Winter storage / fuel stabilizer

Darwins Child

I agree 100%. It's a preventive measure.

Over my decades of gas-powered-tool ownership, I have had several spring-times when I had to rebuild lawn-mower carbs on my own and other peoples' engines.

This year I had to take apart the carb on a 13-hp Princess Auto wood chipper
13 HP Chipper/Shredder | Princess Auto
that we've owned for only 3 years. I used the chipper once in the summer of 2015 and didn't need it again until late July of this year to grind up a neighbor's dead birch. Stupidly, I did not add fuel stabilzer to the fuel in the interim.

In short, the engine would not start, so I removed the carb-bowl drain bolt and very little fuel drained out, so I instantly knew what was wrong. The needle valve was stuck closed.

I took apart the carb and, sure enough, the needle and the sides of the body of the valve were coated with enough "gum" so that the valve did not fall from the hole in its doughnut-shaped "seat".

I cleaned the needle and seat; reassembled and installed the carb and, after promising my fearful, skeptical neighbor that I'd run buck naked down the street if the engine did not start in less than 4 pulls, I crossed my fingers, pulled twice, and the engine rose from the dead and ran like new.

For this rarely-used tool, I've now learned to keep stabilizer in its fuel at all times.

Anyway, that was a very easy, perhaps 25-minute job. I can not imagine having to deal with a gummed-up fuel system on our Z, so I want to ensure with absolute certainty that that NEVER happens. And that is why I went through all the terrible "trouble" (which was really not one bit of trouble) I described above.

As you can see from the photo below, our fantastic Z has been ensconced in its winter storage position in our garage since the day of the V-power fill-up. (You can see the green chipper on the right, the back-pack leaf and snow blowers in their winter, at-the-ready position on the left, as well as the intelligent battery charger sitting on the B&D workmate bench keeping the Z's battery at peak condition.) I have absolutely no doubt that come April or May the Z's engine will also rise from the dead and run perfectly.

To sum up, all of you cold-climate folks who put your Zs into storage for the long winter months, don't bother with all that "stabilizer" crap. Go right ahead and roll the dice, but before you step on that brake and press that start button in the spring, make the sign of the cross, keep your fingers crossed and put your mouth in exactly the right configuration. THOSE are the real keys to a smooth-running engine!

Attached Images

Z in storage.jpg (136.3 KB, 24 views)

madeinjapan

i cringe when i look at that pic

so many things so close to car

get a cover at least asap