Manual that came with mower reccomends that I run engine till dry.

Briggs and Straton website recommends that I fill gas tank with freash
gas and gas stablizer and store mower that way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Bruce

Bruce K. wrote:

Manual that came with mower reccomends that I run engine till dry.

Briggs and Straton website recommends that I fill gas tank with freash
gas and gas stablizer and store mower that way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Bruce


I store my 4 cycle hand mower (plus various 2 cycle engines) in an
unheated shed over the winter. Between the last mowing in the fall and
the first in spring could be 6 or 7 months. I neither run the mower dry,
nor add stabilizer, and it always starts up in the spring (it may need a
spray of starting fluid the first time). The garden tractor mower is
used all winter with a snow blower attachment, and that is kept in an
unheated, but insulated, attached garage all winter, so that the control
cables don't freeze up.

"Bruce K." wrote in message
...
Manual that came with mower reccomends that I run engine till
dry.

Briggs and Straton website recommends that I fill gas tank with
freash
gas and gas stablizer and store mower that way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I always run them dry, and it's always worked for me.
Condensation might be the reason for filling/stabilizing.

Bob

From what I hear, manufacturers are slowly moving to changing their
recomendations on this.

All used to recomend draining the gas.

Emptying the gas, or putting fresh with stabilizer both server the
purpose of preventing gas from turning into varnish like gunk, but
apparantly keeping the stabilized fuel in the system prevents rubber
seal, hoses and other rubber parts from drying out and cracking.

willshak wrote in message ...
Bruce K. wrote:

Manual that came with mower reccomends that I run engine till dry.

Briggs and Straton website recommends that I fill gas tank with freash
gas and gas stablizer and store mower that way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Bruce


I store my 4 cycle hand mower (plus various 2 cycle engines) in an
unheated shed over the winter. Between the last mowing in the fall and
the first in spring could be 6 or 7 months. I neither run the mower dry,
nor add stabilizer, and it always starts up in the spring (it may need a
spray of starting fluid the first time). The garden tractor mower is
used all winter with a snow blower attachment, and that is kept in an
unheated, but insulated, attached garage all winter, so that the control
cables don't freeze up.


I would change the oil and add stabilizer to the gas. Best way to do
this is to add stabilizer to the last can of gas for the season. That
way, you know there will be stabilizer in the gas whenever the last
mowing happens to be. It's also is a good idea to remove the spark
plug and spray some engine fogging or other light oil in, then crank
it over a few times. That will prevent any rusting inside the
cylinder. If the plug looks diry or is more than a couple years old,
that's a good time to replace it.

Bruce K. wrote:

Manual that came with mower reccomends that I run engine till dry.

Briggs and Straton website recommends that I fill gas tank with freash
gas and gas stablizer and store mower that way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Bruce

You're safe either way with the gas. Just make sure you use stabilizer if
you keep the gas in the tank. If you don't, it may start next season, but
eventually the varnish will build and gunk up the carb.

I'd recommend the other poster's info - adding oil in the spark hole.
Several manufacturers advise this.

Pour 1-2 tablespoons in the hole, replace the plug, and pull the starter
cord a couple of times. When the starter cord hits the most resistance -
STOP, and let go. This means the valves are closed and it's ready to store.

Chet Hayes wrote:

willshak wrote in message ...


Bruce K. wrote:



Manual that came with mower reccomends that I run engine till dry.

Briggs and Straton website recommends that I fill gas tank with freash
gas and gas stablizer and store mower that way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Bruce




I store my 4 cycle hand mower (plus various 2 cycle engines) in an
unheated shed over the winter. Between the last mowing in the fall and
the first in spring could be 6 or 7 months. I neither run the mower dry,
nor add stabilizer, and it always starts up in the spring (it may need a
spray of starting fluid the first time). The garden tractor mower is
used all winter with a snow blower attachment, and that is kept in an
unheated, but insulated, attached garage all winter, so that the control
cables don't freeze up.




I would change the oil and add stabilizer to the gas. Best way to do
this is to add stabilizer to the last can of gas for the season. That
way, you know there will be stabilizer in the gas whenever the last
mowing happens to be. It's also is a good idea to remove the spark
plug and spray some engine fogging or other light oil in, then crank
it over a few times. That will prevent any rusting inside the
cylinder. If the plug looks diry or is more than a couple years old,
that's a good time to replace it.


Yeah, I should do that. After all, that mower has spent 20 winters in
that shed without stabilizer or any other winterizing.

On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 08:25:53 -0400, Bruce K.
wrote:

Manual that came with mower reccomends that I run engine till dry.

