# Novice here. Trufuel, end of season, run it dry?



## tunanocrust (Dec 14, 2018)

Hi everyone I searched the forum and read tons of threads. But i have to ask to put my OCD mind at ease since none of the threads are exact to my specs. 

New Craftsman. Used an hour. at most Ran only Trufuel. Used about 30-40 oz, so not much at all. The season is over and was curious if I should just leave the little thats in it, or run it dry. I saw suggestions for doing both but those running Trufuel said didn't need to. 

And is draining the carb necessary? I have no clue how to do that so I am hoping you all say no haha! 

Thanks for the help everyone. I know it isn't easy dealing with new people who don't know what they are doing. Appreciate the help, and insults. :wink2:


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## e.fisher26 (Nov 6, 2016)

If u have a fuel shut off, just run it dry. Because u used tru fuel to run it (not just for storage) u shouldn’t have to do anything(if no shut off) I’d run it a couple times over the summer


Noma 10/29
Cub cadet 5/26 conv to 8/26
Toro 724 conv to 10/24
Husqvarna st230p


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## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

I'd like to believe there is a reason you pay the equivalent of 24 bucks a gallon for Trufuel. You should be fine. I personally don't think you need to run your carb dry but closing the shut-off if you have one won't hurt. I also think running it for a few minutes a couple of times during the offseason is good advice.


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

As the other two said with TruFuel you should be okay with just running it dry by shutting off the fuel valve while it's running. But I'm fussy and would drain the carburetor just because it's so easy - the carburetor bowl should have a 10mm bolt on the bottom, offset from the center and maybe a little lower. That would be the drain, just make sure the fuel is turned off, then remove that bolt (or even just loosen it if you're patient and/or afraid you'll lose it if you drop it) and let the bowl drain. When done, tighten the bolt and you're done.

I also do all the greasing, oiling, and adjusting that is done seasonally when I put it away. Some do this at the start of the season, I suppose it doesn't really matter as long as it gets done.


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## tunanocrust (Dec 14, 2018)

e.fisher26 said:


> If u have a fuel shut off, just run it dry. Because u used tru fuel to run it (not just for storage) u shouldn’t have to do anything(if no shut off) I’d run it a couple times over the summer


Hi! I don't think I have a fuel shut off, to be honest. I only have a "choke" to "run" toggle. And do I have the "run it dry" terminology wrong? I thought that meant to run it until all the gas in the tank (which isn't too much at the moment.. maybe 1/4 tank at most) ran out and the machine shut off.

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely run it a couple of times in the off season! I'm glad my trufuel investment is somewhat paying off for a novice like me worried about longevity. Thanks again!




dbert said:


> I'd like to believe there is a reason you pay the equivalent of 24 bucks a gallon for Trufuel. You should be fine. I personally don't think you need to run your carb dry but closing the shut-off if you have one won't hurt. I also think running it for a few minutes a couple of times during the offseason is good advice.


Haha! Yeah, thats exactly why I am doing the Trufuel.. hopefully for this benefit. I will definitely run it a couple of times. Didn't even think of that. Thank you!




WVguy said:


> As the other two said with TruFuel you should be okay with just running it dry by shutting off the fuel valve while it's running. But I'm fussy and would drain the carburetor just because it's so easy - the carburetor bowl should have a 10mm bolt on the bottom, offset from the center and maybe a little lower. That would be the drain, just make sure the fuel is turned off, then remove that bolt (or even just loosen it if you're patient and/or afraid you'll lose it if you drop it) and let the bowl drain. When done, tighten the bolt and you're done.
> 
> I also do all the greasing, oiling, and adjusting that is done seasonally when I put it away. Some do this at the start of the season, I suppose it doesn't really matter as long as it gets done.


Hi! Sorry for the embarrassing question, but does "running it dry" mean I turn it on then turn the "run" to the "choke" option? :blush: 

Thanks for the greasing/oiling suggestion. I will search the forum on details on how to/what to! Thanks again!

Oh! Thank you! I think I found the carb bolt. I circled it.. And thanks for the directions on how to, really appreciate that.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Thats the OIL DRAIN!!!! The carb drain is on the bottom of the carb fuel bowl .


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## Fat City (Feb 11, 2017)

I am against draining carb., a little fuel stays behind. Pump gas has just enough alcohol to turn to water, destroying carb .
I'd add some * Fuel Stabilizer * to the gas tank, and give it a brief run . After running stabilized fuel, remove surplus gas from tank . Store with a little fuel to keep moisture out of carb. Turn tank shut off OFF to keep needle and seat from leaking. Storage does as much damage as use . Lube, dry, air out your machine . Occasionally pull cord. I oil cylinder at end of season . A toot of WD 40 would help carb too . Remove heat box, blast, replace .


