# Storm 2660 Carb & Storage



## gus

Hi Everyone. First post, been lurking for longer. Have appreciated the knowledge I've gained here. Here's some quick background re. my question.

Bought a Storm 2660 in a pinch March 2017. Used it 2 days back-to-back for a total run time of around an hour. Spring rolls around, I throw a dash of Sea Foam in the tank and let it run a bit. Fast forward to Dec, it snows. I plug it in and it won't start.

I check all the usual suspects, and still nothing. I take the carb off and it's pristine. Replaced the plug, drained the gas and replaced with "fresh"...nada. I check the carb again and find a good size booger in the upper jet after poking around with a wire. Slap it back on and it starts right up.

My question is this: I have number of small engines from various manufacturers that I treat the same way. Stale gas - IMHO - is mostly a myth. Like prescription drug expiry dates. I don't have any issues with any other engines, including a 1980 Honda motorcycle w/4 carbs - the pickiest of them all. What is it about the motor on this Troy-Bilt that magically varnishes gas? Talked to a buddy that does small engine work and he said the best preventative for Troy-Bilt is to start it up at least 1x per month when it's not being used. This seems excessive, no?


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## vinnycom

does booger=varnish?
or something else


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## gus

Sort of. That's probably what I'd call it if the rest of the carb was fouled. The bowl, lower jet, etc was clean, so it was a bit of an anomaly.


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## coastie56

The "upper jet" you refer to should be the one under the edge of the idle screw. Looks like a plastic plug with a brass orifice inside. On the Honda pattern motors this is the one that seems to cause the nost problem as the orifice is tiny and varnish plugs that first. I clip off a wire from a wire brush, hold it in a pair of needle nose, and work it through if it is totally blocked. On my newer 2840 with the 243cc motor I tried "Mechanic in a bottle" and it cleared right up and stopped surging as it was only 2 years old. I also use an empty 2.2 oz bottle from a premix oil bottle to measure the correct amount of sea foam to pour in the 2 qt gas tank. Varnish is not a myth, the reason your Honda i so picky is because of the tiny size of the idle air jet orifices. you can improve the performance by obtaining a jet drill set and finding the biggest size that will go through it and go up one size using a pin vise by hand.


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## jtclays

2589


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## jonnied12

I use Stabil-Marine 360 in my OPE gas. Always double dose it. 
I always store my equipment with a full tank, and leave the carburetor bowl full.
I make a point to start each machine at least once a month.
When the gas is around six months old. I drain it and run it in my cars, and buy and treat new gas.
Fill all the OPE tanks back up and start the engines so the fresh gas is in the carburetor.
I've never had a carb issue.


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## LouC

I don't know that Seafoam is really a fuel stabilizer. I'd use Stabil instead, the marine version (blue) is very good. And starting up the machines once a month basically helps in that you are preventing the fuel from evaporating in the bowl (in carbs that have a bowl and float instead of a diaphragm). I've done this and have had minimal problems with my small engine carbs. The ones that I've had the least trouble with are older Briggs engines with adjustable carbs, I've had to clean out the mower (30 years old) and the pressure washer (12 years old) a couple of times, the Toro 2 stroke I've had some issues with (not starting, surging) and eventually replaced the carb when it was about 15 years old. My Echo 2 stroke equipment, over 10+ years with 3 different machines the only one I've had to clean out the carb on was the blower (it's probably 15 years old now), the string trimmer and hedge trimmer have been trouble free.


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