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[Sweetbay magnolia]

Thank you, @esmerelda , we probably should do that, and probably will (use the Stabil in most, it not every, tank).  

[Susan Louise]

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@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:

OK - run the mower out of gas, then refill with stabilizer added to fresh gasoline.  Run the engine 3-5 minutes to allow the stabilizer to work through the carburetor and the rest of the parts.  Leave a full tank in the mower over the winter.

Start it and run it in the spring.

OMG he just came in to pee and when he went back out the thing started up like a honey.  I swear he just did that to challenge me.

Of course, oil should be checked and air filter clean (we did that last year, also).

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@Sweetbay magnolia   DH does maintanence on our lawn mower every year before we start using it in the Spring. I don't know what he does besides changing the spark plugs and going by what the manual recommends (I just never watched him...LOL). He must be doing everything right because we've used the same walk behind Craftsman lawn mower since the year we were married in 2000.

[Icegoddess]

Before we got married my husband bought me a key-start Troy Bilt push lawn mower because I always had  trouble starting it.  Had nothing to do with how I over-wintered it as it was every time I tried to start it, and it would always start for him.  I just don't have the same pulling power. 

Anyways, we married shortly after that and lawn mowing became his job.  Now, more than 20 years later we are still using that same lawn mower.  It's been through 2 batteries, but we never bought a third one since it starts so easily by just pulling it.  I don't think he does anything special with it in the fall, and the only time he's had to pull it apart and work on it was the one time I tried to help when he was out of town and accidentally put the 2-cycle fuel in the tank (because he didn't label the cans).  Started right up, but didn't go very far.

Now, my little 2-cycle Mantis tiller is a whole different story.  No matter what we do, it doesn't want to start or stay started after it's long winter break.  

[kitcat51]

The service center that does the yearly checkup on my riding mower says not to use stabilizer...that product gunks things up &  keeps them in business. I simply start the rider every 3 weeks during the winter after adding new gas & let it run, works great. I used stabilizer in my old rider & it was always having repairs. I went to a battery push mower for the smaller areas & really like it, no gas & oil hassle.

[software]

Here in the humid, hot South, it's best to use non-ethanol gas in small engines, and run it dry over the winter.    The only difficulty in starting it is waiting for the gas to get back in the line after filling the tank

Sometimes I think men make things harder than they have to be.

[panda1234]

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@haddon9 wrote:

I'm trying to talk my DH into having the lawn done this year.  He's not well and hates mowing & edging!  It will usualy take him two days to do it....one for the front and the other the back.  I think we should just get someone to do it for us.

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@haddon9  Yes, money well spent. Our guys are in and out in 15 mins. 

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Well, we all have our methods, don't we!

All I know (except that my method worked) is that this is the first spring in many years that the mower has started right up.  We live in the mid-atlantic and the machine stays in the un-heated garage over the winter.

DH said "we got lucky".  OK, dear, if you say so.  I'll re-live that driveway happy dance 'til the cows come home.  We have had to trash mowers that have gotten crudded up.  @software has it right, though - find a non-ethanol fuel if you can.  It is death for small engines - or you have to be really diligent about storage and use.

[Hoovermom]

This is way over my head .

[redhead handbag queen]

This reminds me of when we were first married and had old junker cars, husband always had trouble starting my car. It was when the first fuel injected engines and when it would rain he couldn't start it. We lived in a third floor walk up so I wasn't happy about being woke up early. I got in the car, rubbed the dash board and said "it's ok, Mama's here" and started her right up.

He wasn't too happy then, but tell this story all the time.

[haddon9]

@panda1234   That's about how long I expect them to do our lawn...meanwhile it takes DH hours!