# What if I don't use my new snowblower this winter?



## richierich (Oct 16, 2019)

I just bought a new snowblower a couple of months ago for the first time. Last winter on long island was mild and we barely had any snow. My question is, if I don't use it at all this season is there anything to do?

I have NOT filled it with gas yet and only plan on using tru fuel. Would you recommend changing the oil at the end of the season if I don't use it at all?

Also, I plan on leaving tru fuel in my snow blower in the shed during the year if I do use it.

I'm a total noob so any help would be appreciated. The snowblower I bought is in my sig.


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## kimber (Dec 19, 2019)

No, if you don't use it, no need to change the oil, if you do use it then change oil after first 5hrs. of use, normal break-in time.
If you want to store with fuel, fill up tank and add a stabilizer, won't hurt to be on safe side and stabilizer won't hurt anything.
I'm sure others will comment to help you out also.
I just bought a new machine and keep checking the forecast for a Nor'easter! Lol


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

If it was me, I would be making sure that the proper oil is in it and at the proper level (I use only 5W30 *Full Synthetic* in all my equipment, new, old, summer, winter), I would fill it with gas (I only use regular gas with Stabil and half the rate of SeaFoam) and make sure every other lube area is properly lubed and greased. I would initially put a nice coat of wax on it for protection (looks great also).

Whether it is run in snow duty, or if it is just sitting in off season, or never run in the season, I periodically fire all my machines and run them around the yard. I am a believer that it is never good for any machine to just sit there idle, never getting used.

I have never encountered a gas issue or carburetor issue in any of my machines, and the tires stay just fine as well, in all my years, lol, which is many.

I will tell you though, I have encountered many problems from many machines where people let them sit idle for long periods of time with never paying attention to them. I have never purchased any of my 7 machines, as they were all obtained for free and repaired and restored by me over the years, from people who discarded them because they never maintained them properly.


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## richierich (Oct 16, 2019)

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah the manual says 5W30 oil. I never considered synthetic oil. Do you also put that in your car as well?

I'll change after the first 5 hours (which could be next season). I have a smallish driveway, prob would take under an hour to complete. 

Good point about running the snow blower. I guess I'll give it a go to run it for the first time.

The tru fuel says it can stay for 2 years so I'll fill it up and just leave it in there.


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## TooTall999 (Nov 19, 2015)

Find a source for ethanol free gas, don't waste money on tru fuel.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

*What if I don't use my new snowblower this winter?*
Consider yourself very blessed.


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## Clutch Cargo (Dec 27, 2015)

> *What if I don't use my new snowblower this winter?*


You will have validated Murphy's Law, Article 4, Section 6A, Sub-paragraph 2, which specifically states that when you purchase a brand-new snowblower, it will *NOT* snow.


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## RC20 (Dec 4, 2019)

Some of us think blowing snow is fun!


That said, oil is not an issue to sit, it can go for years. 

Fuel, that is a perishable item if you are in hotter areas. Best not to store it if you can avoid it. 

Synthetic oil is great for snowblower because it does not thicken up like conventional, more so if you store in an outdoor shed. 

Tough situation to be in a warmer area that the machine just sits. Really should be run even just to see if it all works ok and any issues involved.
I don't have knowledge of stabil and the like needed. Up here fuel preserves well because even in the summer we are cool. The only place I had an issue was inside diesel tanks that were 77 deg all year around. It sounds like you might be in one of those areas you should add it. 

I have never run anything but winter fuel in my stuff and its fine (Ethanol) but again we are cooler than most stateside places.
Oil changes are now no sooner than every 5 years. Synthetic is really good and it just does not get the hours on it to need changing 

I was remotely responsible for (and visited once) a diesel generator at Clarke Air Base in the Philippines. It had a metal mesh screen, no filter. We got the oil changed every 50 hours per the mfg (way hot and humid) and it had an estimated 20,000 hours when it got burried by Pinatubo. then they dug it out and last we heard it was running backup for a hospital section on Subic Bay. 

