Houseworks: Tricks for starting reluctant small engines

A small amount of fuel stabilizer allows gasoline to remain viable for more than six months in storage. Starting will be easier and engines run better on gasoline that has not deteriorated. Photo by Photo Steve MaxwellArticle content

Do you have a snowblower, rototiller, generator or other piece of small, motorized equipment that’s hard to start or won’t start at all? This is not unusual here in cold Canadian winters, but there are tricks that make all the difference. Assuming there’s nothing mechanically wrong with your machines, here are three tips for getting things running again.

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Use the right gasoline

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Gasoline sold in the summer is different from what’s sold in winter, and this has a big effect on how easily small engines start. Summer gas is intentionally made to evaporate less easily, minimizing the chances that it will turn gaseous when in fuel lines during hot weather, causing a fuel blockage and failure to run.

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Winter gas by comparison, evaporates more easily, making it easier to start in cold weather. I live in the country, 25-minute drive from the nearest gas pumps, so I keep up to 80 litres of gasoline on hand at my place, using portable gas cans for storage. Put a piece of masking tape on your gas cans with the date of purchase marked, and it’s easy to see when stored gas might be going out of season. When autumn rolls around again, dump the summer fuel into your car, then fill up with fresh stuff at the gas station. Gasoline doesn’t last more than six months without losing key properties, so keeping the fuel fresh is also an important side effect of seasonal rotation. Do the same thing in the fall.

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Refineries begin producing and distributing summer-blend gasoline by April 15 in southern parts of Canada, with gas stations fully switched to summer-grade by June. Winter-grade is made and available at gas stations by September 15.

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Even with regular stored fuel rotation, it makes sense to add gasoline preservative to stored fuel. This allows gasoline to remain viable for up to two years.

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Draining the carburetor bowel by removing the drain plug, then refilling the carburetor bowl on small, four-stroke engines is a powerful trick for getting long-stored four-stroke small engines to start. Photo by Photo Steve MaxwellArticle content

Drain the carburetor bowl

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About 15 years ago I made an accidental discovery that’s probably the single most effective way to get small engines running when they have what’s called a “carburetor bowl”.

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Most small engines that do not need oil mixed with gasoline are called “four-stroke” motors, and they often have a carburetor with a bowl. This is typically found on snowblowers, some lawn mowers, rototillers, chippers and lawn tractors. Carburetors atomize fuel with air before entering the engine to burn, and a carburetor bowl is a small, cup-shaped part on the bottom of a carburetor that holds a small amount of fuel just before vaporization. All carburetor bowls have a screw or bolt that can be removed to drain the few ounces of gasoline they contain. Once, when I was trying unsuccessfully to start a long-stored motorcycle, I opened the carburetor drain plug to see if gas was present as part of my troubleshooting work. Gasoline came out, so I replaced the drain plug and continued trying to find out why the engine wouldn’t start. The next time I hit the starter button, the engine fired right up.