# Warm start and preparation for end of season



## xpress88 (Sep 22, 2014)

I have a new HS928TA that I bought in Nov 2014. It works well and starts cold with no issues. A couple of times, I've shut off the power as I did not want to idle the engine. When I tried to restart the engine using the recoil a few mins later, it would not start (I did not try to start with the power cord). I would need to wait 15 mins or so(or maybe a bit more) and then it would start again. I also tried to pull the choke but it did not make a difference. It seemed like I had to wait for the engine to cool down before restarting. Is that normal? 

Also as we get closer to the end of the season, what is the best way to prepare for ultimately retiring the blower? Is it still necessary to top up the tank after each use at this point? Once season ends, is it recommended to empty the tank and run the engine dry? I see some conflicting advice to leave the tank full with stabilizer so as to minimize condensation in the tank during the summer. I was thinking of emptying the tank and run some of the ethanol free gas that is sold in the can before storing. The snowblower will remain in the garage but it gets humid and in the past, some of my metal tools get rusty after a while.


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## charley95 (Feb 10, 2014)

I just bought HS724 a month ago that replaced my 28 yr. old MTD. I always ran the tank and carb. dry at end of season. I would change the oil prior to storage, I use Mobil 1. Also lube everything that is stated in the owners manual. This always worked on my old MTD for years. You will get different opinions on here but this always worked for me. Good luck with your new Honda!


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

run the tank and carb dry. change oil at the start of the new season. [email protected] SHINE if you wish. ALOHA from the paradise city. here in the frozen TUNDRA.


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## brickcity (Jan 23, 2014)

sometimes when i shut my machine off for a few minits it will start without haveing to prime or choke it. if it dosn't start after a couple pulls i'll prime and choke it and it starts right away. you probably just have to just get used to your engine.
on the drain the tank or leave it full with stabilizer you'l get dizzy with all the different opinions.


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## time2time (Jan 8, 2015)

Opinions are like, uh, ..noses (most everybody has one).

Seemed like there were always 2 camps about seasonal storage (all dry, carb and tank, or full with stabilizer). That was before ethanol. Now, if you only have ethanol options, dry might get more 'votes'. If you have an ethanol free choice, either should be ok for summer storage (my opinion).


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Welcome to the forum Xpress


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## joee5 (Nov 30, 2014)

Welcome from the Garden State.
I run all my seasonal engines dry prior to storage.


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## chrisoppie (Dec 12, 2013)

I have been running my tank dry of "pump gas", choke engine, pull some more till it wont pop anymore, add a qt of some canned fuel (I use the husqarna 50:1 premix) start it up, run for 10-15 minutes and park it for the off season, shutting off the fuel but not running the carb dry. Most of the canned fuels are ethanol free and have a shelf life of 2-3 years. Most owners manuals state to fill tank to the brim with a stabilized fuel and run the carb dry. Like stated above those directions were written 20+ years ago and are outdated with the damage ethanol will do to your fuel system. At the beginning of the next use season, just add fresh pump gas on top and away you go. as for the rest of the "of season storage" the owners manual is helpful, grease or silicone all moving joints and pivots. Sometimes ill give mine a rinse in the summer to get the salt off the machine before "lubing it up"


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

xpress88 said:


> I have a new HS928TA that I bought in Nov 2014. It works well and starts cold with no issues. A couple of times, I've shut off the power as I did not want to idle the engine. When I tried to restart the engine using the recoil a few mins later, it would not start (I did not try to start with the power cord). I would need to wait 15 mins or so(or maybe a bit more) and then it would start again. I also tried to pull the choke but it did not make a difference. It seemed like I had to wait for the engine to cool down before restarting. Is that normal?
> 
> Also as we get closer to the end of the season, what is the best way to prepare for ultimately retiring the blower? Is it still necessary to top up the tank after each use at this point? Once season ends, is it recommended to empty the tank and run the engine dry? I see some conflicting advice to leave the tank full with stabilizer so as to minimize condensation in the tank during the summer. I was thinking of emptying the tank and run some of the ethanol free gas that is sold in the can before storing. The snowblower will remain in the garage but it gets humid and in the past, some of my metal tools get rusty after a while.