Good oil last a lot longer than people think. Even in a snowy winter I don't put 25 hours on the machine. 

It does not hurt anything to change sooner but its not a have to.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Even with Tru Fuel, I'd add some stabilizer, if you have it. It's cheap insurance. If you only use Tru Fuel for your outdoor equipment, maybe you don't really need to have stabilizer around. But if you're using ethanol gas for any equipment, I'd add stabilizer to that. Again, cheap insurance against carb problems (an ounce of prevention is a lot easier than cleaning a clogged carb). 

I wouldn't change the oil if it's not being run. I understand wanting to keep gas out of it. But I'd want to run it before I need the machine, to make sure it's working properly. I'd add a little Tru Fuel (like a few ounces), and run it long enough to use up that gas, so it dies and leaves the tank empty again. No need to change the oil after just that.


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## toofastforyou (Jan 29, 2019)

micah68kj said:


> *What if I don't use my new snowblower this winter?*
> Consider yourself very blessed.


Yes, X2! …also, your snowblower will still be "new" one more year! 

Claude.


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## uberT (Dec 29, 2013)

micah68kj said:


> *What if I don't use my new snowblower this winter?*
> Consider yourself very blessed.


LOL.

As I rode around today, I asked myself the same. Snow (ice) is virtually gone, nothing on the horizon :sad2:


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Don't despair yet, it's still early in the season. In the record-breaking 14/15 winter, we got very little until the end of January. There's still time!


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## Sid (Jan 31, 2014)

Lately I have been putting things away with aviation gas, $6. a gallon, but it never goes bad.
Sid


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## Tony P. (Jan 9, 2017)

The impression I have is you have never used the machine. If I'm wrong, skip the rest of this.

The worst thing to have happen is watch 18" of snow fall then find out there's a problem with the snow blower. I'm surprised no one suggested running the snow blower to make certain you have no issues, but that's what I'd do. Doing so also allows you to run the machine at varying speeds, operating the auger, and getting accustomed to it but do everything without actually scrapping on dry cement or asphalt. In addition, you should set the amount you want to skim, if any. 

Of course this requires you to go through the storage process at season end, but don't worry, you'll have plenty to clear this year and will have to do so, anyway.


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## 2.137269 (Nov 15, 2019)

welcome to the site, since you live on long island if more than 50 miles out of the city you should be able to find pure gas or better known as ethanol free , try loooking in https://www.pure-gas.org/ if your lucky enough bingo. the last time i drove to up state ny, 40 miles from my home in nw nj 91 grade e free was $3.24.9 a gallon just add stibilizer and it's good for 2 years


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

RedOctobyr said:


> But I'd want to run it before I need the machine, to make sure it's working properly. I'd add a little Tru Fuel (like a few ounces), and run it long enough to use up that gas, so it dies and leaves the tank empty again. No need to change the oil after just that.





Tony P. said:


> I'm surprised no one suggested running the snow blower to make certain you have no issues, but that's what I'd do.


Agreed that someone should have suggested doing that


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## Tony P. (Jan 9, 2017)

RedOctobyr said:


> Agreed that someone should have suggested doing that


Sorry. Hopefully I'm better at snow blowers than reading.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Actually, after my post way back in the beginning, the OP replied that he was going to prep it and run it ….


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## RC20 (Dec 4, 2019)

> I'm surprised no one suggested running the snow blower to make certain you have no issues,


 I too suggest firing it up and checking it out. Sort of suspicious you did not read all the posts (gasp)




> Tough situation to be in a warmer area that the machine just sits. Really should be run even just to see if it all works ok and any issues involved.


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)

I think it is very fair price. I bought a new(er) 2015 Pro 28 back in August. If it never snows here in Connecticut ever again and I never use it... it wouldn't make me sad. In fact it would make me really happy. :smile2: In fact I think it would make me have a bier. :icon-cheers:

I am not a Sno Thro kind of guy where I can not wait to go outside and clear snow. Absolutely not... I buy a machine to get done what needs to get done when it has to get done. Not to go out and just clear tons and tons of snow because it's winter. :hellno: 



Clutch Cargo said:


> You will have validated Murphy's Law, Article 4, Section 6A, Sub-paragraph 2, which specifically states that when you purchase a brand-new snowblower, it will *NOT* snow.


