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

I have not posted here in a long time, but I have a question for you folks.  Last winter was mild and I did not use my blower at all.  Did not even put gas in (in case there was no need).  Now this winter is almost over and I have not even gassed up the machine.  So unless there is significant snow in the next few weeks, the machine will not have been run in two years.  Should I just put it away again for another year, or would it be advantageous to gas it and run it for a little while til the gas tank is dry?  What are your thoughts?   Thanks. 

Except for fogging the cylinders, I did run the gas out of it two years ago.  So it's been in 'storage' so to speak.  The only reason I hesitate to gas up and start it is because of the gas situation.  Even running it til it runs out of gas still leaves some gas in the tank.  It's hard to get it all out.  But after two years now, the tank is dry. 

 I'm leaning toward running it just to get everything moving again. Maybe it will snow and that will make the decision for me, but I doubt it.

Given the dry tank I'd take the spark plug out, squirt some oil into the cylinder, turn it over by hand a few times, squirt again, turn it over then replace the spark plug.

Some carburetor bowls have two nut like things on them. The one in the centre is the main nozzle adjustment screw while the one off to the side is really a spring loaded button for draining the gas. If you decide to refuel and run it for a while try running it dry and then using the drain button, catching gas in a container of some sort.

There has been some discussion about whether it is best to drain the tank or to fill it to the brim. I tend to lean toward using a gas revitalizer/stabilizer on the last tank of the season, draining the tank and running it dry since thats what my engine manual says. Others have had a lot of success with fillng the gas tank to the brim but they tend to "store" it for one year. I'm not sure how long the full tank technique would be good for.

I noticed you own a generator.  It's recommended to run these machines at least once a month, preferably under a moderate electrical load.  I run my C u m mins-Onan 5,000 watt generator once a month for two hours in accordance with the owner's manual.  It's a nice machine that behaves well.

Yesterday was the day when I ran my 11.5 hp B&S Sears snowthrower for twenty minutes or-so and my generator for two hours.  I keep seperate logbooks on both machines whenever I run them.  Usually around the end of the year, businesses such as banks hand out free, pocket-size appointment books and I found they're great as logbooks.

I plan to run my snowblower every three weeks now that my problems with Sears are behind me (I hope).  It just makes sense to keep it excercised during the winter months.

(nibbler wrote:   Others have had a lot of success with fillng the gas tank to the brim but they tend to "store" it for one year. I'm not sure how long the full tank technique would be good for.)

Water is heavier than gas and will settle to the bottom of the tank.  Personally, I don't think I would try this.  Most airplane owners keep their tanks full and then routinely drain water from their specially designed gas tanks when they do their preflight inspections.  We don't have this kind of tank.

Thanks for the input guys.  Also thanks for the heads up about the generator.  I have not run that in quite a while.  But that raises a question for me as I'm not very electrically inclined; how would I provide a load?  The only times we have used it was when there was no power in the house due to a storm.  I guess I could unplug my fridge and plug it into the generator?  Would that provide enough of a load?

Wheels wrote:

If your tank is empty and the carb is drained I wouldn't sweat it.  Condensation can easily evaporate in an empty tank.  If you have condensation with fuel in the tank, the water will sink to the bottom and never evaporate.   I'd go with fogging the engine and turning it over several times with the spark plug out.  That will circulate oil to where's it's need in the engine.  Over-inflate your tires by five lbs. or so, grease where ever there's a fitting.  Open the bottom and spray everything except the friction and drive wheels with a light machine oil.  That will keep things from rusting.  Make sure you cover the friction and drive wheels when spraying around them or near them.  If you cover your machine and keep it indoors, the best thing to use is an old bed sheet to keep the dust off. 

Regarding on how to load your generator.  Plug in a toaster and a hair dryer or some other appliance the draws approx. 1500 watts.  Put about 3000 to 4000 watts load on it.  That will do.

A couple of generator cautions:

1. If you use it to power the house during an outage you must do it through a properly installed transfer switch. This disconnects the outside hydro before connecting the generator. Utilities frown on you back feeding into the grid and electrocuting their employees. If you are just feeding individual appliances by plugging directly into the gen set then you don't have to worry. Connecting the gen set into the house wiring via a stove or dryer type plug is a big no no.;
2. Gasoline storage, stabilization and rotation are the biggest complication in my mind. If you use the gen set regularly then there is no problem, if on the other hand its stored long term for emergency  use then storing the gas becomes important. Is anyone familiar with long term storage of quantities of gas?

Loading up the generator:

I suggest not using a toaster if you plan to run the machine for awhile.  This could be a  possible fire hazard. Toasters are designed to run for very short periods only.   Many irons today are designed to shut down automatically if left in an upright position for around five minutes or so (unless you have lots of ironing, take advantage of the moment and get your household ironing done).  Also, a hair dryer would automatically shut down through a built-in circuit breaker to prevent overheating, after running several minutes of continuous operation. 

I would use an electric heater, or possibly two, to draw around 3,000 watts.  Don't plug any appliance in for at least a few minutes to avoid an initial surge output by the generator.  The surge could hurt your appliances.  Be sure the electric heater(s) are away from anything combustable if outdoors.  Large appliances, like a refridgerator, are a good source to draw a load, yet they are thermostatically controlled and will go on and off (mostly off) over a two hour period.