If the winter of 2014/15 forced you into a new snowblower, take a few moments to properly store it and protect your investment! The most common repair problems are easily preventable and they can be completed now – NOT—in the days leading up to a snow storm. 

The single most important storage tip is removing the old gasoline. If you do nothing else, drain the gas!

High ethanol in gasoline will ruin your carburetor.

Drain the remaining fuel from your gas tank. Fuel that sits all summer will go bad and require an expensive carburetor replacement. It’s also unlikely that a carburetor replacement is covered under warranty when bad fuel is at fault! Start by draining the fuel, then:

- Use stabilizer in your fuel. Mix right at the pump with the BEST fuel available. 

- Add a small amount of the treated fuel to the snow blower, and start it up. Run the machine for a couple minutes and allow the treated fuel to run through the engine. 

- Turn the fuel shutoff knob to OFF and let the snow blower run out of gas. 

Finally, turn off the key switch. This step alone will go a long way to protecting the engine and ensure another season of use.

Completing a proper “summarization” involves a few additional steps, but there are maintenance kits available to make the job easy. Most kits will include oil, spark plugs, and fuel stabilizer. If the snow blower is stored outside, its not a bad idea to pick up a cover too!