OHV small engines

[Mk42gunner]

The more I am around these, the more I like them. Seems like most of them have a primer bulb instead of a choke like the older B&S, Clinton, Tecumseh, and Wisconsin gas engines of my youth.

My latest one is a Briggs & Stratton on a Murray push mower from Walmart, about five or six years old. I only use it to mow Mom's two lots in town, takes me about forty five minutes so not a huge amount of time on it.

I changed the oil in it today, getting ready for mowing this weekend. Still on the original sparkplug. Blade is still in good shape, so I didn't even mess with sharpening it.

After I turned it back upright (no drain plug) I looked in the tank and it had about a half inch of gas left from last year. Uh Oh. No new gas on hand so I though "What the heck, try it."

Six or seven pumps on the bulb, it started on the second pull. Not as good as last year, then it started on the first pull. I think I had fresh gas then though.

Sure beats yanking on a starter rope for a half hour and inventing new cuss words.

Robert

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

There is a little trick to get any functioning push mower to start on the first yank of the starter rope....no more yanking for half an hour. Doesn't matter if it's old style manual choke, primer bulb, or an "automatic choke" like on my Honda.

[sukivel]

There is a little trick to get any functioning push mower to start on the first yank of the starter rope....no more yanking for half an hour. Doesn't matter if it's old style manual choke, primer bulb, or an "automatic choke" like on my Honda.

You’re holding out on us.


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[Hannibal]

Fresh fuel is a must. If it's over 6 months old it's too old for small engines.

Second would be spark plugs. But a far distant second to fresh fuel. Even more critical on 2 strokes in both instances.

Or you can get a workout on your starter rope. It'll start eventually if you don't flood it first.

[jonp]

Fresh fuel is a must. If it's over 6 months old it's too old for small engines.

Second would be spark plugs. But a far distant second to fresh fuel. Even more critical on 2 strokes in both instances.

Or you can get a workout on your starter rope. It'll start eventually if you don't flood it first.

I've found StaBil 360 to be the cure for that

[Hannibal]

A gallon of fresh fuel is a lot cheaper than StaBil. So I go with that.

And I don't have to worry about adding it.

Just dump the gas can into the car every 6 months if anything is left, 2-stroke gas included. There's never enough left to fret over anyway.

A half gallon of 2-stroke oil isn't going to ruin your emissions system unless it's so old it smells like turpentine and probably not even then by the time it's diluted in the fuel tank.

Why make this difficult?

[megasupermagnum]

I think when you have to buy parts for those little breaks and scrapem OHV engines, you may not like them as much. There's a scary amount of plastic inside them. You can put a primer bulb on anything.

[MarkP]

I have been using aviation fuel 100LL in my small engines both 2 & 4 cycle. engines. It is roughly $2 more per gallon. I just paid $5.24 / gallon and 87 octane is $3.49. It was $4.35 when gas was $2.79 and $7.48 when gas was over $4. A friend who is a flight instructor at a small airport turned me on to this 5 yrs ago.

[megasupermagnum]

I have been using aviation fuel 100LL in my small engines both 2 & 4 cycle. engines. It is roughly $2 more per gallon. I just paid $5.24 / gallon and 87 octane is $3.49. It was $4.35 when gas was $2.79 and $7.48 when gas was over $4. A friend who is a flight instructor at a small airport turned me on to this 5 yrs ago.

If it's the only non-oxygenated gasoline you can get, then it's a great way to go. It also is supposed to be more stabile than regular gasoline, apparently good for a minimum of 1 year. I get the bonus of talking racing with the instructor guy every time I fill up at the airport too.

[Hannibal]

I have been using aviation fuel 100LL in my small engines both 2 & 4 cycle. engines. It is roughly $2 more per gallon. I just paid $5.24 / gallon and 87 octane is $3.49. It was $4.35 when gas was $2.79 and $7.48 when gas was over $4. A friend who is a flight instructor at a small airport turned me on to this 5 yrs ago.

What do you find is advantageous to this approach?

Genuinely interested, not criticizing at all.

[alfadan]

As said, fresh gas is a must. I've seen old gas that had no gasoline smell at all! Was like water. If the engine hasn't run in awhile, just a little spurt of starting fluid lets it start pumping fuel without pulling it to death (my own!)

[Winger Ed.]

As said, fresh gas is a must.

Oh yeah.

I rebuilt the boat engine awhile back. Its a little 4cyl. Chevy. I rebuilt it back in the late 80s with new pistons & all.
It never really got run much. It would sometimes sit for over a year between trips to the lake.

When I pulled it apart this last time, the tops of the pistons were bad. Big pits and a lot of ash on them.
When I went to the local engine building shop to get the rings, gaskets & all, I showed one to them and asked
what caused it. The guy instantly said, "Old gas".

[megasupermagnum]

That sounds more like running lean and or detonation to me. That ash might actually be aluminum. Old gas won't pit aluminum as far as I know. Water and corrosion might.

[Winger Ed.]

That sounds more like running lean and or detonation to me. That ash might actually be aluminum. Old gas won't pit aluminum as far as I know. Water and corrosion might.

Interesting.
The plugs looked fine, no evidence of head gasket leakage, I timed it exactly like the book says, and it was a fairly low time engine.
Heck, the last time I had it apart, there's the ghost of the factory cross hatch pattern in the lower parts of the cylinders.
As those little engines go, ya couldn't ask it to run any better.
So, not knowing any better, I just took it on faith. It had run a bunch of old fuel over the years.
The damage on the piston tops was a head scratcher for me. I'd never seen anything quite like it before.