Briggs and Straton website recommends that I fill gas tank with freash
gas and gas stablizer and store mower that way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Bruce

In this order, add stabilizer to gas, top off gas to full, run engine
till HOT. ( oil must be hot, could take a while), replace oil with
fresh oil. Run engine again until hot. Top off gas tank again. Done.
Don';t be tempted to start it once in a while. Won't do any good.
if it has an electric starter you might want to hook up the battery to
some battery-maintainer.
Not sure why they want a full tank instead of emptying it. Probably
because it is easier to do ? With metal fuel tanks they usually do it
to prevent rust on the inside of the tank. your mower probably ha sa
plastic tank.
Might also do the sparkplug/oil-spray thing that someone else here
suggested.

Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying

Yeah, I should do that. After all, that mower has spent 20 winters in
that shed without stabilizer or any other winterizing.


Dude, got any lottery tips for me, you are obviously a lucky man if
you have gone 20 years without winterizing and never having any
trouble.. maybe I could just rub your tummy for luck..

rotation slim wrote:

Yeah, I should do that. After all, that mower has spent 20 winters in
that shed without stabilizer or any other winterizing.




Dude, got any lottery tips for me, you are obviously a lucky man if
you have gone 20 years without winterizing and never having any
trouble.. maybe I could just rub your tummy for luck..


I didn't even mention that it still has the original spark plug and air
filter cartridge (I do clean them if I sense the motor isn't running right).
Actually, I'm hoping it dies by itself so I can get a new one with a
little more options. As long as it's still running, I can't justify
spending a few hundred $$$ for a new one.
All in all, for a 20 YO, 22" Craftsman with a 4 HP engine, I have no
complaints.

"rotation slim" wrote in message
om...
Yeah, I should do that. After all, that mower has spent 20 winters in
that shed without stabilizer or any other winterizing.


Dude, got any lottery tips for me, you are obviously a lucky man if
you have gone 20 years without winterizing and never having any
trouble.. maybe I could just rub your tummy for luck..

Much depends on the climate. I never do anything with my mower in Colorado
and I don't know of anyone who does even when storing in a garage that never
gets below freezing. In Minnesota where the temperature may not get much
above freezing all winter I doubt that anyone would have problems.
However, storage in a warm climate is different. I drain all the gas out
of my snowblower and squirt some oil in the cylinder.

"Rein" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 08:25:53 -0400, Bruce K.
wrote:

Manual that came with mower reccomends that I run engine till dry.

Briggs and Straton website recommends that I fill gas tank with freash
gas and gas stablizer and store mower that way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Bruce

In this order, add stabilizer to gas, top off gas to full, run engine
till HOT. ( oil must be hot, could take a while), replace oil with
fresh oil. Run engine again until hot. Top off gas tank again. Done.
Don';t be tempted to start it once in a while. Won't do any good.
if it has an electric starter you might want to hook up the battery to
some battery-maintainer.
Not sure why they want a full tank instead of emptying it. Probably
because it is easier to do ? With metal fuel tanks they usually do it
to prevent rust on the inside of the tank. your mower probably ha sa
plastic tank.
Might also do the sparkplug/oil-spray thing that someone else here
suggested.

Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying

Good advice.

Just curious. Why run the engine to hot after changing the oil? I've never
done it and none of the manuals I've read suggest it for winter (long term)
storage. Just a couple of pulls on the cord should distribute the oil
throughout the engine.

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:34:28 GMT, "Clark Griswold" wrote:

"Rein" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 08:25:53 -0400, Bruce K.
wrote:

Manual that came with mower reccomends that I run engine till dry.

Briggs and Straton website recommends that I fill gas tank with freash
gas and gas stablizer and store mower that way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Bruce

In this order, add stabilizer to gas, top off gas to full, run engine
till HOT. ( oil must be hot, could take a while), replace oil with
fresh oil. Run engine again until hot. Top off gas tank again. Done.
Don';t be tempted to start it once in a while. Won't do any good.
if it has an electric starter you might want to hook up the battery to
some battery-maintainer.
Not sure why they want a full tank instead of emptying it. Probably
because it is easier to do ? With metal fuel tanks they usually do it
to prevent rust on the inside of the tank. your mower probably ha sa
plastic tank.
Might also do the sparkplug/oil-spray thing that someone else here
suggested.

Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying

Good advice.

Just curious. Why run the engine to hot after changing the oil? I've never
done it and none of the manuals I've read suggest it for winter (long term)
storage. Just a couple of pulls on the cord should distribute the oil
throughout the engine.


When you drain the engine oil, there's always some old oil left in it.
By running the engine with new fresh oil, all old oil will get mixed
with the new, and any potential harmful residue will be diluted and
mixed into the 'good' oil. It's extreme, and you can probably get away
with just putting in fresh oil if you store it for just the winter.
However, for longer terms I would do it.

Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying