Oil and Gas for Snowblower?

[crashz]

My father gave me his snowblower that has only been used once. Its too big for him to manuver, so I got it out of mothballs, got it home and running yesterday.

The blower is a 30" wide, 6 speed Craftsmen with an 11 Hp Tecumsha engine. Takes about 20 feet of pull cord to turn it over! My father had no information on it and has done nothing with it for at least 5 years. I'd say its about 10 yrs old.

To get it going, I drained the oil and fuel (gas was dark yellow) and replaced them with fresh stuff. The carb was full of old gas, that I basically pulled and primed my way through, until I got it to run. The oil was thick and black, and I replaced it with store brand synthetic 10w-30.

So the oil grade was toff the top of my head, but does anyone have a better recomendation? And what can I do to keep the gas fresh? Seems like Stabil doesn't really perform well. I was thinking a bit of mixed gas oil, like 200:1 or something.

 

[SeymourBota]

SeaFoam is great to both stabilize the gas and help the carb parts free up.

You can find it at most auto parts or farm stores.

 

[Sumpter]

IMO I think you would want to go lower on the oil viscosity for colder ambient tempuratures. Also gas won't go bad that quickly. We have a Ariens walk behind blower and as we use it through out the winter we have no issues. When spring comes we drain the tank and carburator. That solves the issue of using stabil. I also do this with all the snowmobiles and I have never had any carb problems.

 

[F1520]

Does the float bowl have a drain plug? I had a similar model and year snowblower and I would just drain the float bowl at the end of the winter. A few pumps of the primer and it always started on the first or second pull at the beginning of the next season.

5W-30 might be a better choice for motor oil, and "Marine" Sta-Bil (the blue/black one, not the red one) is what the Ariens dealer here recommends.

 

[crashz]

Don't know about the bowl drain, I'll have to look.

I'm stocked up on 5w-30, so I can change it out without a problem. Actually probably won't hurt to run it a little, get it warm and change it anyway. Get the old sludge out. I was actually thinking this oil may be to light. Guess I was wrong.

I'll try the Seafoam. i've only used the red Stabil, but it didn't do its job on my old truck. Maybe the new formulation is better.

 

[yooper1]

At the snow thrower test site that I run we usually put 5w30 oil in all thrower engines.

Last season we put Mobil 1 5w-30 in the new engines and believe it or not we had some that used 0w-30 synthetic.

But I would recommend a mineral based (general store bought) 5w30 oil in yours.

As for the gas stabilization....Seafoam or possibly stabil. But if you use the thrower you should not need stabilizer until you put it away for the summer.

do not mix oil in the gas or you will have problems with the plug....and maybe the carb.

I work for the "other" engine company and not for tecumseh, but they are one in the same as far as oils

 

[yooper1]

Just to add...using the 10w-30 will not hurt the engine, but it is better to put the 5w-30 in it. You never know

 

[Diamondpilot]

Don't know about the bowl drain, I'll have to look.

I'm stocked up on 5w-30, so I can change it out without a problem. Actually probably won't hurt to run it a little, get it warm and change it anyway. Get the old sludge out. I was actually thinking this oil may be to light. Guess I was wrong.

I'll try the Seafoam. i've only used the red Stabil, but it didn't do its job on my old truck. Maybe the new formulation is better.

I work in the marine business part time and can tell you the Red Sta-Bil is a waste of money. Now the new black Marine Formula for Ethanol Fuels is great stuff. I run it in boats, generators, and other limited use stuff. Its $20 for a container that treats 320 gallons at WalMart or TSC. They sell smaller 80 gallon quantity but its like $8 and I use so much of it I buy it in the larger quantity.

Chris

 

[Dutch445]

Ditto on Marine Stabil, good stuff.

There are also some other products formulated
to combat the affects of Ethanyl, Startron for one.
They help reduce the problems of the extra alcohol
the ethanyl has in the gasoline. For some reason
the ethanyl seems to want to absorb moisture, and
that is never good. (from the environment)

Seafoam seems to be highly recommended, but I have only
used it as an intake cleaner, not a fuel treatment.

 

[Jay4200]

So the oil grade was toff the top of my head, but does anyone have a better recomendation? And what can I do to keep the gas fresh? Seems like Stabil doesn't really perform well. I was thinking a bit of mixed gas oil, like 200:1 or something.

Firstly - take apart the carb and clean the jets, as well as all of those bitty passages. Cheapo aerosol carb cleaner works just fine. Blast it out good every 5 minutes and leave it wet (don't use compressed air) for a half hour or so, then blow it out with compressed air then reassemble.

I use Rotella T 15W-40 diesel oil in my 13HP blower (and mowers, dirtbikes, ATV, tractor, etc.). You probably already have some of that stuff around. I keep my blower in my garage, so I'm never starting it at less than 50 degrees, so lower starting grades don't do me any good. Your 10W-30 is fine too - doesn't really matter.

Use copious amounts of Stabil in your gas, but drain all of the gas at the end of the season. Also, you'll see that your carb bowl has a super-convenient drain button on it. Shut off the petcock and push the button to drain the bowl after each use. Change the oil at the end of the season too - put it away with a dry fuel system and fresh oil and it'll work for many years to come.

JayC