[Lloyd Smale]

That sounds more like running lean and or detonation to me. That ash might actually be aluminum. Old gas won't pit aluminum as far as I know. Water and corrosion might.

old gas loses octane that causes detonation

[fastdadio]

Alcohol in the gas is the big problem here. It absorbs and collects water from the air and then turns to crap if let to sit over a couple months.This will rust out metal gas tanks and gel in the float bowl and plug the jets. Modern vehicles with air tight fuel systems are designed to run on it. Small engines are not. The best thing to do is run alcohol free fuel during the season and then drain and clean the float bowl before lay up in the off season. This will keep your small engines running great for years.
Here is a source to help find corn free gas in your area;
https://www.pure-gas.org/

[GregLaROCHE]

At the end of a season it’s best to empty the gas and run the carburetor dry. Even mor important with two strokes.
I hated having to continually pull start an engine, that wouldn’t start when I was young. Now that I’m retired, I hate it even more!

[sukivel]

I keep it simple by doing one of two things, either running the carb dry and/or usually just running everything for a few minutes every month or two.

Never have any problems.


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[Finster101]

End of a Season? Mine just slows down from every 5-6 days in summer to every 2-3 weeks in the winter. Gas does not have time to get stale in my stuff.

[farmbif]

ethanol in gas is the problem most of the time. it should be outlawed. it costs us billions every year in ruined equipment. I guess im lucky that in my area non ethanol gas its easy to find. the farmers coop only sells non ethanol gas. I paid $3.99/gal for 93 octane yesterday. with gas from this same place ive had pressure washer, chainsaws, air compressor sit over 2 years and they all start right up. log splitter sat for 3 years and it started right up too. probably helps to keep stuff stored under cover and in cooler or mild temp.

[Shawlerbrook]

#1 use non ethanol gas
#2 sta Bil always.
Gas with sta bil from one season to the next is as fresh as spring rain. Storage for more than a season, empty and new gas.

[georgerkahn]

Alcohol in the gas is the big problem here. It absorbs and collects water from the air and then turns to crap if let to sit over a couple months.This will rust out metal gas tanks and gel in the float bowl and plug the jets. Modern vehicles with air tight fuel systems are designed to run on it. Small engines are not. The best thing to do is run alcohol free fuel during the season and then drain and clean the float bowl before lay up in the off season. This will keep your small engines running great for years.
Here is a source to help find corn free gas in your area;
https://www.pure-gas.org/

Well said, fastdadio! I went to a petrol lecture a couple of years ago which was quite the education for me. I did not know that the addition of alcohol to essence INCREASES its octane level by a smidgeon more than TWO points? So, say, you wish to run 89 Octane mix in your chainsaw. Fine. One purchases their Essence and adds an ethanol-remover additive. Yippee re the alcohol, but you're down to a smidgeon LESS than 87 octane in the tank! ALSO -- the demonstration included several carbs, fuel lines, diaphragms, and the like -- ALL gummed up, dissolved -- RUINED - by the presence of alcohol. Lastly explained was the difference between automobile "CLOSED" fuel systems (no exposure to outside air) versus "OPEN" fuel system -- present in almost all 2- and 4-cycle small engines -- which literally suck moisture from the air as time passes.
A suggestion, if one cannot obtain ethanol-free essence, is to (I kid you not!) pour one quart of WATER into a five gallon fuel can, followed by four gallons of gasoline. Shake/stir it a bit, and leave it stand overnight. Next day, siphon off ALL that is above the line you can see where the now alcohol-free fuel on top is separated from the water at bottom. (To make it easier for us to see, the instructor had put a few drops of blue food colouring in the water).
Is all "ethanol-free petrol" ethanol-free? Number one, from lecturer, is IF you get fuel from a station which has but one hose, the "odds are 99:1" that the first pint or more of your ethanol-free fuel will in fact be the ethanol fuel from last customer. (He suggested pumping 1st gallon into your vehicle; then to your small container if this be the case). Also, he recommended (and I bought one) little clear plastic tubes with which you put water in up to a line, maybe one-half inch from bottom. Fill rest of tube with gasoline. SHAKE it up, and then let it rest 15 minutes. IF the level of water is exactly where it was pre- gasoline -- then you do have ethanol-free fuel. However, if the water level has gone up, even a hair, that's a percentage of ethanol in the fuel. (A while back I bought "ethanol free premium" from a reputable national brand station; two days later a (wood) chipper died. Whitish crud in carb? YUP -- they lied! (I complained and they apologized, blaming it on a new driver who put wrong fuel in tank...)) Bottom line? ALCOHOL IS BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
geo

[MarkP]

What do you find is advantageous to this approach?

Genuinely interested, not criticizing at all.
It is held to a higher standard and is stable for two yrs. I use it in everything now probably only use 15 gallons per yr. Have not had any carburetor issues since I made the switch. Even with Seafoam and Stabil I had issues.

[GhostHawk]

A I buy no ethanol Premium for small engines.

B Soon as I am home it gets treated with Sta-bil. I'm about halfway through my bottle, have been using it for years.

C SeaFoam works great for getting the shellac that modern gas makes sitting in the carb.
I put a little shot in the gas can with the Sta-ble, but as soon as I have a problem whatever the cause, it gets a bigger shot and run
for a good stretch. You can hear it when it coughs, sputters, kicks, puffs smoke, then starts running right.