WINTER STORAGE

I was just wondering what I should do with all my equipment over the winter. What I probably will do with my mowers is take them out once a week and run them. In bwtween that time, should I close the fuel shut-off valve and run the gas out of the carb??
With my handheld Echo equipment (blower & trimmer), what should I do? Should I take them out once a week and do the same thing?? Anything else??
Should I start everything like twice a week?
Thanks!
lmf
P.S. Yes I have read other threads with almost the same question, but I think my questions are a little different.

I have a couple older gasoline mowers... I do not do anything special for the off season, at spring I change oil and everything starts right up... I've never had the type of gasoline problems others have described...
so to answer your questions... shut off the fuel if it's convenient and run them when you need them... otherwise just let them rest till your back to running them regularly... try to use up all your mixed fuels, I use to burn that up year round, so never had any quantity just setting around aging...
I have had some fuel lines inside chainsaw fuel tanks fail... but I think that would have happened with age with OR without fuel in the tanks.... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

I have a couple older gasoline mowers... I do not do anything special for the off season, at spring I change oil and everything starts right up... I've never had the type of gasoline problems others have described...
so to answer your questions... shut off the fuel if it's convenient and run them when you need them... otherwise just let them rest till your back to running them regularly... try to use up all your mixed fuels, I use to burn that up year round, so never had any quantity just setting around aging...
I have had some fuel lines inside chainsaw fuel tanks fail... but I think that would have happened with age with OR without fuel in the tanks.... :smile:KennyV

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I have a lot of 2-cycle oil/gas mix in a container. Would it still be good when I need it in April?

lawn mower fanatic said:

I have a lot of 2-cycle oil/gas mix in a container. Would it still be good when I need it in April?

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Don't know for sure... I've usually used it all through winter, but it likely will still be okay... the other gasoline I have always is...:smile:KennyV

Use some type of fuel stabilizer in your stored fuel and you will most likely be fine. Be sure to also use the stabilized fuel in the tanks and lines carbs ect. If not you might end up with varnish in your stuff or if you got that ethanol mixed gasoline that will separate over time and you end up with water in your stuff, so please use some type of fuel stabilizer!

Up until about 18 months ago I never ran anything out, never used fuel stabilizers, and kept two stroke mix all through the winter and used it up in the spring. I did not have many problems. But all of a sudden I had nothing but problems all fuel related. About that same time I discovered that many engine makers seem to consider anything carb related to be the fault of the gas you run and do not warranty their fuel systems very well and the newer they are the more picky they seem to be. I think it is going to be much worse over the next few years. So I became real religious about fuel stabilizers, fresh fuel, fuel containers, higher octane fuel, fuel without booze in it, and off season storage. i also began to talk to classic car owners, motorcycle folks, boaters, and neighbors. Some of the stuff they showed me was pretty amazing. A bottle of fuel stabilizer is pretty cheap. Honda engines are known to be expensive to repair. Many two stroke oils have stabilizers in the mix. If they were not a good idea then I do not think they would put them in the oil. Most engine makers want you to use a stabilizer. If it was me I would buy some fresh fuel at the end of the season add some stabilizer and run them awhile before I put them away. It just seems to me to be cheap insurance.

look for the marine stabilizer. the blue versus the red. it is slightly more expensive but has ethanol treatment in it

Winter storage is becoming a big problem. Up until now I have not worried about the fuel. I do not drain the system or run the fuel out of the carburetor. In my case, I have always felt that an additive is too costly. I have 13 different gasoline engines, I am retired and no side business so adding additives is a costly thing for me. However, parts are not cheap and it takes more time that I need to devote to clean carburetors etc. So this year I will be taking the plunge into fuel additives.

My Echo oil mix to add to the gas for the 2-cycle oil says it has a stabilizer in it. Does that mean I do not need to do anything with it?

possum said:

Up until about 18 months ago I never ran anything out, never used fuel stabilizers, and kept two stroke mix all through the winter and used it up in the spring. I did not have many problems. But all of a sudden I had nothing but problems all fuel related. About that same time I discovered that many engine makers seem to consider anything carb related to be the fault of the gas you run and do not warranty their fuel systems very well and the newer they are the more picky they seem to be. I think it is going to be much worse over the next few years. So I became real religious about fuel stabilizers, fresh fuel, fuel containers, higher octane fuel, fuel without booze in it, and off season storage. i also began to talk to classic car owners, motorcycle folks, boaters, and neighbors. Some of the stuff they showed me was pretty amazing. A bottle of fuel stabilizer is pretty cheap. Honda engines are known to be expensive to repair. Many two stroke oils have stabilizers in the mix. If they were not a good idea then I do not think they would put them in the oil. Most engine makers want you to use a stabilizer. If it was me I would buy some fresh fuel at the end of the season add some stabilizer and run them awhile before I put them away. It just seems to me to be cheap insurance.

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For winter storage I wholeheartedly agree with the advice given by user possum. Being a boat owner(bought a 1999 Sprint Fish n' Ski with a 125 Merc outboard new and has been garage kept ever since the purchase), before 10% Ethanol gas was forced down our throats by the EPA I ran nothing but Premium grade gasoline in everything I owned that was gasoline-powered(car, truck, boat, lawn/small engine equipment). Never used any stabilizer and NEVER had any fuel-related problems with anything stored over the winter(I just disconnected fuel lines and ran the boat & other small engine equipment until they ran out of gas to empty the lines and carbs). But things have CHANGED with the Ethanol(including engine design to accomodate 10%). When I replaced my 1993 Lawn Chief lawn tractor(16hp B & S Vanguard-best 4cycle engine I've ever owned) with a 2006 Craftsman(Husqvarna) with a 24hp B & S Intek and put Premium(w/Ethanol) gas in it the thing would barely run, backfired, hesitated and generally ran ragged. I switched to Regular grade and it ran MUCH better. IMHO, that had to be a "design change" by B & S between 1993 & 2006 to "accomodate" Ethanol. And as pointed out by user possum, the Owner Manual for my new Gravely has in bold print on the front cover "any gasoline with a greater than 10% Ethanol mixture will VOID THE WARRANTY". If that doesn't tell you that Ethanol is for all intents & purposes "bad for gasoline combustion engines" I don't know what does!!! The manual also "recommends" the use of stabilizers in the gas. So I, like many others, have become sensitive to protecting all of my gasoline powered equipment. For my car & truck I still use premium grade 10% Ethanol gas(the non-ethanol is cost prohibitive) and treat every other tankful with Lucas Ethanol treatment(BTW, I just replaced the electric fuel pump in my wife's 2001 Lincoln LS costing about $550...."requires" Premium and basically designed by Jaguar "pre-Ethanol" at that time) and had not used the Ethanol treatment since 10% Ethanol gas became predominent. For my boat, lawn equipment and all small engine equipment(especially my brand new Gravely) I run NOTHING but Regular grade non-Ethanol gasoline even though it is a LOT more expensive that the 10% Ethanol gas(and as of right now is still readily available in my area of Middle Tennessee). I will continue to do that as long as it is available and if the EPA shuts down the few "mom & pop markets" that carry it and force them to sell 10% Ethanol I will begin the Lucal Ethanol treatment additive in every tankful in that equipment. Have I told you how much I hate the EPA for mandating Ethanol in gasoline???? If there was a Preidential candidate that had a platform that stated he/she would make the EPA stop forcing Ethanol on us they would get my vote I don't care what party they represented!!!!! Anyway, as it stands I agree with user Possum & others that fuel stabilizers(and possibly Ethanol treatment additives) are all we can do to protect our investments!!!