I got a 22-ton Huskee splitter with Briggs & Stratton 675E engine in January of this year. I filled up the tank in January and put gas in it that had Sta-bil in it. The gas was probably 3 months old when I put it in the splitter.
I ran the splitter long enough to split 2 logs. I was just making sure it worked, but wasn't ready to do much splitting.
So, for the past 11 months, the splitter has been sitting under a tarp under 3' eaves behind my house. Rain cannot fall directly on it given the eaves and the tarp, but the temperature fluctuations are unavoidable.
I recently tried to start it, but no go. Changed plug and all the basic elementary stuff I know how to do. It's still under warranty, so I took it to a local Briggs & Stratton authorized shop. They fixed it and said it was bad gas & that I should use at least mid-grade gas. (I never use less than 89). They essentially did a carb kit (they said I fouled the gasket when I looked at it, but I don't believe that. I've done it many times before with my B&S motors on my various lawnmowers over the years.) Either way, it wasn't covered under warranty since it was fuel-related. It was only $65, so I won't argue over that.
My question is how to store it in the future to avoid a repeat problem. I've looked over the threads here and see there are differing opinions as to whether or not I should run the engine dry prior to storing for several months.
I discovered a local station that sells ethanol-free gas. My limited understanding is that ethanol-free is the way to go if you can get it for engines like these to prevent the gumming/varnishing effects of ethanol and to avoid moisture collection that ethanol also promotes.
It's probably inevitable that this question will yet again stimulate a "drain or no drain" debate, but I really want to know what you do when you put them away for up to a year at a time.
And ultimately, is there any purpose in using fuel stabilizer in ethanol-free gas?
I ran the splitter long enough to split 2 logs. I was just making sure it worked, but wasn't ready to do much splitting.
So, for the past 11 months, the splitter has been sitting under a tarp under 3' eaves behind my house. Rain cannot fall directly on it given the eaves and the tarp, but the temperature fluctuations are unavoidable.
I recently tried to start it, but no go. Changed plug and all the basic elementary stuff I know how to do. It's still under warranty, so I took it to a local Briggs & Stratton authorized shop. They fixed it and said it was bad gas & that I should use at least mid-grade gas. (I never use less than 89). They essentially did a carb kit (they said I fouled the gasket when I looked at it, but I don't believe that. I've done it many times before with my B&S motors on my various lawnmowers over the years.) Either way, it wasn't covered under warranty since it was fuel-related. It was only $65, so I won't argue over that.
My question is how to store it in the future to avoid a repeat problem. I've looked over the threads here and see there are differing opinions as to whether or not I should run the engine dry prior to storing for several months.
I discovered a local station that sells ethanol-free gas. My limited understanding is that ethanol-free is the way to go if you can get it for engines like these to prevent the gumming/varnishing effects of ethanol and to avoid moisture collection that ethanol also promotes.
It's probably inevitable that this question will yet again stimulate a "drain or no drain" debate, but I really want to know what you do when you put them away for up to a year at a time.
And ultimately, is there any purpose in using fuel stabilizer in ethanol-free gas?
