of the carb where mostly plastic to. The part for the float and needle/seat was plastic, first one I ever seen that wasnt tin and brass. The only brass part seemed to be the jet. It is supposed to be removable, but a little pressure with screw driver told me this one probably wouldnt come out. Tip cleaner worked well for cleaning it out. The plastic needle and seat was a little harder. Repeated spray cleaner, and air nozzle and It eventually turned back to white plastic. Plastic needle did have a rubber tip on it like a normal needle and it didnt seem damaged. Corrosion didnt seem to be a big issue, but the varnish came out in lumps and flakes. everybody is saying stabil and seafoam for short term storage. I suspect the machine will be setting a little longer than short term before I use it again. Still trying to figure out the best gas additive for long term storage. Still considering just draining the bowl and filling with some type of oil.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Aviation 100LL. It lasts. You can't have airplanes falling out of the sky from sitting over the winter.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Aviation 100LL. It lasts. You can't have airplanes falling out of the sky from sitting over the winter.

Too much lead for the spark plugs.. But if your local airport sells MoGas, I would use that.

 

[ultrarunner]

What is MoGas?

 

[Garandman]

If you can get the engine model # off the casting, look up the carburetor part number. Non-oem replacement carburetors for Honda engines can be had on ebay and Amazon starting at less than $15. //

Yes, and this is preferable to the dealer, who observes the "golden rule."

You put the part on one side of the scale, and gold on the other. When the weight of the gold equals the weight of the part, you get the part.

[Not really, the OEM carb for our Honda HRX mower is less than $40].

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Too much lead for the spark plugs.. But if your local airport sells MoGas, I would use that.

LL stands for low lead. Been running for years in extreme motors and no problems yet.