Snowblower – Off-season storage process

A joke about not putting the snow blowers away yet got me to thinking. What do you do to yours prior to offseason storage? I hear so many different thought on offseason storage – I cant decide what to do to my new one ( Never had a snow blower before )
Is it best to just add a stabilizer and fill the full. Or am I better off just draining the gas from the tank and then starting it and let it run till it runs out of gas. Some people say you don’t want to leave a tank dry as it will cause things to dry out and crack – Not sure if that is true.

Treat it just like any other engine you would “winterize.” If you’re already using ethanol-free fuel, then stabilizer isn’t necessary. I try to run mine dry but I’m not going to do that just yet!

Ethanol free fuel in all my small engines. 1oz. Of seafoam per gallon in the tank and run it for 10 minutes then good to go all season

Yeah… use non-oxy gas and don’t do anything else.

Change the oil every once in awhile…

I put in stabilized fuel (I always add stabilizer since you never know when the last snowfall will be) and store with stabilized fuel. I fog it (probably not necessary, but I have a can of fogging oil, and it takes 30 seconds), change the oil, and hit any grease zerks with fresh grease.

I realize I am an oddball, but my Ariens is going on 10 years old and has never seen anything but regular 87-octane (w/ ethanol!). It’s never had so much as a hiccup.

I’m currently using non -oxy / Ethanol Free gas in it. I may add a little seafoam ( Have it laying around ) Run it for a short time and turn it off. Is it a good idea to close the fuel shutoff?

Closing the fuel valve is fine

I add some seafoam, run it a bit then close the fuel valve and run it out of gas. Then I spray some fogging oil in the plug hole and turn it over a few times. Put the plug back in and call it good. I’ve done this too many years with no problems to consider anything else. Oh yea. change the oil.

My craftsman (cheep machine) just finished it’s 21st year. I have changed the oil once and never changed the plug. It gets regular 87 octane every time and all I do is run it out of gas every spring. Starts every fall on the second pull…some times third.

I do the same thing with my lawn mower and never any issues.

If you are in an area that uses salt heavy like I am I do the following. I rinse the entire machine with my hose. Allow it to dry. Run it a but. Then grease all zerts. I change my oil either every year or every other depending on how much it got used. Same with the spark plug and fuel filter. Then I take out in the yard, when good and dry and spray the snow collecting feed auger and housing with a good aerosol protectant oil and let drain. This inhibits any rust from age of paint or scratches/abuse from gravel etc. I have an MTD 27 inch with Techumsa 4 stroke that is over 20 years old. Only thing ever replaced has been the skids, belts, and the electric start. Runs like a champ still. Starts easy. I always use a fuel stabilizer like Sea Foam or that blue StarTron stuff I put in my boat, and run it. Not a fan of Stabil. It is also a good idea to run the machine during the warm months from time to time. This will keep your carb gaskets, etc. from drying out and cracking. Has worked for me for many years.

Common sense would say that if there is no fuel in the system that there is no fuel to go bad or cause carb varnish…

Agree, but a dry carburator will eventually fail you.

I’d pick up enough oil to change the oil, getting the comparable weight [10-30, 5-30, 5-20, whatever the manufacture recommends] in a full synthetic oil. Run it until its warm so you can drain the oil, then re-fill using the synthetic.

If you have a fuel shut-off, shut it off if you have non oxy in the tank, after changing the oil. If the tank is less than half-full, fill it with non-oxy that has some stabil or seafoam added to the gas you fill with.

Check your owners manual for any grease zerks you need to fill and do so using the appropriate grease. Your manual will tell you what grade of grease to use.

When I’m doing doing the above I park it out of the way and cover it with an old bed sheet to keep dust and other crap off it. Next fall, before you actually need it, turn the fuel bac an and start it, letting it run for ten minutes at about 1/2 to 3/4 throttle. Then you’re good to go.

I got a neighbor that runs his mower out of gas in the fall and his blower in the spring. Sometimes they run for over an hour. The other neighbors and my wife get annoyed. Doesn’t bother me a bit. We’ve been here over 30 years. I think it is funny that it has developed into this yearly ritual.

For what it’s worth, I through some Stabil in the snowblower, boat, chainsaw, whatever, and call it good. 25 yr old snowblower (Arens) still starts on the 2nd pull. 12 yr old Yamaha 90 HP fired up last week on the river, 1st try.

Change oil. Top off with non-oxy fuel. Skip the treatment stuff and opt to start the blower once a month and let it run for 15 minutes or so.

Okay for me the last 10 years…I only used my snow blower three times. That old Toro is loud, clunky, and starts every time though. Wish my gas auger was a Toro…LOL.

Don’t ask my why, just seem like I didn’t get enough snow to really snow blow. Every end of season I run the gas dry…well, I will just leave it this year and run it a few times over the summer I guess.

I agree with always using non-oxy and still use 1oz of seafoam per gallon when storing. I also turn the fuel shutoff valve and let the engine run until it drains out of the lines/carb and keep the tank 3/4 full.

From these responses, one can conclude that it really doesn’t matter what you do.

I always thought if you “run it out of gas” there’s still some gas left in the bowl. Iowaboy, am I right?

I run the 91 octane non-oxygenated stuff, and once a month i drag it out of the garage and run it for a while. In other words, I don’t “put it away” for the summer. I run everything. The auger, the leaf blower, etc. It’s been working out OK for me

S.R.

Steve Root wrote:

I always thought if you “run it out of gas” there’s still some gas left in the bowl. Iowaboy, am I right?

Only a tiny amount. I’d say less than a CC. Whatever is left will evaporate harmlessly.

What I’ve done for 20 years across multiple mowers, snowblowers etc..

1. If they have a shutoff valve, shut it and run engine until it quits.

2. Fill tank with gas and add recommend dose of Stabil.

3. Change the oil.

4. Wash machine thoroughly,. Very important with snowblowers to remove salt.

5. Start and run a snowblower at least once during the summer.

Never had any issues with starting the machine when following this process.

Grouse

What do I do prior to storing my snowblower prior to storing for the off-season? Remove the lithium ion batteries. That’s it. Drop them back in when the snow flies again 8 mo’s from now.

Steve Root wrote:

I run the 91 octane non-oxygenated stuff, and once a month i drag it out of the garage and run it for a while. In other words, I don’t “put it away” for the summer. I run everything.

Steve, do you run your lawn mower in the winter too??

I agree that running these “seasonal” engines are a good idea but I would like to see someone fire up their lawn mower in January.

I have an Airens lawn mower with a Kohler engine on it. It’s tough to turn over when it’s hot out. In January, I’m scared I’m going to break something trying to start it. Pulls very hard. So no, the mower sits there. On the other hand, since I went to using the 91 octane stuff it seems to pop off after two or three pulls once it warms up.

S.R.

do nothing, by the time the S hits the F, it will be time for a new one. they claim there are so many additives in fuel, no stabilizer is necessary.