04-27-2007, 04:37 PM
I was a mechanic in a previous life and I've rebuilt dozens, if not hundreds of small engine carbs. Mostly for neighbors that don't run their lawnmower/weedwacker/4wheeler/go-cart/etc. engines out of gas before putting it away for the winter or put Sta-Bil or some other fuel conditioner in it! 99 times out of 100 it is because the gas has gone bad and calcified, or turned into resin, or goo. This is caused by leaving the gas in it too long , without a fuel stability product being used. The other 1 time out of 100 it is due to bad gaskets or o-rings or seals.
The carburetor is just a bad deal. Eventually its gonna go bad. Here is what I do on my engines, some of which are two stroke, some are 4 stroke, which include: A lawnmower, a weedwacker, an edger, a 20 Horse Mercury outboard, which stays on the boat all the time, a 15 Horse Evenrude trolling motor which I remove from the big boat after every use, an ice fishing power auger, multiple cars, trucks, boats, blah blah.. Very rarely to I have to rebuild any of my own carbs...unless I just bought it from somebody who didn't drain the gas!
I ALWAYS use Sta-Bil, regardless of whether it is the middle of the summer or not, on all my small engines, and even some of my BIG engines. I drain when possible, or run till out of gas (such as the case with the outboards), and don't drain the others, such as the big boat, old Jeep, and the edger (its old and I really don't care about it...the darn thing keeps on running!). The Jeep I try to start at least once a month (we only use it during hunting season) but the big boat, stays unstarted, and full of gas and not drained, for 9 months out of the year. One of the reasons that I like to drain the small outboard is so that it doesn't leak gas in the back of my truck when I transport it!
I really don't think it matters if you drain it or not (even though I am biased towards draining), as long as you run a fuel stability product. Some will argue that the gaskets shrink, etc. And I have seen that happen also, but in most cases it was after an engine had been stored for YEARS.
All that mumbo jumbo said, I DO like to run my outboards out of gas after every trip, but like I said, I run Sta-Bil ALL the time, and the reason is because if you DON'T drain it, or run it out of gas, it evaporates anyway, and leaves behind all the deposits and bad stuff. The Sta-Bil prevents that. I disconnect the fuel line from the TANK, then hold the check ball open until it runs out of gas. This way all the fuel is out of the line also. On the Evenrude 15, this takes 5 MINUTES sometimes!
I'm also OCD, and some of my buddies mock me and make fun of me...but my engines ALWAYS start and run![cool]
Case in point: We took my cousins boat to Strawberry two weeks ago. He ran his engine out of gas last fall before putting it away for the winter, and he added Sta-Bil to his gas tank before putting it away for the winter, but his fuel line still had un-protected gas in it from the prior year. It had gone bad and smelled like turpentine. We didn't notice it at first and it took us about 1/2 hour to run all that bad gas that was just in the line through the engine! It wouldn't stay running, etc.
My boat on the other hand (used about 3 weeks ago) started up and ran fine. I believe it is because I use Sta-Bil.
I do not sell Sta-Bil, nor do I have any stock in it, ownership in it, etc. It's just a good product that I have used for years.
Randy
[signature]
The carburetor is just a bad deal. Eventually its gonna go bad. Here is what I do on my engines, some of which are two stroke, some are 4 stroke, which include: A lawnmower, a weedwacker, an edger, a 20 Horse Mercury outboard, which stays on the boat all the time, a 15 Horse Evenrude trolling motor which I remove from the big boat after every use, an ice fishing power auger, multiple cars, trucks, boats, blah blah.. Very rarely to I have to rebuild any of my own carbs...unless I just bought it from somebody who didn't drain the gas!
I ALWAYS use Sta-Bil, regardless of whether it is the middle of the summer or not, on all my small engines, and even some of my BIG engines. I drain when possible, or run till out of gas (such as the case with the outboards), and don't drain the others, such as the big boat, old Jeep, and the edger (its old and I really don't care about it...the darn thing keeps on running!). The Jeep I try to start at least once a month (we only use it during hunting season) but the big boat, stays unstarted, and full of gas and not drained, for 9 months out of the year. One of the reasons that I like to drain the small outboard is so that it doesn't leak gas in the back of my truck when I transport it!
I really don't think it matters if you drain it or not (even though I am biased towards draining), as long as you run a fuel stability product. Some will argue that the gaskets shrink, etc. And I have seen that happen also, but in most cases it was after an engine had been stored for YEARS.
All that mumbo jumbo said, I DO like to run my outboards out of gas after every trip, but like I said, I run Sta-Bil ALL the time, and the reason is because if you DON'T drain it, or run it out of gas, it evaporates anyway, and leaves behind all the deposits and bad stuff. The Sta-Bil prevents that. I disconnect the fuel line from the TANK, then hold the check ball open until it runs out of gas. This way all the fuel is out of the line also. On the Evenrude 15, this takes 5 MINUTES sometimes!
I'm also OCD, and some of my buddies mock me and make fun of me...but my engines ALWAYS start and run![cool]
Case in point: We took my cousins boat to Strawberry two weeks ago. He ran his engine out of gas last fall before putting it away for the winter, and he added Sta-Bil to his gas tank before putting it away for the winter, but his fuel line still had un-protected gas in it from the prior year. It had gone bad and smelled like turpentine. We didn't notice it at first and it took us about 1/2 hour to run all that bad gas that was just in the line through the engine! It wouldn't stay running, etc.
My boat on the other hand (used about 3 weeks ago) started up and ran fine. I believe it is because I use Sta-Bil.
I do not sell Sta-Bil, nor do I have any stock in it, ownership in it, etc. It's just a good product that I have used for years.
Randy
[signature]
I used to N.ot have E.nough T.ime O.ff to go fishing. Then I retired. Now I have less time than I had before. Sheesh.