When its time... its time.

[JigginIsLife]

Im finally admitting defeat against the warm weather. time to buck up and store all my ice gear. this is the first year that i have had to store my auger after use, and im just wondering what everyone does. I was reading the operaters manual, and they say to put some stabilizer (which type have you all used) and to squirt some oil in the spark plug hole or something (i have no clue on this one). Any other ideas you guys might have would be great. Should I do the fuel stabilizer or should i just run it dry and wait till next season??

[jimBo]

I would put the stabilizer in the tank and run the motor a bit to

get some in the carb to keep it from tarnishing.and you should be good to go.

[jwhjr]

Some tips here too - Winterizing/Summarizing Thread

[Ryan_V]

I've always just drained the gas, run it dry and put fogging oil in the cylinder and cranked it over a couple times. my auger is about 15 years old, drills hundreds of holes a year and still runs like a top!!!

[Rainman]

I bought a jiffy in 1993. since then I have NEVER ran it out of gas, put stabilizer in it, fogged it or anything else and every time I pull it out in the fall it starts in 2 - 3 pulls. I finally changed the plug 2 yrs ago. Them jiffys are incredible. And I drill a LOT of holes in the winter. Ask anybody that knows me.

[JigginIsLife]

how do you fog something or what is fogger. i have a little bit of gas left in my tank so i was thinking putting about 1/2 tank of stabilizer or something similar, but i dont knwo what a fogger is or how to "fog" something. Please help

[Sandmannd]

Either run it dry or put some seafoam in it and run it for a little bit. You can buy fogging spray at any auto store or Fleet Farm. Just take the spark plug out and spray a little in there and put the spark back in. Then give it a couple of pulls to turn it over.

[Wanderer]

Don't put in a half tank of stabilizer! Just use the recommended amount, which will be small.

If you're going to store the auger with any fuel, make it a full tank mixed with Stabil. Otherwise drain it and run the auger till its out.

Take out the spark plug, squirt in a bit of fogging oil, turn the engine over a couple times, then reinstall the plug.

Auger engines are small--no need to over do it with the preservatives. Good luck.

[bturck]

I add Amzoil gas additive and then run the auger for 2-3 minutes I then drain the tank, I don't let gas sit in it all summer as I want totally fresh gas in the fall. I then crank it up again and run until it stops. I also switched to Amzoil mid winter and it runs and starts great. Bill

[Duffman]

I just fire up the auger about once a month till the next ice season. Yea, you get weird looks from the neighbors.

[tisosy11]

Ahh yes. Fire er up and drill out some fence posts or what?>

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Everyone seems to have their own little rituals or practices when it comes to storing thier equipment for the summer. As for myself I just put some stabilizer in the tank and run it for a bit till it circulates and caller er'good. I also like to spray the whole auger down with WD-40, motor, muffler, flighting, and esp. the blade. Just wipe it off in the fall and everything stays looking like new.

[Down Deep]

I work for a company that has a large vehicle maintenance shop. I asked our shop foreman who is the motorhead of motorheads how to get my auger ready to store. He told me a 2 cycle needs to have oil on the piston. He said to fog it, then pull the plug and give it a shot of oil and roll the engine, but don't overdo it. If you leave any fuel in the tank, use stabilizer.

[JigginIsLife]

what is a fogger or a fogging agent?? and by getting oil on the piston how do you do that??

[Weed Shark]

 Originally Posted By: JigginIsLife

what is a fogger or a fogging agent?? and by getting oil on the piston how do you do that??

The piston is under the spark plug; you don't want it to get rusty over the summer. Squirt a tiny amount of oil in the spark plug hole and pull the start cord a few times slowly, causing the piston to occilate up and down, to work the oil around.

Fogging oil is oil in a spray can that changes to a fog when the engine is running, and coats everything for rust protection. I have not used it lately. Unless times have changed, it was sprayed into the valve of the carburetor. Some believed this gummed up thier carburetor. I notice the previous posts only mention squirting a little on the piston, which sounds better to me.

[The Grebe]

I have 3 different StrikeMasters and like you, I have never done anything special with them and they start and run all the time. I have never done that to any of my equipment, chainsaws, hedgers, edgers, mowers large and small, aerators, blowers, nothing. I put some gas in them and store them away in the sheds...I've been doing this for probably 25 years with no ill results.

I also have zero cost for repairs, maybe one or two mowers in all those years. Now my outboard, I just don't want to do that with it, I do add Stabil to the gas, run it through, shut it down and put it to bed until spring. The outboard is a little more complex then some of the other equipment.

[The Hammer]

I have about the same year Jiffy you have and it is a great machine . Mine was new in 1991 and ever year prime and pull and starts right away.

[Northlander]

All I do with all my 2 cycles is put some stabil in them, fire them up for a hwile then store them. I start them up once a month to get things lubed up a bit and thats it.

[JigginIsLife]

how much of the stabil do you leave in your tank?? do you first run her dry and then put the stabil-gas mix in there run it, kill it, leave it till next mmonth?? Im thinkint thats what im going to do, easy enough, and MAYBE change out the plug every season... cuz no one wants a dirty plug!!