I've read a couple of posts on this small engine forum that claim that:
A. Running my mower with last year's gasoline will cause it not to start.
B. Using E10 fuel in my mowers will have caused the fuel lines to degrade into a gelatinous, gooey mass.
It will soon be time to start mowing, so I decided to start the mowers this morning. I left the batteries in them when they were parked in November, and both had E10 treated with Sta-Bil when parked. They are in an unheated garden shed for the winter, and the temperature is in the mid 20's this morning. It's been about 4 months since each was started.
Since I stored them for the winter under such conditions, I expect both to be difficult if not impossible to start without a lot of work. If, as claimed, both have been damaged by storage and fuel choice, I may have a nasty clean up mess on my hands.
I gave each one about 10 minutes run time before I shut it off. It took about a minute before the 210 engine really stabilized and ran smoothly/smoke free, the 757 was running smoothly within a few seconds. Interestingly enough, the exact same thing happens every spring when they are first started.
Both are kept tuned up. The 210 was brought back into service 3-4 years ago and at that time the fuel system was cleaned and restored (it had been parked for 19 years before that). The 757 has never had any work done to the fuel system other than annual replacement of the fuel filter.
The "creaking" in the background is one of the shed doors swinging in the wind.
A. Running my mower with last year's gasoline will cause it not to start.
B. Using E10 fuel in my mowers will have caused the fuel lines to degrade into a gelatinous, gooey mass.
It will soon be time to start mowing, so I decided to start the mowers this morning. I left the batteries in them when they were parked in November, and both had E10 treated with Sta-Bil when parked. They are in an unheated garden shed for the winter, and the temperature is in the mid 20's this morning. It's been about 4 months since each was started.
Since I stored them for the winter under such conditions, I expect both to be difficult if not impossible to start without a lot of work. If, as claimed, both have been damaged by storage and fuel choice, I may have a nasty clean up mess on my hands.
I gave each one about 10 minutes run time before I shut it off. It took about a minute before the 210 engine really stabilized and ran smoothly/smoke free, the 757 was running smoothly within a few seconds. Interestingly enough, the exact same thing happens every spring when they are first started.
Both are kept tuned up. The 210 was brought back into service 3-4 years ago and at that time the fuel system was cleaned and restored (it had been parked for 19 years before that). The 757 has never had any work done to the fuel system other than annual replacement of the fuel filter.
The "creaking" in the background is one of the shed doors swinging in the wind.
