I’ve been really worried about this.
I mothballed that chainsaw so long ago I was certain that the carb diaphragms were going to be stiff as boards, just because of course they were. And the only saw shop in town dried up and blew away, and there I was going to be, needing to do something really administrative to get my saw fixed when administrative is my worst thing.
So I kept putting off doing anything about it, because procrastination is my best thing; it’s my absolute specialty and my invariable first resort. But this morning I was like, “Screw this, Joel. You’re supposed to be cutting wood and you don’t even know if your saw works.” So I dragged it out of the powershed, and I mixed some gas, poured some of it into the saw, went through all the preliminary rigmarole … and it started right up. Seriously, it runs just fine.
I was almost offended.
Nice…
Put it away empty and there is no reason it won’t start.
By empty I mean pour out the gas and run ti ’til it won’t, then 20 pulls with the throttle held wide open.
Alternatively, mix a very small amount of oil with Coleman fuel and run that through ’til it is stops…
either way no varnish to clog the carb.
Tighten that chain! Jumping a chain is the best way to ruin it fast.
I found this stuff, ‘Startron’,which is damn near magical on small engines. You might consider it…
Yes I’m aware the chain is loose. It’s been in storage for 4-5 years, I loosened the chain.
What is Startron?
I have made sure to empty my snowblower and lawnmower of gas at the right times of year to prevent trips to the hardware store for spring or fall carb rebuilds.
The mower I have to run dry, in a shut garage, as there’s no easy fuel line to remove I can find. The snowblower has a fuel line I can remove and drain.
I just have to remember to reinstall it when I need it to snowblow, or the gas goes all over the garage floor…
STABIL fuel stabilizer for the win! Most auto parts stores have it, I’ve treated boat engines, stored the boat for almost 2 years, and it starts right up, once fuel gets to the carb.
Pour the recommended quantity (1 ounce per 2 1/.2 gallon), run the engine to distribute the treated fuel through the whole system.
Also, on small single cylinder engines, pull the start cord until the piston is up on the compression stroke. This closes the cylinder off to the atmosphere, keeps the rust/dust out of the innards.
Joel-
I figgered you’d recognize a loose chain, I just couldn’t resist the comment!
Startron is an enzyme fuel additive I bought on the recommendation of a friend. I have a log splitter (well maintained) that was running wonky. I added the stuff (used in minuscule amounts) to one tank of gas, & before that tank was empty, it was running like new. Magic, methinks. It won’t replace my Stabil for storage, but it’s pretty remarkable for fixing (?) recalcitrant carburetors.
Personally, get a quart/gallon of the ‘engineered gas’. Yeah, not cheap at $20gal, but you don’t need much. At the end of the season, empty the tank and refill with a cup of the ‘spensive’ stuff, start, let idle, then shut off and put it away. It doesn’t seem to go bad after 6mo, starts like it was just tuned up and just run a few minutes ago. Come time to use it, just fill your tank with good mix and have at it. My limb saw started on the second pull, after being put away for 2yrs. I love this stuff.
Again, not cheap stuff, but what’s 30min of draining/removing fuel bowls, spark plugs, and the fighting every time you want to start it ‘after’ a winter or stored season behind it?
For all 2 stroke toys, I don’t run normal gas anymore.
Just my opinion, yours may differ.