Storing petrol mower over winter

[Maceoid]

I've just got my first petrol mower - a Champion. It's done me well over the summer, but what's the best way to keep it stored in the garage over the winter? I know to check there's no petrol left in it, but any other tips/hints so I don't knacker it completely and need an expensive service come spring?

 

[ColJack]

wd40 on the blade to stop rust, wd40 on the wheels etc to stop them sticking, cover with a tarp in case the shed leaks?

 

[EddieM]

nothing really. as long as it's dry. Never even bothered draining the fuel, or for that matter changing the oil (ever) still going strong after about 20 ish years, neads a new carb diaphram though. Which is about a tenner.

 

[Maceoid]

Ok thanks - how about starting it a few times over the winter? My pal says he does this just to keep it ticking over.

 

[Thermo]

i have petrol tools that we rarely use and as the others have said they get put into storage as they are and most often start within the first few goes. ive got a strimmer that started on fuel that had been in the tank for 5 years first time. If you have any problems a squirt of wd40 in the spark plug hole normally starts things the following spring.

 

[TicklyT]

Ok thanks - how about starting it a few times over the winter? My pal says he does this just to keep it ticking over.

You need to get the engine oil and everything up to a good working temperature if it's going to do any good. Acidic combustion products condense in a cold engine when you first start it. Left inside the engine, they strip the lubricating oil film and corrode the innards.

Normal use gets the engine hot enough to boil off the condensate before it does any real damage. Just idling, the engine doesn't get so hot.

I would clean everything up and do any routine servicing so it's all ready for next year, take the plug out and check the plug gap, put a squirt of lubricating oil down the plug hole and spin the engine a couple of times by hand, then replace the plug and leave it alone until the spring.