Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hello All:

This is my first time to the forum and thought it would be a great place to get some information.

I just purchased a 13 year old Craftsman 10 H.P. 29 inch Dual Stage Snow Blower (C950-52340-3). It was made in Canada and has a Tecumseh engine. Please bare with me as I give you some of the symptoms. The owner only used it for two winters then stored it in his garage under cover. He had so much snow to move that it was taking too long with the blower, so he bought a plow instead. The blower looks brand new. However he never drained the gas from the tank and it just sat for eleven years. He told me he tried to start it, but it wouldn't start. He believes the carburetor is gummed up. He gave me the manual too.

I am wondering if there is a list of things that should be checked since the snow blower has been sitting. If so, what?

Does anyone have experience with this? Is it just a simple clean the carburetor job?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom

tjchaney,
You gave the background of the machine not the symptoms. What does it do?
My guess is you've tried to start it but it won't start.

The probability is high that you will have to rebuild the carb but it is
not a given. One of the things that happens to a carb that has been sitting
for a long time is the white crud buildup I think from disimmilar metals. It
gets into holes in the carb, blocks gas and tough to clean.

Varnish buildup is always mentioned which confuses me. If a machine is sitting
for a long time with the fuel shutoff closed then only the gas in the carb will
dry up. If you leave a bowl full of gas in a container and let it dry there is
no real buildup of residue. The small amounts in the carb will dry and leave
no residue. I think for a buildup a machine would have to have sat with it's
tank having gas and the shutoff open. Then over time a buildup would probably
happen.

If the conditions are right for a varnish you should see the buildup in the
bottom of the bowl and that is easy enough to check. If there's no gum there
you might just need a light cleaning that can be done with the carb mounted.

You could first check to see if the machine will run. Dump some gas into
the sparkplug hole and try to fire the rig. If it puffs, spits, smokes or
runs for a few seconds that's a great sign.

Take off the bowl and clean it, disconnect the gas line to the carb and
put gas in the tank and let it drain through a few times. Get a white bowl
to collect the gas and see what comes out for crud.

Unscrew the jets and clean them and inside the ports. Spray in there
with a cleaner. Spray up into the float needle area if you've got a
float type. Spray inside the carb.

Try starting it and see if you can run it. Maybe turn the augers by
hand first to make sure their ok. Take off the belt cover and work the
auger engagement pully, oil, & etc. Add a cleaning agent to the gas.
Change oil and grease the rig and run it for a while it might just run
as is.
trouts2

Before starting it up it would be a good idea to check the belts, they may have deteriorated with age and lack of use. Also check the little hose that goes from the primer bulb to the carburetor. I had a problem with mine splitting at both ends, it wouldn't prime at all, replaced it and the engine started second  time I went through the prime/pull cord cycle.

Before doing any of the cleaning or attempting to run the engine I'd drain out the old gas and put in fresh. There was a recent discussion about a product called Sea Foam which was reported as being good at cleaning the carburetor. I use Pri-G as a gas stabilizer and revitalizer. Stabil is also supposed to be good.

I was at the local L&G yesterday and they had a notice about Echo engines but I have a hunch it applies to others as well. It said that more than 15% alcohol content in the gas was a bad thing. I noticed recently that some of the gas stations in the area now state that regular has no more than 10%, mid-grade no more than 5% and hi test is 0%. I'm going to use hi test in my OPE.