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Yup, slow down just a bit  Let's make sure everything is identified and clear before diving in. As was said, the item you circled is the oil drain. The carb will be up on the side of the engine, near/behind the throttle/choke controls. 

Not all carbs have a drain bolt. It varies by engine. In this image, the drain bolt is the one to the left. The bolt at the center of the carb bowl secures the bowl itself, that one isn't the drain. But some carbs will just have that single bolt in the middle, which holds the bowl on, and won't have a drain. 










Running the carb dry is usually done by closing the fuel shutoff (assuming you have one), and running the engine until it stalls. If you don't have a fuel shutoff, it's worth considering adding one. But without one, you could siphon/pump out the tank (rather than burning that expensive fuel for no reason), then start the engine, and run it until it dies. You can add choke as it starts to stall, to help it burn through the last of the gas. 

I don't use TruFuel, I add stabilizer to my gas. At the end of the season, I close the fuel shutoff, and run the engine until it dies, to run the carb dry. This has worked well for me. With better gas (TruFuel), you should be in even better shape.


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

tunanocrust said:


> Hi! Sorry for the embarrassing question, but does "running it dry" mean I turn it on then turn the "run" to the "choke" option? :blush:
> 
> Thanks for the greasing/oiling suggestion. I will search the forum on details on how to/what to! Thanks again!


"Running it dry" usually means turning off the fuel valve and let the engine run until it quits for lack of fuel. As was pointed out if you don't have a fuel valve siphon the tank as dry as you can get it and then let the engine run until it quits.

As you have no doubt noticed, opinions vary about whether it is better to drain the tank dry or leave it full of treated fuel. I drain it because in my location having to run the snowblower next winter, or even two winters in a row, is not a sure thing. Some winters we get no snow, and others we get so little snow the most appropriate tool is a broom. Other winters we get buried so it's a crap shoot.

In places like Buffalo, NY you can pretty much bet the rent you're gonna need the snowblower. If that's the case where you are then sure, leave fuel in the tank to minimize condensation over the summer.

As for the "greasing/oiling" the easiest place to look for information on that is the owner's manual since it will be specific to your model of snowblower.


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## scrappy (Dec 7, 2014)

I always run them dry. This year did not even fire it up. So that would have been 2 years of the fuel sitting around.
Draining fuel is way easier than rebuilding a carburetor. Why risk it.


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## tunanocrust (Dec 14, 2018)

ST1100A said:


> Thats the OIL DRAIN!!!! The carb drain is on the bottom of the carb fuel bowl .


Oh crap! haha! Thanks for letting me know. Well, at least now I know where to drain the oil for my first oil change! Thanks!




Fat City said:


> I am against draining carb., a little fuel stays behind. Pump gas has just enough alcohol to turn to water, destroying carb .
> I'd add some * Fuel Stabilizer * to the gas tank, and give it a brief run . After running stabilized fuel, remove surplus gas from tank . Store with a little fuel to keep moisture out of carb. Turn tank shut off OFF to keep needle and seat from leaking. Storage does as much damage as use . Lube, dry, air out your machine . Occasionally pull cord. I oil cylinder at end of season . A toot of WD 40 would help carb too . Remove heat box, blast, replace .


A lot of that is over my head, to be honest. I appreciate your response though. I thought that Fuel Stabilizer was a bad idea if I am running ethanol fee, Trufuel.



RedOctobyr said:


> Yup, slow down just a bit  Let's make sure everything is identified and clear before diving in. As was said, the item you circled is the oil drain. The carb will be up on the side of the engine, near/behind the throttle/choke controls.
> 
> Not all carbs have a drain bolt. It varies by engine. In this image, the drain bolt is the one to the left. The bolt at the center of the carb bowl secures the bowl itself, that one isn't the drain. But some carbs will just have that single bolt in the middle, which holds the bowl on, and won't have a drain.
> 
> ...



Haha! I will slow down for sure. I definitely am too eager and in over my head haha! Glad that I asked about what I thought was the carb drain bolt. That could have been bad. ha! I think I found the carb bolt now though.. this guy!? 





I don't think I have a fuel shut off. These are the only real controls I see.. Adding a fuel cutoff is way way above my pay grade. haha I'm still impressed with myself having gotten the blower to work at all. 









Thanks for the great post. I am feeling better and better about the investment in Trufuel. I am leaning towards draining the carb, after I burned the leftover small amount of fuel in the tank.