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## robs9 (Sep 5, 2018)

Speaking to fuel stabilizer. I have always used Stabil in all of my equipment. Including two cycles. I had a foot operated on one year and after that the foot reinfected. So for two years my Toro 1028 PowrtMax sat in the shed for two years sitting idle. Once I was able to walk again I went out to the shed pulled the rope three four times to get oil moved around. Primed it, turned key on pulled rope and it started right away. Drove back to garage filled the tank with some fresh gas and used it that season.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


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## Clutch Cargo (Dec 27, 2015)

Sid said:


> Lately I have been putting things away with aviation gas, $6. a gallon, but it never goes bad.
> Sid



I too have hopped on the MOGAS and/or E0 bandwagon. I plan on using it in my mower this summer as well.


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## Tony P. (Jan 9, 2017)

RC20 said:


> Some of us think blowing snow is fun!
> 
> 
> That said, oil is not an issue to sit, it can go for years.
> ...


Clearly I should have gone over the posts better before I commented on what others should have done and I received some comments to that effect. Lesson learned, I was wrong. 

But perhaps others should also consider all the fluff they include in their lengthy posts before criticizing others for not wading through them.

Of course I'm sure I'll hear about this post, too.


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

Clutch Cargo said:


> You will have validated Murphy's Law, Article 4, Section 6A, Sub-paragraph 2, which specifically states that when you purchase a brand-new snowblower, it will *NOT* snow.


That is what happened to me when I bought my first snow blower about 1990 or so. It was an Ariens 724, the price was a stretch for me at the time. And of course we didn't see snowflake one for four years. But hey, that's a deal I'll take!

I agree with the suggestions that if the machine has never been run, check the oil & belts, put some gas in it, and make sure everything works before you get any snow. It hasn't happened to me (yet) but you don't want to think you're all ready for snow and find out the thing won't start or something.

As for long term storage, I'm in the minority here and drain ALL fuel from the tank, fuel lines, and carburetor bowl in the spring. The reason is that four-year interval can happen again, and even the best preservative will not keep gasoline good for more than a couple of years.

Now that all that has been done, if it had spark five years ago and nothing's happened since, it'll have spark today. Same for fuel flow. Drain all fuel, put it under roof and keep it dry and critters away, why wouldn't it start ten years from now? Why does a 20-year-old NOS (new old stock) carburetor work just fine? Because nothing happened to it, same with any other carburetor that has been drained of anything that will turn to gunk and clog it.

Just yesterday I started up a two-stroke Echo ES-2400 Shred 'n Vac that hadn't been run for 17 (yes, seventeen) years. A half-dozen pulls and it started right up. That won't happen with fuel in it, no matter what you treat it with. We used it a lot at our old house and for whatever reason my wife wanted to use it yesterday. I'll have to admit I was surprised that it started so easily. My point is that if you drain the fuel the thing can sit for a decade and it won't hurt anything as long as it's sheltered and dry.


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## notabiker (Dec 14, 2018)

richierich said:


> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> Yeah the manual says 5W30 oil. I never considered synthetic oil. Do you also put that in your car as well?
> 
> ...



I'm still of the mind that it's best to use dino oil for break-in and then switch to synthetic. I warm up the engine and then giver **** and after the first storm I drain the oil and refill with more dino and do that for the first few storms (probably 30 minutes or so of use for each storm) and then I'll think about switching to synthetic.




micah68kj said:


> *What if I don't use my new snowblower this winter?*
> Consider yourself very blessed.



Or bored..





