[skiberger]

Should I put gas stabilizer in the riding mower for the winter? Have about 1/4 tank of gas in it. Its in the shed for the winter.

[NeedKarma]

It's best to completely drain the tank and run themower until all the gas is burned up. Stale gas is the least of your problems, a gummed up carberator may be the result of leaving gas all winter. You can get a real cheap hand siphon to do the trick:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[Fr_Chuck]

I will agree, the gas should be drained and the system cleaned to be properly stored.

As for aditives, I have tried them and have not used them over the years, and I have never had issues ( as long as stored in a shed) except for carborator issues.

[thebriggsdude]

I myself woul drain the tank and then fill it up with fresh treated gas, per the instructions given on the bottle, (stabils good) last time I went to wally world, big huge bottle for ten bucks, pretty good deal, it'll last you a long... time. Running it out of gas is all right, but the carbs still coated with a little gas for what couldn't get out, it'll still gum up over time. Remember, fuel stabilizer only offsets the fuel spoiling, doesn't stop it. 6 or so months is a safe time for storing. Also before its stored, change the oil to get that old acid and wear/dirt partical ridden oil out. Fresh untreated gas starts going bad after a month... when it goes stale, you can tell it by what it smells like, once it gums the carb up (which you don't want, its clog city) nothing but a carb soak and rebuild will fix it. Not that much to do so, but its something you wouldn't want to have to do. Also fill the tank up to help prevent water condensation, if it has a fuel shutoff valve, turn it off, or if it has a fuel shutoff solenoid then its already cut off. If you treat the gas, run the engine for 10 or so minutes to make sure the carbs treated... you can treat the gas already in it... but... too much it'll smoke badly when you crank it back up.

[skiberger]

Thanks for the input. Got the mower this summer. Wasn't sure if needed to do anything being in a shed for the winter.

[dherman1]

I have used stabil in all of my outdoor equiptment for a long time.

Where I live, (Minnesota) you may not get enough snow to fire up the snowthrower for weeks at a time. And, gas is very volatile. As The BriggsDude says, it can go stale quickly.

Stabil, or similar products, are cheap insurance.

I am not very good at maintaining my small engines. I MAY change the oil every year, well, every OTHER year. And, my snowthrower (Toro) has started up on one or two pulls every time.

And, I leave the gas in the tank.

Oh, yeah, don't be like me and be sure to change the oil before you put your baby to bed for the winter.

Dan

[RickJ]

I, also, rely on Stabil for all my stuff.

[DAVE231]

The only way to be sure you have stabilizer in your gasoline is to add it to your gas all year,every time you fill your gas cans. Never have to ask yourself if it's in there if you get into the habit. Not expensive and easy to do. Mixes best when you add it to an empty container then add the gas. Best idea is to use up the fuel in any seasonal equipment or leave as little (treated) gas as possible.