Lawnmower oil change question

[cheezmunky]

Don't think so. 10% ethanol is 10% ethanol. If a station is using an ethanol blend, all their gas should have the same percentage of ethanol. And the storage of it over the winter is nothing to worry about. I do it every year, always have, zero problems, and everyone I know does, too.

Heck, my old Jeep sat over 5 years, and I got it running with the same gas that had been in the tank all that time. It stunk....smelled like old gas, but it ran and didn't hurt a damn thing.

Way, way over-blown is this gas storage thing.

But as I mentioned in my earlier post, if it makes you feel better, it's not going to hurt if you want to put some stabilizer in the tank. It's not needed, but it won't hurt.

That isn't true in my area. 87 and 89 are ethanol blends whereas 91 is ethanol free. I've never run into a problem regardless because I run the mower empty and dump the rest of the can into my car at the end of the season.

My brother, on the other hand, worked in a lawn mower/small engine repair shop from 2000-2010 and the number one cause of problems they saw at the beginning of each season was caused by ethanol in gas. When someone would bring in their mower that didn't run the first thing he'd do is empty the gas into a clear glass and look for water. The majority of the time they'd find water, fill the tank with new gas and it would run fine. A lot of the time in the older mowers it would also wreak havoc on carburetors and fuel lines that weren't meant for ethanol.

Of course, YMMV and it seems like you've been lucky and never seen a problem. I'm just trying to share the experience of someone who worked on hundreds of small engines a year.

 

[JoeyP]

Last run of the year: I fill tank with gas with properly measured amounts of stabil and star tron. Mow lawn one last time. Top off tank with premixed gas (containing those additives) and run fogger through carb until it stalls. Remove plugs, spray plug ends and into cylinder with fogger. Hand tighten plugs, spark wire removed.

In spring, I crank engine as-is to get oil pump pushing oil without any chance of starting. Tighten plugs, connect spark plug wires, start with low RPM. Let it get all the smoke out. Shut down, change oil and oil filter.

 

[BUTCH1]

OP, change it now. Look in your owners manual for the recommended change intervals, small engines are air cooled and are VERY tough on oil, they run hotter than a water cooled engine. In 2004 (year of the hurricanes) those who were lucky enough to get a generator, lot of 'em got ruined by not changing the oil, they had a small engine repair shop on TV one day, his whole back lot was filled with Genny's that had blown engines, people forgot to buy oil and change it so they ran for weeks 24/7 without changing the oil until the motor quit. The guy from the shop also said none were gonna be covered by warranty as the owners failed to read the manual and change to oil..

 

[jagec]

actually, yeah.

http://www.fairwaylawns.com/blog/bi...-to-Prevent-Ethanol-Damage-To-Your-Lawn-Mower

I stopped reading when they said that fuel will separate into three phases in enough time: gasoline, ethanol, and water.

Yeah, that's how I make moonshine: Leave beer out and keep skimming the pure ethanol off the top.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Last run of the year: I fill tank with gas with properly measured amounts of stabil and star tron. Mow lawn one last time. Top off tank with premixed gas (containing those additives) and run fogger through carb until it stalls. Remove plugs, spray plug ends and into cylinder with fogger. Hand tighten plugs, spark wire removed.

In spring, I crank engine as-is to get oil pump pushing oil without any chance of starting. Tighten plugs, connect spark plug wires, start with low RPM. Let it get all the smoke out. Shut down, change oil and oil filter.

Good grief.. Please tell me this is a $4000 Cub Cadet zero turn mower you're doing this to.

I've changed the oil 2 times in 9 years on a Honda pushmower I have. It doesn't have an air filter as it didn't come with one when I bought it as is clearance at Walmart. Leave gas sitting all winter with no stabil and it runs like a champ without fail.

 

[sdifox]

I stopped reading when they said that fuel will separate into three phases in enough time: gasoline, ethanol, and water.

Yeah, that's how I make moonshine: Leave beer out and keep skimming the pure ethanol off the top.

just a random article I googled and linked. I heard this on the TV news here but could not be bothered to look up the actual news item.