Safely Storing a Snowblower/Lawnmower

[braumeister]

New gas with 10% ethanol goes bad quicker, and can cause corrosion in the small passages in the carb.

When I owned a car that ran on pure ethanol (in Brazil) many parts of the carburetor were nickel plated for this reason. IIRC the fuel line hoses were also made of a special kind of rubber. Not something to be taken lightly.

 

[Jerry1]

Yes this is what I do. All of my small engines run premium with no ethanol. Never had an issue with bad gas after over-wintering or over summering. Snowblower is in garage in the winter along with several other Stihl gas powered tools. No issues.

Same here. It’s not easy to get here as very few places sell non-ethanol gas, but I’m lucky enough to have a station about 5 miles away. If I could not get access to non-ethanol gas, I would most certainly use STA-BIL.

About 5 years ago when I was deciding on a new snow blower, I was asking a guy about which models have the best reliability. He said that really, they’re all good. But then he said, that about the only repair work he does is cleaning out the carburetors when people leave untreated gas in them over the summer. He further commented that the newer emission standards have caused the manufactures to significantly reduce the size of the opening in the orifice which makes it more susceptible to clogging. Anyway, I run my snowblower dry. My lawn equipment, I just rely on the use of non-ethanol gas and all seems to be working well.

 

[mountainsoft]

1. SNOWBLOWER: It doesn't snow in New Orleans. Actually I have never even seen a snowblower in real life.

2. LAWNMOWER: I have a lawn guy who brings his own equipment, so I do not own a lawnmower or edger any more. He mows and edges, and this costs me an average of $24/week. He does the same for numerous others in the neighborhood as well. Mowing lawns is not just an occasional income boost for him; it is his sole occupation and has been so for decades.

Snowblowers are rare in my area too. I had never seen one till I special ordered one. We live up on a mountain and often get snow when the low landers have nothing. Now that my wife is mostly working from home, there won't be that urgency to get out when a snow storm hits. So I suspect I won't bother clearing our long driveway unless it's a major storm.

As for the lawn, I still enjoy mowing our own yard. It's an excuse to get outside and get some exercise, as well as an opportunity to enjoy our property. I switched to EGO battery powered tools, so I don't need to store gas and oil except for the tiller and snowblower.

A few years ago when my mom had a stroke, I asked for quotes from a couple of places to mow my mom's yard (her house was two hours away from here). She had a double-lot on the outskirts of her town and I had quotes over $200 per week. Ouch. It was cheaper for me to load the mower in the trailer and make the drive over once a week to mow the yard myself. It only took about 30-40 minutes to mow her yard. Thankfully we sold her house.

Unfortunately, we still have to mow my mother-in-law's yard every week or two. But my EGO mower, string trimmer, and leaf blower all fit nicely in the back of my car.

 

[FDC319]

Interesting note- Briggs and Stratton recommends filling the gas tank before storage for prolonged periods.

"Top off the fuel tank before storing.
Filling the tank helps prevent moisture from condensing in your fuel tank, and stops rust and scale before it starts.
Before you fill up add STA-BIL Storage, according to package directions. After adding the treated fuel to the fuel tank, run your mower for a few minutes so the stabilized fuel circulates through the engine's fuel system."

The shop that sold me my Ariens snowblower recommended the same for the same reasons.

Ethanol free, but still treated gas. The blue 360 Marine Stabil is pretty good and there is an Ethanol free station within 10 miles of me.

I keep my Generac generator and Ariens snowblower full, but typically run my cheap lawnmower with a B&S engine out of gas each year and leave the tank open with a paper towel stuffed in to prevent junk from getting in--still starts first pull.

As far as storage, I have a generator, snowblower, lawnmower, about 12 extra gallons of gas in cans, camping fuel, a whole bunch of ammunition in cans, lubricants for my vehicle--oh, and my vehicle in the garage.

 

[marko]

Interesting note- Briggs and Stratton recommends filling the gas tank before storage for prolonged periods.

"Top off the fuel tank before storing.
Filling the tank helps prevent moisture from condensing in your fuel tank, and stops rust and scale before it starts.
Before you fill up add STA-BIL Storage, according to package directions. After adding the treated fuel to the fuel tank, run your mower for a few minutes so the stabilized fuel circulates through the engine's fuel system."

Thanks all for the input!
On the subject of "keep the tank filled or empty", several years ago my blower wouldn't start after sitting there all summer; I had emptied the gas in the spring.

The mechanic had to rebuild the carb and told me to keep gas in the tank. He felt that the 'wet' gas helped keep things clean vs a dry carb allowed varnish build up.

Not sure if his theory was correct, but ever since I've never had a problem with storing with some gas in the tank and it seems the only time I did was when I drained the gas. YMMV

 

[street]

As far as storing, like everyone said, it is fine in garage all winter. I run carburetor dry in the fall on mowers and do the same for the snow blower in the spring. I do use some Seafoam in gas towards the end on of seasons thou and using the highest octane gas you can buy. Running them dry has been good for me. I have mowers and snow blower that are over 35 years old now and still run and work great.
Engine care is the most critical thing for longevity of this sort of equipment.