I just added a second ultrasonic cleaner to my shop to keep up with the demand for carb rebuilding on snowblowers that were stored last spring and won't start now,
I've been saying
for years that if owners of seasonal equipment followed manufacturers recommendations for storage, small engine shops would be out of business. There just isn't enough "cost effective" other work to be done. Overhauls and rebuilds don't pay when you figure in labor costs, and the "throw-away" method of building things nowadays.
I was hired on some 25 years ago to repair/maintain construction rental equipment. A lot of what we have in the fleet is "seasonal". (For instance, there's not much call for a walk-behind trencher or trash pump when it's below zero for months.)
When I started working, it was nothing short of
astonishing to see how much time and energy was wasted trying to get something up and running when it had old, stale gas in it. I quite honestly couldn't figure out where the "logic" was. The engine started and ran fine the last time it was used months ago. So what has changed? Did the plugs "go bad" during storage? Did the spark "get weak" during storage? Did the compression "decrease" during storage? None of that makes sense, but still...the same nonsensical procedures were followed just about every time something came
out of storage....and failed to start after two dozen pulls.
It was equally, (or perhaps to a GREATER extent), puzzling to hear someone say, "It fires on starting fluid...but it won't stay running unless I continue to spray it in". Even after
observing firsthand that the problem
wasn't spark or compression, (because it'll run on ether), it still didn't register that the real problem might be fuel-related.
Nobody needs to read about "secrets" associated with this topic on the 'net, they just need to read their operators manuals. You just won't find one that says you should store the equipment the way most owners do it....
