# Leave trufuel in blower



## richierich (Oct 16, 2019)

Hi everyone - I am planning on using trufuel for my snow blower. I read since it doesn't have ethanol it won't gum up the engine. Can I just leave this in the mower after the season without running it until empty? My dad says he's left it in the snow blower for 4 years since he got his new one. Not sure if I should do that.

Also he said the same thing with the oil, never changed it or added to it. Is that fine as well. Wanted to get a second opinion for the experts.


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## broo (Dec 23, 2017)

Trufuel already includes a stabilizer. It's a good idea if you don't use the blower much in a season.

It becomes costly if you have to buy multiple cans in a year. In my case it wouldn't make financial sense.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

@Rich,


All my equipment uses reg. fuel, with ethanol in it , from the pumps ... I put it in 5 gal cans, and immediately add Stabil, as well as Seafoam at half rate.


I never drain a tank, or run anything out of fuel ... it all gets parked, runs great from year to year, starting flawlessly on summer and winter equipment.


I do only use 5W30 full synthetic in all my equipment. And at maximum, change it every 2 years if not before, depending on hours of unit use.


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## malisha1 (Nov 16, 2018)

Is it ok to run 5w30 in the summer? Like a lawn mower.


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

Richierich, your profile does not say where you are. If you're certain that you're going to use the snowblower from one winter to the next leaving trufuel in it over the off season should be fine as others have said.

However, around here it is not a certainty that I'll use the snowblower in any given winter. Sometimes all we need is a broom and we don't use the snowblower at all. This is why I drain all the fuel from the tank, fuel lines and carburetor, change oil, grease & oil what needs it, and basically prepare it for sitting for an unknown period of years. Because we've gone as long as four years and not even started it.

Some people have said they can leave fuel in it for years and it starts right up. Good for them. That has not been my experience, which is why I go to the bother of draining all fuel from it every spring if it has been run.


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## Miles (Sep 16, 2016)

I've had good luck with non-ethanol gas in the tank for some years in the snowblower as long as I shut off the fuel valve and run the carb dry. During the off-season, I keep the tank topped up. The less air nearby, the less oxidation/degradation of the fuel. But in a Honda generator, I had problems even with non-ethanol gas and I was taught to drain the carb bowl after an expensive service.


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## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

richierich said:


> Hi everyone - I am planning on using trufuel for my snow blower. I read since it doesn't have ethanol it won't gum up the engine. Can I just leave this in the mower after the season without running it until empty? My dad says he's left it in the snow blower for 4 years since he got his new one. Not sure if I should do that.
> 
> Also he said the same thing with the oil, never changed it or added to it. Is that fine as well. Wanted to get a second opinion for the experts.


It's pretty expensive..if you do go that route .. I would use Petro from the station during the season..then when the season ended..run the tank dry them put in your trufuel..run for a couple of minutes then shut down.
I have a Craftsman (MTD)..it has no fuel shutoff.. I use alcohol free fuel and seafoam ....and run the engine for a few minutes once a month or so..I pulled the bowl a few weeks ago to look for 'growth'..looked great inside.
The MTD based units seem to have a higher rate of carburetor problems.
The alcohol free fuel and seafoam is working for me while keeping fuel in the tank and ocassionally starting the engine.
It's the method I use until I am forced to remove the carb... at which time I will install a fuel shut off somewhere



Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


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## TooTall999 (Nov 19, 2015)

TruFuel is a waste of money. Just find a local source of ethanol free gas. Even aviation gas is cheaper than TruFuel and is available at your local air field.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

@Malish,


Yes, but *Only* if it is a Full Synthetic 5W30 ......


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## richierich (Oct 16, 2019)

I'm in NY so I'm sure I'll use the snow blower yearly. I understand the cost concerns but my driveway is pretty small so I'll be able to do it quickly.

I think I'm going to do like my dad and just buy the tru fuel and leave it in the snowblower in the shed during the offseason and it should start right up again next winter. Also I'm going to leave the oil, it says to change it after the 1st 5 hours (but I know a lot of people that don't). And then once every 25 hours. I'll be done in under an hour with my driveway so I'll just leave the oil for at least a few years.

Any flaw in my plans?


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

On a new machine, I would change it as the manufacture recommends at the break-in period. This removes any contaminates from manufacturing of the engine.


I would then use a Full Synthetic 5W30, and change it every couple years, depending on use.


I have never used Trufuel, so I can not give an opinion on that, but if your dad has done it for years that way with no issues, than I am sure you will be fine as well.


Happy Snow Blowing ......


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

if you can get ethanol free fuel that is the the best way to go. i leave it in my machines with no issues. 

as far as oil changes go if the machine has never had one it is a good idea to do one to make sure to try and get any metal from engine breakin out of the engine. if we keep getting winters like last year you should be good for another 5-10years before doing another oil change.