WVguy said:


> "Running it dry" usually means turning off the fuel valve and let the engine run until it quits for lack of fuel. As was pointed out if you don't have a fuel valve siphon the tank as dry as you can get it and then let the engine run until it quits.
> 
> As you have no doubt noticed, opinions vary about whether it is better to drain the tank dry or leave it full of treated fuel. I drain it because in my location having to run the snowblower next winter, or even two winters in a row, is not a sure thing. Some winters we get no snow, and others we get so little snow the most appropriate tool is a broom. Other winters we get buried so it's a crap shoot.
> 
> ...


Run til dry.. got it. Thank you!

Gotcha gotcha. I think I will only get to use it a couple of times a year, so I think I will drain mine too.. or burn it. And thanks.. for some reason i ran through the manual and never paid attention to lube info. Oops. Will go back and look for sure now.


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## tunanocrust (Dec 14, 2018)

And sorry for the late response, everyone. I work A LOT.. and then when I do try to respond, I have the hardest time with this forum.. logging in, password resets, etc. I really do appreciate all the feedback I have gotten. Thanks so much.


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## tunanocrust (Dec 14, 2018)

scrappy said:


> I always run them dry. This year did not even fire it up. So that would have been 2 years of the fuel sitting around.
> Draining fuel is way easier than rebuilding a carburetor. Why risk it.


You're draining from the carb? I see you're in NJ. There are so few options for ethanol free.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

tunanocrust said:


> I thought that Fuel Stabilizer was a bad idea if I am running ethanol fee, Trufuel.


There's no harm in using stabilizer, even with Trufuel, if you preferred. It's much less important with Trufuel, but adding stabilizer will only help, in my opinion. 



> I think I found the carb bolt now though.. this guy!?


The drain bowl is the offset-to-the-side, angled bolt. I circled it in your picture. 



> Gotcha gotcha. I think I will only get to use it a couple of times a year, so I think I will drain mine too.. or burn it. And thanks.. for some reason i ran through the manual and never paid attention to lube info. Oops. Will go back and look for sure now.


Good for you for looking into how to care for the machine. That's more than a lot of people do. Good luck, and people here are happy to answer questions you may have.


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## tunanocrust (Dec 14, 2018)

RedOctobyr said:


> There's no harm in using stabilizer, even with Trufuel, if you preferred. It's much less important with Trufuel, but adding stabilizer will only help, in my opinion.
> 
> The drain bowl is the offset-to-the-side, angled bolt. I circled it in your picture.
> 
> Good for you for looking into how to care for the machine. That's more than a lot of people do. Good luck, and people here are happy to answer questions you may have.


Oh nice! Thanks I think I will try some stabilizer too! I want to make it bullet/idiot/me proof. Thanks for circling it! My OCD thanks you. Great great community. I really appreciate all the help. Thank you!


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## Snowslinger (Feb 1, 2019)

I would run it dry at the end of the season, pull off the bowl and give a squirt of carb cleaner if you want to go the extra step. 

I wouldn’t run it dry during the season (I already made a post asking about just this) because the little drips that are left behind will evaporate and varnish a bit in the bowl versus staying wet with a full bowl and not varnishing.


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## Bluejoe (Nov 29, 2016)

I always drain the carb. On the Tecumseh engines I have the bowls with spring loaded drains. Put some fresh gas in tank and push in the spring loaded drain. It’s ok to remove bowl but on the newer Honda clone motors and others it’s hard to get to the carburetor. Sometimes the front cover wraps around the bottom partially covering carb. Then if you remove bowl it’s hit or miss if you can get the bowl gasket back in place. It only takes one time if the rubber gasket doesn’t stay in place and gets stretched your probably going to need to replace it.


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## barney (Nov 21, 2017)

dbert said:


> I'd like to believe there is a reason you pay the equivalent of 24 bucks a gallon for Trufuel. You should be fine. *I personally don't think you need to run your carb dry* but closing the shut-off if you have one won't hurt. *I also think running it for a few minutes a couple of times during the offseason is good advice.*


This is the regime I've settled on as well. 
E free gas with Stabil, keep the tank full, run the machine for four or five minutes once or twice a month during the summer.

Still haven't decided on whether it's best to turn off gas and run the carb till dry or not. I've seen cases made for both. 

When winter comes I siphon all the gas I can get out of the tank and put it in the car and fill with new E free and Stabil. 

If/when I start to experience idle degradation, surging etc. I'll clean the carb and come up with a new regime. :smile2:
3 seasons so far with a new Toro 826


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## e.fisher26 (Nov 6, 2016)

4 stroke, run it dry, 2 stroke use alittle tru-fuel so the diaphragms don’t dry out


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