I've had a Craftsman Snow Thrower for about 4 years. Each year I take it in to be "serviced". Not sure what they do, but afterwards it works fine. I dropped it off tonight and asked the clerk what was the procedure. He replied, "depends on what is wrong".

It's a 2-stroke engine. I don't much about carburetors, but I do know if you leave gas in one, it will eventually coat the insides and cause problems starting.

So my question is, if I siphon/burn all the fuel in the snow thrower and let it sit the summer months, will that be good enough? Do I need to spray the carburetor during the summer months?

Thanks

 

Probably don't need to spray the carb during summer months. Just cover it, try to keep as much dust/dirt out of it as possible. When winter comes, take it out, clean the air filter, spray down the carb with carb cleaner, and check the float. Oh, and pull the spark plug and just shoot it with carb cleaner too and maybe a wire brush to clean it. Also, be sure you're not storing it with any fuel in the tank. I'm guessing you have to use 2 stroke oil/gas mix to run it (guessing its not oil injected that is.) If that's the case, the oil will separate if you leave it long enough and gum up everything.

 

I know a guy on another forum that does this stuff for a living. I'll post up your question and respond back with his reponse.

 

Draining isn't necessarily a good thing. Not only will doing so expose bare metal to moisture, leading to corrosion, what little fuel remain could gum up jets and orifices in the carb. I mix Sta-Bil in the fuel at the end of each season and have yet to run into starting problems the next season.

 

^ Agree. I like to fill up the tank and add Sta-Bil to the fuel run it for a while to make sure the fuel with the additive gets into the carb. on my jetski and lawn mower for the different seasons i will do the Sta-Bil in the fuel, then will take the plug out and spray some fogging oil into the cyl and crank it over a few times and reinstall the plug. All set for spring!

 

I wouldn't bother servicing it every year. Just change the oil, and siphon the fuel when you are done with it for the year. Like others have stated, I use stabil, I add it to the gas can rather than putting it in the blower. I just siphon out the extra but I don't run it dry, I leave whatever is in the lines stay. I just used it over the weekend for the first time in almost a year, and it started right up.

 

i take most of the fuel out and store it. I know better but i don't use stabil, prob out of pure laziness.

 

We just roll ours into the shed. It's a Honda though

 

I just put a new carburetor on my ten year old Honda. It would only run with the choke completely open. I'm not consistent about putting stabilizer in it or running all the fuel out, and it got gummed up to the point of being uncleanable last year.

New carb, and it's good for another ten .

 

I've got a Honda mower at my rental property that I honestly use about 2 times a year, and it fires up on the first pull, I never do a lick of maintenance on it. Maybe there's some design feature that prevents gumming or evaporation.

 

Here's what my small engine repair professional has to say:

What really happens is the gas evaporates out leaving just the oil.
Most manufacturers recommend that you drain the fuel and run it dry at the end of every season. Refer to your owners manual for the specifics.


and

About the only other thing to do, would be to spray exposed metal with WD40.
Again, it is spelled out in owners manuals. Each machine may differ a bit.
Most owners manuals are available on the manufacturers websites if you have the model number and serial number. I get the Toro manuals off the web all the time. for example: Toro S-620 is actually model number 38165 and has a serial number that identifies the model year like...0007611.
Craftsmans are available just as easy. In some cases if you have the engine model number you can get information from the engine manufacturer that is more complete and often will include exploded parts diagrams and parts lists.
I have found that a few makers are difficult to find info because they were bought and sold so many times.


But in general, a good cleaning, draining fuel, and lubricating will always help.
During the season, the use of a small amount of isopropyl alcohol in the fuel will help reduce moisture. About 1/4 ounce per gallon is plenty. The is a very common usage in 2 stroke snowmobiles. Commonly sold as "Heet" in the red bottle.

 

Thanks for the info.