Today is Halloween, so you know what that means; trick or treaters, falling leaves, the beginning of the sugar holidays? Well yes, but that’s not where I’m going. It’s the start of the snowy season. Growing up in Colorado I can hardly remember a Halloween where it did not snow. At the best it was cold, way too cold to wear your cool costume. After awhile we all figured out how to get a costume to fit over a ski jacket. Well today is warm, sunny and beautiful out, so it seems like I’m being proved wrong today, but none the less, snow season is just around the corner.

    Snow season means that you’ll want to use your snowthrower when we do get that big snow. Well, NOW is the time to get your snowthrower out of storage and get it running again. Every year when that first big snow hits we receive dozens and dozens of phone calls about a snowthrower that won’t start. Most of the time, it’s a very simple thing to fix. Most of the time, the problem began with the last time a snowthrower was used and the fact that it wasn’t put away properly.

    It is very important to use fuel stabilizer, such as Stabil, in the fuel for your snowthrower. The key is to put in Stabil right away when you’re at the gas station filling your gas can. Stabil will keep fresh fuel fresh, but it won’t make stale fuel fresh again. It is more important to use this for your snowthrower than other gas equipment because your snowthrower is more likely to sit for 8, 10, even 14 months between uses. In that time, with modern fuel you’re very likely to have fuel trouble.

    So you forgot to use Stabil and now you can’t get your snowthrower started. Here’s a trick we’ve used many times with good success: Empty all the fuel out of the tank. Replace it with fresh fuel. Prime the engine, really prime it. Prime it to the point of flooding by pushing the primer bulb 15-20 times. The engine will be flooded, so let it sit for an hour or so. After the flooding goes away the engine will likely start more or less normally. Run it for several minutes, and then it should run normally after that. What this does is pump the fresh fuel that you’ve just put in through the line and through the carburetor and flushes out the old stale fuel.

    Remember Now is the time to do this, when it’s nice out, when there’s not snow on the ground that you need to clear right away, and when you have time to get it fixed if it’s something more major. We recommend Mac Equipment here in Loveland for all small engine work.

A word of warning, it is not the manufacturer’s responsibility to use fresh fuel or keep the fuel in good condition. That is your responsibility. No manufacturer warranties will cover bad fuel and you will have to pay for repairs.