winterizing ?

ice · Nov 11, 2006

I`m not sure if this the right place to post this question. If this is the wrong forum, sorry.

I have a Zero Turn mower that I have cleaned, greased, and sharpened the blades in preperation for next spring.
I store the mower in a wood storage building. I may have to move it out from time to time during the winter to get to other things in the building.
I am wondering if it will be ok if I cover the battery with a piece of insulation and add a little GumOut to the gas and run a little through the carb before real cold weather?.
My main concern is cold teampatures doing damage to my battery.
I was also thinking of adding a little Stabil to the gas.
I would like to pull it out and run the engine from time to time during the winter.
Will cold weather cause the battery to freeze and burst?.
What do you think?.

bigdad · Nov 11, 2006

Take the battery out of it and store it inside.

DieselPower · Nov 11, 2006

"Will cold weather cause the battery to freeze and burst?"

Do they burst in your car or truck? No. The liquid in the battery is not only water. It is a mix of water and acid which has a much lower freezing point. The reason to remove the battery and take it indoors is to prevent it from becoming discharged.

Adding Stabil or whatever your favorite flavor fuel stabilizer to the gas is a good idea. It keeps it from going bad or sour as it is called.

The best thing to do is to turn off the fuel and run the engine until it dies. This removes as much gas as possible from the carb. Gas left in a carb for long periods of time tend to evaporate and leave varnish deposits in them.

Personally I remove my mower deck after the last mowing of the season, clean it and then spray down the underside with a light penetrating oil. This helps prevent rust caused by water from condensation. I then reinstall the deck and am ready for next year.

Anoter thing you can do is pick up a can of engine fogging oil. It is used by removing the spark plug(s) and spraying it into the cylinders. The coating of oil prevents rust from forming on your cylinder walls and rings (once again from condensation).

mjarrels · Nov 11, 2006

I put fuel cutoff valves on all my gas equipment and run the carb dry after each use.

mark

Doc_Bob · Nov 11, 2006

DieselPower said:
"Will cold weather cause the battery to freeze and burst?"

Do they burst in your car or truck?

If I don't run my car for 7 months and the battery loses it charge, my guess is yes if it gets to zero like it does in Wisconsin. Now, Florida? Doubt it would be a problem. Then, to make it even worse, if I try to charge or jump this dead frozen battery, even a bigger mess.
Bob