The winter season ended with a rather full tank of gas in my snow blower.

Rather than drain the gas, someone gave me advice to let it run 5 minutes
every month, to avoid problems, which I have been doing.

Today, another friend saw this and said, the gas will "varish" or crystize
in my tank if I don't drain it out, and run it dry.

So it my running it 5 minutes a month adequate to avoid problems? Or do I
really need to drain it and run it dry?

Thanks

Bill wrote:
The winter season ended with a rather full tank of gas in my snow blower.

Rather than drain the gas, someone gave me advice to let it run 5 minutes
every month, to avoid problems, which I have been doing.


And it continues to run fine, right? That will suffice. Add some
Stabil to the tank.

Gas deteriorates after 30 days, so why keep poor gas when in winter you
want the best to be sure it runs first pull. Best is drain and run dry.
Also snow blowers have little cooling to be run in summer.

There are two theories.

1 - Add stabilizer and keep it full of gas, because if you drain it, it
will cause gaskets to dry out

2 - Run it till its dry

Personally, I'd RTFM.

m Ransley wrote:
Gas deteriorates after 30 days,

That's funny. Mine still works after six months or more without any
addatvies.

so why keep poor gas when in winter
you want the best to be sure it runs first pull. Best is drain and
run dry. Also snow blowers have little cooling to be run in summer.

I do agree your procedure is the best solution, you can use the gas
still on hand and in the tank by adding it to your car's tank up to a gallon
at a time to a nearly full tank.

Actually gas starts deteriorating the day it is refined. No noticeable
deterioration usually shows up before 6-12 months and it may be usable long
after that.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Funny, ok laugh, then read a Sthil or Evinrude manual, 30 days is their
recommendation not mine, so not so funny. Reason is gas in the carb
starts to varnish, and new formulations are less stabil to time then gas
of old. So a year or so later you may be asking your self why you need a
carb rebuild when the unit is only a few years old. Sure it will run
fine, but buildup occurs , slowly, and continues till one day it is an
expensive issue. Ive done both but feel safer not messing with a
snowblower at 15f and not taking a chance. My boat motor is an 83, and
it started this year again first crank. But you can if you wish believe
the Stabil Co instead, their way will work, but not as well.

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 21:27:46 GMT, "Bill" wrote:

The winter season ended with a rather full tank of gas in my snow blower.

Rather than drain the gas, someone gave me advice to let it run 5 minutes
every month, to avoid problems, which I have been doing.

Today, another friend saw this and said, the gas will "varish" or crystize
in my tank if I don't drain it out, and run it dry.

So it my running it 5 minutes a month adequate to avoid problems? Or do I
really need to drain it and run it dry?

Thanks

=====================================
For the last 4 or 5 years I have been draining the gasoline and
running the snow blower until it stops.... Prior to that I had Carb
problems even when adding stabilizer, almost every single season...

However to answer you question (running it every month) should work
just fine .... .

BUT again thats a lot more work ...( 6 or 7 months of starting and
shutting it down) Plus remembering to do it....

I just think it would be much easier to drain the gas and be done with
it...

The snow blower(s) are the only machine I ever had problems with
when storing... Lawn Tractors never gave me any problem...and I store
5 Cars every winter ( with tanks 1/4 to 1/2 filled plus stablizer)
without any issues... Guess the driving and grass cutting sesason
is longer then the snow blowing season...THANK GOD !

Bob G

I'd recommend running it until its dry. Make sure that when it starts
to sputter and die that you move it to full choke to get as much gas
out of the carb's bowl as possible.

Depending on how crazy you are about your tools (I am) I drop the bowl
to clean it out (dirt and extra gas left over) reassemble it. If the
gas tank is a steel one, then I spray a light coat of oil into the gas
tank to coat the walls (prevents rust). You can even coat the carb
with
the same spray to prevent rust damage over the years.

If it were long term storage i'd recommend changing the oil if its a 4
cycle and
even throwing some oil into the cylinder to coat the walls (fog it like
a boat engine)

You should also remember to lube up the snowblower as per your owners
manual.
Some require a little move care than others depending on if its a 1 or
2 stage unit.
Single stage units should have their auger belt checked to avoid that
breaking when
it comes to the snow season.

With a bit of maintence these things can last a lifetime.