RedOctobyr said:


> Even with Tru Fuel, I'd add some stabilizer, if you have it. It's cheap insurance. If you only use Tru Fuel for your outdoor equipment, maybe you don't really need to have stabilizer around. But if you're using ethanol gas for any equipment, I'd add stabilizer to that. Again, cheap insurance against carb problems (an ounce of prevention is a lot easier than cleaning a clogged carb).
> 
> I wouldn't change the oil if it's not being run. I understand wanting to keep gas out of it. But I'd want to run it before I need the machine, to make sure it's working properly. I'd add a little Tru Fuel (like a few ounces), and run it long enough to use up that gas, so it dies and leaves the tank empty again. No need to change the oil after just that.



Tru Fuel is already stabilized, says two year shelf life and treating gas with Sta-bil will give up to 24 months of storage. I'd guess avgas to be about the best long term but then I've read that it will react with some plastics and in order to properly store it, you'll need a specially coated steel drum. That's what I read while doing my own research on avgas (100LL) and with the cost of Sta-bil and non-ethanol fuel you're still much cheaper than avgas as well as the massive convenience of being able to go to gas stations vs finding an airport and figuring out how to get avgas from them.


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## 2.137269 (Nov 15, 2019)

funny part of the above post, i fly and the tanks in my LSA plane are plastic molded the little lady is 10 years old/1.000 hours and never a fuel issue from the tanks, 

avgas price depends on the air port,the bigger the ap the higher priced, around me it can go from$4.99 at the local to $8.34 at teterboro ( AirNav: KTEB - Teterboro Airport)
small ap's will almost always be self service with many turning a blind eye to can's being filled ,one will need a CC and tail number to turn the pump on ,while larger will be full service only and for that one pay's dearly


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## Tony P. (Jan 9, 2017)

notabiker said:


> Tru Fuel is already stabilized, says two year shelf life and treating gas with Sta-bil will give up to 24 months of storage. I'd guess avgas to be about the best long term but then I've read that it will react with some plastics and in order to properly store it, you'll need a specially coated steel drum. That's what I read while doing my own research on avgas (100LL) and with the cost of Sta-bil and non-ethanol fuel you're still much cheaper than avgas as well as the massive convenience of being able to go to gas stations vs finding an airport and figuring out how to get avgas from them.


Everyone has their own solution and mine involves keeping it simple. Gasoline can be stored for up to 2 months without a substantive risk of issues, so I just limit myself to what I need during that period and add some Sta-Bil or SeaFoam. That comes out to about two gallons in winter (for my snow blower) and 3 gallons at other times. When I get close to 2 months, I simply add the small amount remaining to my SUV and start over. If I run out, it's easy to get more so I have no need to store gas beyond my short term requirements. After all, snow season is only a few months long.


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## danham (Sep 23, 2019)

All these suggestions are good, with one possible exception. I'd avoid starting and running any engine for short periods during its storage season. Best practice is to never start it unless you plan to get it to full operating temp and keep it there for sufficient time to to get rid of any condensation in the oil. This varies for different motors, but in the case of motorcycles (which I've been storing for winter since several decades ago), it means riding them, as idling will not get things up to temp. Don't know what this means for our snow machines, but I don't plan to start mine until I need to use it.

-dan


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## johnwick (Dec 16, 2019)

danham said:


> All these suggestions are good, with one possible exception. I'd avoid starting and running any engine for short periods during its storage season. Best practice is to never start it unless you plan to get it to full operating temp and keep it there for sufficient time to to get rid of any condensation in the oil. This varies for different motors, but in the case of motorcycles (which I've been storing for winter since several decades ago), it means riding them, as idling will not get things up to temp. Don't know what this means for our snow machines, but I don't plan to start mine until I need to use it.
> 
> 
> 
> -dan




That’s good advice and makes sense, Dan. They say the same is true for our vehicles and that it’s bad to make lots of short trips with them. 

But considering these snowblower engines are designed for cold weather use and extended use during summer isn’t advised, don’t you think they’d come up to temp pretty fast on a hot day? I’m only assuming, I don’t know for sure. Personally, my equipment has always been left to sit until it’s time for snow season again. With the proper prep beforehand of course.


