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

Most Common Damage Done to any and all snowblowers is NOT preparing the engine and machine for the summer months.  The most necessary part of this is to prevent the unused engines one engine piston rings from rusting themself to the cylinder wall.  The solution is simple and easy if you posess the tools and the technical know how to change a spark plug.    Go to a local drugstore and buy a plastic syringe, tell them you need it to feed liquid medicine to a sick cat.  Then go home and remove the spark plug from the engine on your snowblower.  Fill the syringe with ordinary clean fresh motor oil, and empty it into the engine cylinder, then pull the starter cord a few times to distribute the oil on the cylinder walls and the piston rings, then  replace the spark plug.  Now Pull the cord slowly until it provides the maximum resistance, and then stop pulling.  This will effectively have closed all the engine valves and will keep the warm moist air of summer from getting into the engine cylinder.  This must be done every year once the threat of snow is gone.  April Fool's Day is a good day to remember if you've done such chores.

The other things are less important since they will not be so damaging, but drain all the gas out of the tank, the carburetor, and the lines.  Cover the machine with a plastic cover that allows air movement, like a piece of woven plastic or most housewraps, so long as yoy store the snowblower in a garage and out of the sun.  

Remember that snowblowers have no air filters so it is common for moisture-water to be injested during a snow storm.  For this reason I put the machine in the garage and run it until the gas runs out once I have shut off the fuel line.  My old snowblower required that I install an In-Line fuel shut-off valve because the $ 1100.00 bucks I paid wasn't sufficient for MTD to have included one when they built my Sears Craftsman Snowblower.  So if your engine has no fuel shut off, you too should install one yourself.    Oh, and always use gas that has sufficient fuel stabilizer in it, and always use fuel that is less thyan six months in the can even if it does have stabilizer in it.  Thenattempting to start the snowblower when you awake to the blizzard won't throw you into a state of panic.

New_Yorker, you're right, snow blowers do operate in a different environment, and I'm sure they do ingest some of the snow that's in the air. But, at the same time, the combustion chamber is awfully hot. I have to expect that any moisture that gets sucked in, even if it's just as you're shutting down, boils off/evaporates very quickly, and doesn't hang around. Moisture that comes in during storage, especially if outdoors in a damp environment, with the engine's valves/ports open, may be a different story, of course. Though my experience (for what it's worth) hasn't shown any problems from that.

I realize you're just helping to clarify what's in the manuals. And I'd agree there's no harm in doing it. I'd add a fuel shutoff to my machine if it didn't already have one. I will be adding a fuel filter, since that strikes me as another very inexpensive way to avoid problems caused by a piece something in your gas, which could leave you with a dead machine during a blizzard. If the plastic Tecumseh Snow King tanks (for, say, the 8 hp engines) have built-in fuel filters, that would be good to know, before I add one myself.

But I think there are a number of other fairly-easy aspects of snowblower maintenance (besides oiling the cylinders) which will also help make the machine last longer. Such as lubricating the appropriate parts of the machine, spinning the augers on the shaft (with the shear bolts removed) every once in a while to ensure they haven't rusted in-place (ideally also greasing them, if possible), replacing the scraper bar and skid shoes before they wear out and you start grinding away the underside of the bucket, etc.

aa335 wrote:

You read my mind

I would think that one reason that marine engines need to be fogged is because most engine are in a fairly closed and confined space.  Either below decks or under an engine cover that is exposed to the bilge area.  Unless the bilge area is kept completely dry the whole time the boat is in storage.  The engine will be sitting in a damp, trapped air space environment.  With no air movement.  Condensation is also a real issue.  Cold steel surrounded by warm moist air will condensate like crazy.  Just some thoughts.

If fogging small engines was really important.  Then lawn mower engines should be fogged as well.  They spend most of their lives sitting. 
There is never any moisture in an engine cylinder after it has been running and then shut down.  It doesn't really matter how much snow it may have sucked in.  The heat from the engine will vaporize any snow or moisture that may have entered. 

" Most Common Damage Done to any and all snowblowers is NOT preparing the engine and machine for the summer months. "

The above quote from New Yorkers opening statement is what I find comical. 

"Most Common Damage" in particular, is not only comical, it's wrong.  From what I've seen, I'd say it's the least common source of engine damage because in all of my years of working on numerous small engines, I've never come across it.  On the contrary, overheating from blocked ventilation/cooling systems and running engines with low or no oil  likely claim far more engines than not oiling cylinders for storage.  

You have to excuse me.  I have a short fuse when I see people issuing  dire warnings for marginal concerns. 

  

I would agree, it isn't the "most common damage".  There is nothing wrong with fogging an engine if a person feels compelled to do so.  But the way his statement is worded it makes it sound as if there is a real reason and need to do so.  Secondly, unless your engine has a cast iron bore (Honda's are, but most are not ).  The only parts that can even develop rust are the rings themselves.  The cylinder walls are aluminum and so are the pistons. 

What exactly is "fogging" an engine?

I thought the Tecumseh Snow King engines had cast-iron bores? At least the 8hp, L-head versions, which are the only ones I'm familiar with. Those engines seem to have been used on an awful lot of machines. I'm not saying that necessitates fogging, just that I thought cast-iron bores were somewhat common.

And borat, you're right, checking/changing the oil is such a simple thing, but I doubt it happens very often for a lot of machines. I've been using Mobil 1 5W-30 in mine (aforementioned Snow King 8hp L-head), but I don't know if that's the best option out there.

I have never done an fogging or adding oil to the cylinder on an OPE engine prior to long term storage.  Never had any rust issues.  Just stored the engine by slowly pull the starter until the valves are closed. 

Most of my OPE engine problems are carb, fuel line, fuel filter related issues.  Dirty fuel, fuel left in carburetor too long, etc...

The dreaded "failure to oil the cylinder" and another all time favourite "water condensation in the oil scourge"   are two of the most over used dire engine warning threats that the ignorant and those with OCD constantly flog. 

It's tiresome to read about these "imminent engine destroyers" over and over when in reality, the possibility from either is negligible.   What annoys me most is that the people who post such warnings obviously have little or no mechanical experience.  If they did, they wouldn't be issuing such nonsense. 

By the way, RedOct is correct.  There are a lot of engines out there with cast iron cylinders.  Some in snow blower applications and many in other OPE.  Many B&S Snow engines are Kool Bore with aluminum bore but there are also some B&S Snow engines that have cast bores.  Pretty much all of the Chinese engines have cast bores as well.

In making this statement I was only meaning it to refer to snowblowers engines.   "Secondly, unless your engine has a cast iron bore (Honda's are, but most are not )"
I believe that only some of 8hp and larger engines have cast iron sleeves (could be wrong about that).  And I think that the majority of 4 stroke snowblowers currently in use have smaller engines than that.  Probably 5hp. and some 7s.
On the subject of water in cylinders.
I just yesterday pulled apart a 11hp Honda that had the air cleaner left off.  Water got into the cyl. and sat for a while.  Had to beat the piston out by going in through the hole in the case for the low oil alert sensor.  Run a stainless steel rod through the hole.  Position it on the bottom of the rod cap and hit it with a hammer.  Not how it's usually done, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
Had to take the rings out in pieces with a fabricated tool they were absolutely glue into the grooves.