[rowlandwells]

to drain or not to drain that is the question should I drain out all the petrol in both the rotavator and the mantis overwinter ? I have in the past left the petrol in both machines but maybe its best to empty the fuel out and fill them up with fresh fuel come spring when we start using them again

that's assuming we can still get petrol come spring 

[Lardman]

I empty and purge the equipment but store the fuel as I put stabiliser in the petrol initially. Still end up with hours of fun trying to get the strimmer started each year though 

that's assuming we can still get petrol come spring 

Im sure you will - just don't think about how much it will cost     

[jezza]

Hello I'm going to run my mowers and strimmers out of petrol at the end of the grass cutting season as I do every year then do as an old retired machinery dealer suggested ,put kitchen towel  in the tank to soak up any moisture ,remembering to check occasionally the machinery seems to run better on E10 I've noticed that the fuel consumption on the strimmer is better 55 minutes compared to 45 minutes  on ordinary unleaded   jezza

[JGM]

Just for info if you have a carb with a priming bulb...

If you just run the engine until it runs out of petrol, you will retain petrol in the primer bulb, primer non return valve, the suction tube and the return line.

If you want to completely drain the carb of fuel, run the engine until out of fuel, then hook the fuel feed line out of the petrol tank ( it's the long one with a tubular filter on the end), so it's hanging right out of the fuel tank (I use a bent piece of coat hanger). Then pump the primer bulb until it runs dry, you will be pulling the last bits of fuel out of the carb and back into the petrol tank. Then drain the petrol tank.

If you have a lot of fuel in the tank, you can just start the engine, get it running smoothly, stop the engine, then hook the fuel feed line out of the petrol tank, start the engine until it runs out of petrol, then pump the primer bulb until it runs dry, then drain the tank. This second method has the engine running while the top is off the petrol tank and is not recommended, Mind you, neither is drinking so much your legs stop working properly, and I've done that a few times and lived...

On a two stroke I would also take the spark plug off, tiny drop of two stroke oil into the cylinder and a couple of slow pulls on the starter cord. Then put the plug back in. I was told that when you run a two stroke dry, you starve the upper cylinder of lubrication. I can't see that would really be a problem over the winter but now it's a habit.

I'd second the vote for using petrol preserver. Expensive but worth it.

[jezza]

Hello o it's funny how we are going on about moisture in fuel,when I was at Secondaryv school I use  to start the grounds mans mowers,first job was full up with fuel then put a tea spoon of water in the tank, anyone else do this old grounds man reckoned it took the knock out of the engine,it seemed to never had problems with any of the engines,all hand cranked or kick started no recoils     jezza

[Growster...]

Like Lardman, the strimmer takes most of the morning to start, and as it's a two-stroke, I tend to leave the mixture in, because I use it during the winter to 'tame' the wild patch we have for 'providing the nature' etc.

The Mantis does get drained, as it's easy to tip upside down and the rest, and while it moans a bit in the spring, I always get a result after several pulls.

One issue I follow, is that as we only do short journeys in the car these days, we always use a high octane petrol, (a chum uses Wynns particulate cleaner for the same reason). I also use the same petrol in the Mantis and the Tanaka strimmer, and touch wood, have had no problems for several years now.