with my vintage machines, I leave them outside, shut the gas off, and try to keep the fuel tanks topped off and use Stabil, so the gas tanks don't get rusty inside if they have steel tanks. 
I may put small canvas covers on the engines this year, just to keep debris and insects out of the carb, etc.
I also close the throttles and chokes so no critters get inside the carbs.
being they sit outside all year long, this year going to also spray the machines down with thinned light motor oil to resist rust.


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## brickcity (Jan 23, 2014)

i store mine topped off with stabilized gas unless there is almost nothing in the tank left after the last storm, then i'll run it dry.
most times i have over half tank left so i put as much gas as i can. i even put a double layer of that plastic saran wrap under the gas cap. i figure if the cap is vented air and moisture may get in. probably does nothing but i'm kind of anal sometimes


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## Blue Hill (Mar 31, 2013)

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> run the tank and carb dry. change oil at the start of the new season. [email protected] SHINE if you wish. ALOHA from the paradise city. here in the frozen TUNDRA.


Sorry PS93, but I must disagree  with leaving dirty oil and the moisture that goes with it, in an engine that will sit idle for many months.
I warm the engine up real good and change the oil before putting it away for the summer. I also put fogging oil in the cylinder and leave the valves in the closed position.


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## yarcraftman (Jan 30, 2014)

Like Charley on here I have a new 724WA and trying to determine what to do. 

Due to already having fuel issues in the first month of use I am going to use exclusively Tru Fuel to avoid any future issues. I bought what I thought was ethanol free gas initially from a station in Michigan that sells it for classic cars. Perhaps their stuff was old. So after saying well I spent over $2k on a snowblower why not spend more money on Tru Fuel (hopefully only a few gallons per year). I certainly don't want to screw up a $2k machine with bad gas.

I have read about the potential rust issues in a dry tank as well. I was considering leaving Tru Fuel in the tank for the summer to avoid this issue since its supposed to be so good. 

Another person suggested spraying WD-40 (or similar) into a dry tank to prevent rust, but I wonder if that may impact how the engine runs in the next season.

I plan on changing my oil also when the weather warms and going with Mobil 1.


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## nZone (Feb 19, 2015)

yarcraftman said:


> Like Charley on here I have a new 724WA and trying to determine what to do.
> 
> Due to already having fuel issues in the first month of use I am going to use exclusively Tru Fuel to avoid any future issues. I bought what I thought was ethanol free gas initially from a station in Michigan that sells it for classic cars. Perhaps their stuff was old. So after saying well I spent over $2k on a snowblower why not spend more money on Tru Fuel (hopefully only a few gallons per year). I certainly don't want to screw up a $2k machine with bad gas.
> 
> ...


WOW! You're going to spend $6/qrt for TruFuel? I'll stick with $2.50/gal regular gas even if it is for HS1336iAS. By the way, doesn't the metal gas tank has plastic lining?

You know the el cheapo Briggs and Stratton that is on my Troy-Bilt lawnmower can take bad gas pretty well. For 3 seasons now, I've never emptied the gas tank (whatever leftover stays) and never used fuel stabilizer. I just add more fuel to the tank on the next season and it starts up about 2-3 pulls. I tried the same with the Honda HS520AS -- BAD IDEA. It starts but died in about a minute.


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## [email protected] (Nov 21, 2011)

More in the STORAGE chapter of the owner's manual:

http://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/pe/pdf/manuals/00X31V046020.pdf


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## yarcraftman (Jan 30, 2014)

NZone,

I appreciate what you're saying about cost for sure. I have had a ton of issues with regular gas in the past in my equipment as well as driving 25 miles to station to buy what was supposed to be 91 Octane Ethanol Free fuel for my new Honda 724.

