In My Opinion
By Don Arndt
Get ready
Looks like winter is finally coming to our community. So, among all the other stuff we do and don’t have time for, I need to add one more thing to that list. That lawn mower you are getting ready to put in the barn and forget about till spring really needs your attention. Every year people go out the first nice day in the spring, wipe the dust off the old machine and it won’t start. A common phrase I’ve heard over the years is, “I don’t understand, it was fine when parked it!”
The problem can usually be one of two things or both. The battery is dead, so you get it that taken care of. Now that being charged or replaced; now it turns over but will not run. It won’t run because the carburetor is full of bad gas and/or gas that have turned to varnish. I’ve cleaned/rebuilt a truck load of them over the years for people and it is really unnecessary if you’ll do one simple thing before turning off the engine the last time in the fall. Add a little of a product called “sta-bil” or “Sea Foam” to the tank. Then run it for 5 minutes before shutting it down. Put it away and you’ll be good to go next spring. For keeping gas alive over winter my favorite is still Sta- bil, but there are lots of similar products out there.
And about that little battery. Buy a battery tender or sometimes called battery minder and put on it for the winter. These are really low charging devises that are meant to just keep a battery rather than charge one after it’s down. They are very inexpensive, but they can really save the thing. With a little care sometimes you can squeeze three years out of the little guys.
While I’m on lawn mowers, I will say again, don’t use any gas with ethanol in it. Weed eaters, chainsaws and small engines don’t like it. It turns gas lines and gaskets into a useless mush and causes carburetors to need cleaned and kitted. Just my opinion. Merry Christmas to all!
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