Winterization and Fuel System Maintenance
Here is a suggestion about caring for your small engine equipment:
About 95 percent of the problems which I encounter with lawn and garden equipment that
will not start up or run properly is directly related to old gas that was left in the
fuel system over the winter. The easiest remedy for this is to use a fuel stabilizer
treatment such as Sta-bil, which can be purchased at almost any auto parts store such
as Auto Zone, Advanced Auto parts, Pep Boys, or somewhere such as Wal-Mart, Lowes,
Home Depot or any other place that sells small engine equipment. I highly recommend
using a fuel stabilizer ALL the time! This is partly but primarily because today's
gasoline has a very short life span of only about a month do to the ethanol that is
mixed in with it. The ethanol has a very short life span and in a period of about two
weeks begins to break down. It then corrodes and deteriorates the internal parts of
the carburetor. I have read in some literature where it states that gas is only good
for approximately two weeks before it starts going bad. Right now the amount of
ethanol in our gas is 10 percent. However, the rumor is that they are going to
increase to 15 percent. This will cause even more problems.
