For those us that can't run our motors year round how do you winterize? I have always run the carb outta gas and change the oil. Some say to leave gas in the carb so gaskets don't dry out. I have never had an issue with this on any of my small engines, I do the same with the outboards,generators,lawnmower, etc etc I run 93 octane with no ethanol in everything. Just wondering what everyone else thinks on this. Leave them full or dry?

Stabil, and it's best if you at least go out and start the motor every couple of weeks.


Though, I just sold my 24hp honda longtail. I took it off the boat a year ago, ran the gas out of it and stored it. Today it started right up, smoked a little but cleared up after a minute and good to go.

My motor will sit for 5 1/2-6 months before it will see water again. Starting it every now and then isn't a bad idea but i'm not dragging a battery through 3+ feet of snow to the back shed in sub zero weather to start the motor.

come on goose what are you complaining about dragging a battery back to the shed i mix my fuel with about 3x as much stabil then is recomended on the last tank run it for awhile to get the stabil in to everything i also leave enough fuel to run up to temp in the can and bring a jump pack out and start it every 2 to 3 weeks smokes alittle with all that stabil in it but hell its been working in all my stuff i even run stiff amount of stabil in my truck if im not going to be running it more then a week just my .02 worth

Everything I’ve read and been told; pound the gas with the ethanol stabil treatment , then run the engine for awhile then disconnect the fuel line letting the engine run dry. Then go pour that gas in your truck. We’ve had issues up here in the northeast with small and marine engines and the crap ethanol gas we have to run. I believe there is a thread already around ethanol, so I won’t elaborate on the potential issues with leaving gas unused for any length of time. I’m guessing you have to deal with the some of the same weather we have here in Central NY and swing’s in temperatures which equate water and condensation with ethanol exacerbating the whole problem. I’m storing mine drained and dry.

i have heard of seals drying out before when running the carb dry. for the winter i will run stabil in my engine for the last 15 to 20 minutes of running the engine. shut off the fuel. wait till she cools down, pull the plug, pour a tablespoon of oil into the cylinder and hand crank it a time or two then put the plug back. wont fire it back up till thaw out.

i use sea foam in my gas and use fogging oil like you would a boat motor, then i drain the carb bowl. I love sea foam "i put that sh*t in everything"!

[quote="garjacker"]i use sea foam in my gas and use fogging oil like you would a boat motor, then i drain the carb bowl. quote]


Stupid question................can someone show me what the carb bowl looks like? Like I said, stupid question

its the bottom of the carb, four screws hold it on!

Thought that was a gurgle call

It also makes me really really hungry for doritos

Use it for a snow blower.

Since this is coming up for me now, I'm going to resurrect this thread. I read in the Briggs manual to just use stabilizer (I add Stabil Marine Ethanol treatment everytime I fill up) and NOT to run it dry.

Change oil to get rid of acid.

I was also thinking of pulling plus and fogging each cylinder.

Then just spraying down external parts with WD-40 with White Lithium grease.

Any other advice of what has worked well and what has not??

Nothin?

You could always take the motor off the boat and stick it inside the house

Just crank it once or twice a month and let run for 10-15 mins.

I gonna need a hell of a lot of wire.

6 gals of premium non-ethanol and a full can of sea foam. Start it up once a month and let it run for 15 min after warming up and at various rpms.

Don't forget to shake the can!