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## brickcity (Jan 23, 2014)

Sid said:


> Lately I have been putting things away with aviation gas, $6. a gallon, but it never goes bad.
> Sid


 Sid 
never is a long time. every thing goes bad eventually, especially gas


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## Sid (Jan 31, 2014)

That's the scuttlebutt from guys that worked at a major aircraft engine rebuilder near me. Another sign of the times, no one [ that we know ] has planes anymore because of the expense. The shop closed because of legal costs. When there were plane crashes, the familys would sue the shop. They never lost a case, but they had to pay lawyers. After the crashes they would retrieve the engines and they always started up after broken external parts were replaced. Sorry for the off topic chatter.
Sid


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## SnowGuy69 (Feb 12, 2014)

micah68kj said:


> *What if I don't use my new snowblower this winter?*
> Consider yourself very blessed.



I agree


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## richierich (Oct 16, 2019)

Thanks everyone for chiming in.

After reading everything here is my plan.

1) Will fire up the snow blower with a few ounces of gas and let it run until there is no gas left
2) If I have to use during the season, even though you can keep tru fuel for 2 years open, I'm still going to let the gas run out until empty 
3) I'm going to store in my shed with no gas even though its hot in there. If I don't hit the 5 hours this winter I won't change the oil.
4) I will also use synthetic 5W30 when I refill my oil.

Note: I realize I'm probably wasting money using tru fuel vs regular gas/stabil but that's ok. I could totally see myself forgetting to drain the gas tank and/or add stabil since this is the 1st snow blower I've ever owned. So I want to play it safe with the trufuel. I have a smallish driveway and could probably finish it in 45 mins so I'm not going to be using that much tru fuel in a season.


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## BlowerMods1 (Jan 11, 2020)

You're going to go broke using nothing but True Fuel. I use True Fuel but only when I am getting ready to store it for the off season. I use regular gas throughout the season and run it out after each use. I keep the gas I use in a two gallon can and fill the tank on the blower just before starting it. When I run out of gas I add just enough to finish the job. Makes running it out a lot easier. I never use gas that is more than 30 days old in a small engine. Once the gas in the can expires I dump it into my pickup and watch the weather for the next snow fall. I buy fresh fuel the day before I hear I will need it. When storing I run all of the bad fuel / ethanol out of the blowers tank and pour a pint of True Fuel into it. I start the Blower and let it circulate for 5 minutes or so and I'm good till the next season. The blower sits in a heated garage. Your Manual may tell you to store with treated fuel. I wouldn't. I made that mistake once. It was hec to get running again. Even with treated fuel. You could probably get by doing this if you have a Brigs or Tecumseh but if your engine is Chinese I would not store with treated fuel. Once true Fuel is opened it is good for two years, unopened it stays fresh for five. I have two gallons of gas in a can now that I will have to dump in a few weeks. I do use Stabil in the gas I use in the blower but I don't rely on it as It doesn't seem to work as good as it used to.
.


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## Tony P. (Jan 9, 2017)

richierich said:


> Note: I realize I'm probably wasting money using tru fuel vs regular gas/stabil but that's ok. I could totally see myself forgetting to drain the gas tank and/or add stabil since this is the 1st snow blower I've ever owned. So I want to play it safe with the trufuel. I have a smallish driveway and could probably finish it in 45 mins so I'm not going to be using that much tru fuel in a season.


Rich, while this forum focuses on snow blowers the gasoline discussion is applicable to any equipment with a small engine. I agree with you if your only small engine is on a snow blower, but for most people that's not the case. Many people own gas powered lawn mowers and/or tractors, trimmers, generators, chainsaws, chippers, blowers, and a myriad of other power equipment and gasoline issues apply to all of those, as well. In my opinion (and I know others may disagree), when that's the case TruFuel is costly and using stabilizer together with managing gasoline storage becomes more practical.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

haven't read past first post.

I always would rather have something and not need it than need it and not have it. In my case I went a little over board. 4 running honda hs 80's, 2 828's, 1 928 , 1 1132 , a HS520 and 621 , and perhaps 10 future projects and a dozen parts machines. 

but i'm an anomaly .


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