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## rslifkin (Mar 5, 2018)

As far as I'm concerned, any stabilized fuel should be safe to leave in equipment provided you fog the engine (and correspondingly the carb) and the tank is fairly well sealed. I just re-commissioned my blower the other day. Fired right up with just a little smoke from the fogging oil. And that's with the fuel I topped the tank off with when it went into storage 6 months ago (and that fuel was probably 2 - 3 months old at that point). Fuel was stabilized, but not sure off hand if it was E0 or E10. There's a reasonable chance it was E10.


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## gibbs296 (Jun 22, 2014)

Trufuel is nice, but usually is more expensive than my snowblowers . Non-oxy for me and shut the fuel off and let her run dry. Start 'em every couple months, change oil every year with whatever is cheap at Menards or Auto Zone.


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## malisha1 (Nov 16, 2018)

oneacer said:


> @Malish,
> 
> 
> Yes, but *Only* if it is a Full Synthetic 5W30 ......


Yes I'm running

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Castrol-...bwxWY_HEW6kKvlyU3VlCMqKXvDEN-4IYaAv1REALw_wcB


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## AclockworkBlue (Nov 26, 2018)

End of season I run all the pump gas out, put in a small can of trufuel run for a few mins and leave it until the start of next season. Then fill it up with pump gas. It’s been working for me.


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## Miles (Sep 16, 2016)

I like to change the oil after the first 5-10 hours. Then, I think that leaving it in for 25 hours is reasonable, maybe longer. The Tru fuel works for me, though I have found a non-ethanol gas pump not that far away and it is much cheaper now. It's convenient to leave it in the tank during the off season, with the tank topped all the way up. My machine has a fuel shut-off so I am able to run the carb dry.


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## LouC (Dec 5, 2016)

As far as how long you can leave either Trufuel or stabilized pump gas I’d go by what the maker of the product says, I think Trufuel says 2 years after opening the can and stabil says 2 years for the regular red stabil. Interesting the stabil 360 and marine stabil day 1 year. However all the engine manufactures seem to limit to a year or less. So it you keep it to a year then less likely to have trouble


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

That is 2 years in an un-opened can. Once you open the can, its life is reduced dramatically.
They mean if you put it in the fuel and never open the container, it should stay good for up to 2 years. They confused a lot of people that way.
That is why now they only say it stays good for 1 year, because people open the container and use some of it.
Once air gets in there, it starts breaking down. The stabilizer just slows down the breakdown process.
Tru-fuel is nothing more than regular pump gas with a stabilizer added to it at a premium price.
It lasts no longer than fuel that you pump yourself and add stabilizer to at a much lower price.
Plus, you do not know how long he can of Tru-fuel was sitting on a shelf, it could already be over a year or more old before you purchased it.


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## LouC (Dec 5, 2016)

I was lucky to find a gas station about a half hr east of me that sells e0 gas so finally I can get away from e10 for the small engines...
So from now on that’s what I’ll use and store for no more than a year. What I’ve done with all but the 50:1 premix is dump it in the boat gas tank in the spring as long as it’s not more that a year old. I always stabilized any gas fir the boat & small engines right away.


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## feng443 (Feb 5, 2021)

TooTall999 said:


> TruFuel is a waste of money. Just find a local source of ethanol free gas. Even aviation gas is cheaper than TruFuel and is available at your local air field.


In Jersey, it is pretty much impossible to buy gas without ethanol. There is a website about where to get ethanol-free gas, but all pointed to either some unknown source or municipal airport, not even close to where I live. 

Since this is pretty much the only choice (HomeDepot sold a store brand but no longer available), there is not much choice.


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## feng443 (Feb 5, 2021)

Miles said:


> I like to change the oil after the first 5-10 hours. Then, I think that leaving it in for 25 hours is reasonable, maybe longer. The Tru fuel works for me, though I have found a non-ethanol gas pump not that far away and it is much cheaper now. It's convenient to leave it in the tank during the off season, with the tank topped all the way up. My machine has a fuel shut-off so I am able to run the carb dry.


At end of season, I drain syphon gas from blower and put into my car, then run the blower dry. Leave the cap half open for a few days to let remaining evaporate . Then change the engine oil and grease the blower.

When season comes I put one can (32oz) of TruFuel in the blower. Before each snow fall, I buy some gas from gas station and add stabilizer.

After the TruFuel use up I will fill up the blower then re-fill the blower after done with it to keep the tank as full as possible. The un-used gas goes to my car.

This way I only use one can of TruFuel for one season, and also minimize the time ethanol gas been kept in the blower.


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## 140278 (Aug 27, 2020)

welcome to the SBF
where in NJ are you? helps us a lot to fill out your information in account settings 

ethanol free gas you need to drive to upstate ny more than 50 miles from the city to get it.


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