I have used STABIL brand stabilizer and Briggs. Most issues I had were with a leaf blower and also my old Ariens snowblower. Perhaps the fuel we have here in Michigan is worse than elsewhere. In my Ariens, I used to drain the fuel and carb at the beginning of each month which had stabil, pour in my car and buy another gallon. I had to replace two carb's on that and got tired of it before the valves went. 

You're right it's probably overkill and is extra cost. Fortunately, I think I will use about 2 gallons per year. If they neighbors want their driveway done I will have to ask for gas money $$$ LOL (just like the teen years).

As far as the plastic liner in the metal tank, I will have to look again but to the best of my knowledge it is all metal as I recall.


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## nZone (Feb 19, 2015)

yarcraftman,

Maybe you're having issue because of the use of higher octane fuel? High octane (>91) fuel is for high compression engine, and 10:1 ratio is not high for small engine. Maybe it does more harm than good. Unless Honda Powered Equipment Division put it in writing recommended fuel octane >91, I wouldn't bother to use it and stick with 87 regular. High octane fuel delays detonation. Perhaps your HS724 is telling you to stop using it (high octane).


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## yarcraftman (Jan 30, 2014)

NZone,

Thanks maybe you have a point, I will have to look into that further. I know my dealer and 2 other dealers in the area I talked to during the purchase process said that they now only put Tru Fuel (or equivalent) in new snowblowers regardless of brand when they sell them. So I would think they would be aware of the higher octane in Tru Fuel.

It is funny how a lot of us on this site myself included try to do research and do the right things and can run into issues. I know the last couple years using my Ariens was a big pain to drain the gas every 30 days especially when cold outside and pulling fuel lines etc. 

Thanks for the tip though on the octane I will certainly do some more investigating. If I recall correctly my manual says not to use anything less than 87 Octane (but no cap on the high end). I will have double check however.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Higher octane fuel will be a little harder to start but shouldn't really be noticeable unless you have other problems that it's compounding. Other than the very slightly more difficult starting high octane shouldn't cause you a problem but there is no advantage in running it in a stock snow blower engine (that I know of). Modified engine, yes.

The only real reason some run high octane is it's often the only grade they can get that doesn't contain alcohol and it's better to have the high octane to get away from the alcohol.

For moving fuel it's really quick and simple if you have a battery operated pump. They are designed for kerosene and not gasoline so having said that I just love mine. It was something I saw someone using as they weren't able to lift a 5gal + can of fuel to fill their rider anymore.
It's great for pumping out gas before storage, before tipping up on the auger or for emptying at start of season to put in fresh if you forgot to empty it at the end of season. $10-15 at a big box store, walmart, ...


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## RoyP (Oct 16, 2014)

time2time said:


> Opinions are like, uh, ..noses (most everybody has one).
> 
> Seemed like there were always 2 camps about seasonal storage (all dry, carb and tank, or full with stabilizer). That was before ethanol. Now, if you only have ethanol options, dry might get more 'votes'. If you have an ethanol free choice, either should be ok for summer storage (my opinion).


I really think it depends on the type of fuel tank you have....if plastic....run it dry, if it's metal, keep it full


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## nZone (Feb 19, 2015)

yarcraftman said:


> NZone,
> 
> Thanks maybe you have a point, I will have to look into that further. I know my dealer and 2 other dealers in the area I talked to during the purchase process said that they now only put Tru Fuel (or equivalent) in new snowblowers regardless of brand when they sell them. So I would think they would be aware of the higher octane in Tru Fuel.
> 
> ...


If you have been using high octane for small engine for awhile when the manufacturer didn't call for, inspect your spark plug tip (when time to change) and the muffler. If they look black, those are carbon buildups. The plug tip should look tan light-brownish color if you use the correct octane. I think the carbon buildup is the result of the fuel is still burning when it isn't supposed to. I'm not expert, but I think carbon buildup is bad thing for the engine. 

As Kiss4aFrog said, it won't benefit using high octane when regular is called for, but do keep an eye on the carbon build up.


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