Small engines that don't get used often

[jas67]

With the record (lack of) snowfall that we've had here in South Central PA (we got less than 1 foot total, and only had 2 snow events over 1 1/2 inches, my walk-behind snow blower didn't get used at all this year, and likely won't, as I just used the manual shovel for the areas that I couldn't clear with the back blade on my little 'bota.

This leads me to the thought of the small engine on the snow blower (and the one on my "whiz-bang" Generator that hasn't been needed since the Dec '07 ice storm) that hasn't been started since last winter.

At the end of the winter last year, I changed the oil in both, and drained the fuel tanks, and ran the fuel out of the carburetors on both.

I recall seeing a comment here against running the carbs dry. What is the general consensus here? I also put Stabil in my gas can when filling, as I never know how long some of my lessor-used small engines will go between use. Is it better to just drain the main tank, and then periodically add a little fuel and run it long enough to clear out the old stuff that is in the carb?

 

[Bird]

I have always been in favor of running engines out of gas if they're not going to be used again very soon. I always did that with boat motors, chain saws, string trimmers, lawnmowers, etc., especially with 2-cycle engines, but also the little 4-cycle engines.

Is that best with the modern engines? I'm not sure, but so far, I still do it. Of course, I think ideally they should all be run at least once a month, and preferably once a week.

 

[groundcover]

I'm with Bird, the new gas is reeking havoc with small engines. I have switched over to marine Sta-bil for ethanal but have also gone back to running engines dry and fogging the cylinder with fogging oil on anything that won't be used for several months.

 

[Bird]

I haven't seen the marine Sta-bil but I do use Sta-bil in my gasoline and the one I have, which is also the only one I've seen recently at Auto Zone and Walmart, does say for ethanol also on the label.

 

[Cat_Driver]

It's mandatory to run a small engines dry. I use a turkey baster to remove most of the fuel if the tank is not empty enough, then start it and run it dry.

I learned my lesson the hard way. I had a nice generator that I left the fuel in and the fuel deteriorated all the fuel line, gaskets, clogged the carb, and actually ate the metal fuel screen.

So after I learned my lesson I had a expensive pressure washer that I ran dry and two years later I filler it up and she ran like new.

Now I do it with everything, chain saws, edgers, mowers, pumps, gennies etc.

 

[Fordlords]

Run the carbs dry. Some people say doing this will cause rubber internal parts of the carb to "dry out," which is not true because when the engine is not running, there are no rubber parts inside the carb that are submersed in liquid gasoline short of the float needle, which has a much better chance of re-seating when dry if left for long periods than it does having gasoline or addatives gum up around it as it sits.

-Fordlords-

 

[BigE_]

Go down to NAPA and buy yourself a small engine fuel cutoff switch. Part number 7-02324-1, cost is $6.09.

I put one of these in-line with the fuel line from the tank *before* the pump on all of my small engines. I've noticed that the new Honda engines generally come with one of these. The manuals say to run the engine dry, spray a little oil through the spark plug hole, and turn the engine over a couple of times.

I also went through and put an hour meter on my small engines. Paid about $18 each off eBay for the kind that run by wrapping a wire around the plug wire. The only problem with these kind is that they are sealed, and the batteries only last 5 years. On the plus side, they are sealed, so they are waterproof. But, now I know when the oil needs changing...

-Steve

 

[Usta]

I lost my generator a while back due to gummed up carb because it went a year plus without being run. Of course I did not know of the gummed problem until I really, really needed it. I now leave all my 12 or so small engines wet and full of fuel and it is a monthly ritual now to fire up all small engines for about 10 minutes each to flush the carbs. If the gas in a tank gets to be about a year old, I dump it and refill with fresh. My way may not get the majority vote but it works good for me.

 

[Bird]

Usta, as long as you remember to run them regularly, I'd leave the gas in them, too. But if you get lax and forget and don't run them is when you run into problems. The generator especially. The engine isn't the only thing that needs to be exercised on the generator. I've had 3 RV with generators and a brother who was a factory trained Onan RV generator technician, so I can tell you that majority of problems with RV generators is a result of lack of use. Run it under a 50% or more load at least once a month, and as I mentioned earlier, once a week is even better. When I was commander of the police communications division and we had really big diesel generators, the power was shut off to the building and the generators took over for an hour every Sunday morning.

 

[hobie]

I had been very good about running our small genrator at my mother's, adding stabilizer, and running the carb dry using the shutoff, but one of my brothers took over her care, and apparently let this go for about a year. He had replaced the batterie, and I assumed was taking care of it. I went to start it New Years day, the batterie was dead, and it wouldn't pull start. To top it off, the gas line started to leak. I gather from what you guys are saying old fuel is the main problem. I'll drain the fuel, replace the lines, and see if I can salvage the carb. What do you do with old fuel? And what is "fogging oil"? Thanks, Brian Thanks, Brian