Letting the Small Gas Engines Run Out of Gas
 

For my outdoor gas tools (snow-blower, chainsaw, lawnmower etc.) , I run the engine out of gas when I turn them off, instead of using the "Off" control.

I only use these tools occasionally, so I thought it would be better to run the carb dry to avoid gas staying in and clunking up the carb.

The effect is, obviously, when the gas runs out of the carb, the engine gasps a little before it turns off.

Is there any downside to this procedure?

Global Warming. HA!!!! HA!!! HA!!!!

I'm not mechanically inclined so I can't answer your actual question. And letting it run dry doesn't bother me a bit, BTW.........

The problem as I see it is it doesn't really "run dry". There is always a layer of fuel on all the parts. I guess that layer would gunk up faster then it would if it was all wet.
Other than that I don't think the engine gasping will hurt it.

Danny

You need to include some gas preservative or something like Seafoam in that last gasp of fuel, to minimize clogging of the carb jets.

I think it will be easier on your starter if you just run it with Seafoam and shut it down regularly. Otherwise, you have to prime the whole thing again.

Just run some sort of fuel perservative in them.


We put Stabil in the 5 gallon jerry jugs we use to fill all the small saws and mowers and stuff. Modern gas sucks, starts to go bad after a month.

I have always done the opposite and have never had any starting or clogging issues with small gas power tools, mower, wwacker or leaf blower. I've never had any issues with the Harley either and I never run the carb dry afer turning off the petcock. Actually, I never turn the petcock off. The bike is 12 years old. Never a problem.
Just sayin'.

I don't think you'd cause any damage doing so. Just go with the manufacturer recommendation in most cases. I add some Stabil to my small engine mix, and the stuff that goes away for the winter (Stihl, lawnmower, weeder, etc.) all gets drained dry.

When I had my tool rental business, I did this as SOP. I never knew how long a pump or generator would sit before its next use. Starting with a dry carburetor always assured an easy start. For equipment that would be stored for an extended period, I would completely dry out the fuel system, just like a new machine. Machines that had been stored for years would start in several pulls when needed.

"Stabil" in the Petrol (Always)
 

AND ,if it's a Two Cycle ,spray some Fogging Oil into the intake as it shuts down.
(Long inactive periods allow the fuel to turn to Gum and Varnish, Yeech!)

Ethanolized Gasoline is the biggest culprit.

This is what I do also. And I also have no problems.
Snow blower started on the second pull after sitting since last winter.

I do that with my tractor - sometimes it doesn't run for months. Before I started doing that, the float valve would sometimes stick closed, and since the fuel system is gravity fed, it wouldn't refill after the fuel level in the reservoir dropped too low. I always use sta-bil, but gasoline still evaporates.

Was given an old Honda mower that had sat for a very long time with gas in the carb, and found the float-bowl full of jelly! Fortunately, I was able to clean it out and there was no serious damage. But I routinely run the carbs dry on my small engines that are equipped with a fuel-valve, and have added fuel-valves to some of mine that didn't have one. All of my small engines are gravity-fed, so extended cranking and delayed starting due to dry carbs isn't usually a problem.
There's also a safety consideration with an unattended small-engine, as a faulty carb can't spill a tankfull of fuel if the fuel-valve is turned off.

Happy Motoring, Mark

I run everything dry unless its a Honda then it doesn't seem to matter. I have a honda 50 motorcycle at my ranch that has been through my buddys 2 kids, then I bought it from him and it went through my 3 kids. Now it just sits and occasionaly we get a young guest that will ride it and it always starts on the first or second kick! I think the current gas in it is about 2 years old and it smells way bad but it ain't broke so i'm not gonna fix it. I also have 4 Honda quads that all seem to be impervious to fuel aging, but the one Polaris I have is tempermental. As I type this I realized that all of the Hondas are 4 stroke and the Polaris as well as the chain saws, weed wacker, backpack blower, etc are all 2 stroke. I guess that is really the difference (although I still swear by Hondas), so I wonder what is the best 2 stroke oil to reduce starting problems after sitting. Any recommendations?

my d2 cat is the same way but my gas tank sets almost even with the carb.the fuel line goes out of the tank into a sediment bowl across the back of the big engine down the side about a foot to a shut-off then back up and over to the carb.if you leave fuel in the bowl the float will stick period and it will start til the gas is gone then you have to pull the hood off which weighs about 75 lbs then pull the top of the carb and break the float loose.so needless to say it always gets run dry.