Gotta love ethanol free gas

EMSimon said:

Because they are being told or have read somewhere that fuel goes bad after a while. So, they follow the instructions of some other halfwit to get rid of all the gas before they store the unit and run it dry (so they think).
You are speaking in past tense about your Lawnboy, which makes me believe this all happened before we had ethanol in gas.

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It has been a while since we had the Lawnboy. It's also hard to remember exactly how the timeline runs as far as when, in our ownership experience, that ethanol was introduced to automotive fuels. I imagine the Lawnboy started life without the benefits of alcohol in the gasoline but I'm more than certain that it didn't finish life with that advantage. We were just amazed it lasted as long as it did. We do have a relatively small yard. I can mow and edge in about 50 minutes so it's not like the mower had a tough life all things considered.

You didn't answer my question though. How does running all the fuel out of the mower before storing it for the winter damage anything? I agree, the fuel will go sour over time unless it's treated but I don't see how storing it dry for one season poses any problems?

Again, just wondering?

Ride Safe,
Steve R.

There has to be an additive to achieve correct anti-knock properties, i.e. octane. You're simply not going to get to premium-level octane without one.

Ethanol is a good one.

Lead's illegal.

Be curious what is used in so-called ethanol-free gasoline these days.

Ethanol free for small engines-
This is the ready to go versions for small, in this case, 2-stroke engines. http://www.vp-sef.com/index.php/products/pro-max
The local Fire Departments have gone to this as it has a much better shelf life without the harmful effects of ethanol.
I'm mixing my own out of their Racing Fuel Catalog. Higher octane and no ethanol are a couple of key ingredients to making engines I have happy- especially after a winter of much less use.
OM

srhodes13 said:

You didn't answer my question though. How does running all the fuel out of the mower before storing it for the winter damage anything? I agree, the fuel will go sour over time unless it's treated but I don't see how storing it dry for one season poses any problems?

Again, just wondering?

Ride Safe,
Steve R.

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Because you will not be able to run the carb COMPLETELY dry before the engine stops. You will also not be able to empty the tank COMPLETELY before the engine stops. The small residual amount of gas in the carbs gums up the tiny orifices and the small amount of gas in the tank turns to a nasty mass quicker than a full tank. Drying out seals in the carbs makes them prone to harden and become brittle. That's the main reason, I will not drain carbs on my motorcycles when I store them for the winter. This has proven to work on the most critical bikes, the 6-Cylinder CBXes, where one carb feeds the equivalent of a 175cc cylinder.

EMSimon said:

Because you will not be able to run the carb COMPLETELY dry before the engine stops. You will also not be able to empty the tank COMPLETELY before the engine stops. The small residual amount of gas in the carbs gums up the tiny orifices and the small amount of gas in the tank turns to a nasty mass quicker than a full tank. Drying out seals in the carbs makes them prone to harden and become brittle. That's the main reason, I will not drain carbs on my motorcycles when I store them for the winter. This has proven to work on the most critical bikes, the 6-Cylinder CBXes, where one carb feeds the equivalent of a 175cc cylinder.

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Ok, cool, that makes sense. I've never lived anywhere else but the Texas Gulf Coast. We ride twelve months out of the year so winterizing a motorcycle isn't something I've ever had to worry about. As for the lawn mower, probably the longest it ever sat idle was maybe two months? From spring through fall, we generally mow weekly, sometimes twice a week if we get enough rain. That hasn't been a problem this year! Many people do a touch up of the yard every one to two months during the "winter" season. Either way, our lawnmowers don't get much down time so your explanation probably doesn't apply to us around here although it does make sense if the engine is going to sit over double that time. Thanks for the clarification!

Ride Safe,
Steve R.