Off-Season Storage - MTD 31A-3BAD729 Operator's Manual

If the snowthrowerwill notbe usedfor30 days or
WARNING
Never store snow
thrower with fuel
in tank indoors or
in poorly ventilated
areas, where fuel
fumes may reach an
open flame, spark
or pilot light as on a
furnace, water heater,
clothes dryer or
gas appliance.
Drainfuel intoan
i approved container
outdoors, away from
any open flame. Be
certain engine is
cool. Do not smoke.
Fuel left in engine
during warm weather
i deteriorates and
will cause serious
starting problems.
Do not drain
carburetor if using
fuel stabilizer.
Never use engine or
carburetor cleaning
products in the fuel
tank or permanent
damage may occur.
longer,or if it is theend of the snowseasonwhenthe
last possibilityof snowis gone,the equipmentneedsto
be stored properly.Followstorageinstructionsbelowto
ensuretop performancefrom the snowthrowerfor many
moreyears.
Preparing Engine
NOTE:Referto theengine manualfor moredetailed
informationon preparingthesnow throwerenginefor
storage.
_ ARNING:Never storesnow thrower
with fuel in tank indoorsor in poorly
ventilated areas, where fuel fumes
may reach an open flame, spark or
pilot light as on a furnace, water
heater, clothes dryer or gas appliance.
NOTE:It is important to preventgumdepositsfrom
formingin essentialfuel systemparts of the enginesuch
as the carburetor, f uel filter,fuelhoseor tank during
storage.
CAUTION:Alcohol blended fuels (called gasohol
or using ethanol or methanol) canattract moisture
which leads to separation and formation of acids
during storage. Acidic gas can damage the fuel
system of an engine while in storage.
Toavoidengineproblems,thefuel systemshouldbe
emptiedbeforestoragefor 30 days or longer.Follow
theseinstructionsto prepareyour snowthrowerfor
storage:
_ ARNING:Drainfuel intoan approved
container outdoors, away from any
openflame. Be certain engineis cool.
Do not smoke. Fuel left in engine
during warm weather deteriorates and
will cause serious starting problems.
1. Removeall gasolinefrom the carburetorand thefuel
tank to preventgum depositsfrom formingon these
parts and harmingthe engine.
2. Runthe engineuntilthe fuel tank is emptyand it
stopsdue to lack of fuel.
3. Draincarburetorby pressingupwardon bowldrain,
locatedbelowthe carburetorcover. See Figure14.
f Carburetor _'
Bowl Dral
Figure 14
__ ARNING:Donot drain carburetor i f
using fuel stabilizer. Neveruse engine or
carburetor cleaningproducts in the fuel
tank or permanentdamagemayoccur.
NOTE:Fuelstabilizer(such as STA-BIL) is an accept-
able alternativein minimizingthe formationof fuelgum
depositsduring storage.Add stabilizerto gasolinein fuel
tank or storagecontainer.Alwaysfollow mix ratiofound
on stabilizercontainer.Runengineat least 10 minutes
after addingstabilizerto allowit to reachthe carburetor.
Do notdrain carburetorif usingfuel stabilizer.
4. Removethespark plug and pour one (1) ounce
of engineoil throughthe sparkplug hole into the
cylinder.Coversparkplug hole with a rag and crank
the engineseveraltimesto distributethe oil. Replace
sparkplug.
NOTE:Referto theengine manualfor moreinformation
on preparingthe snowthrowerengine for storage.
Preparing Snow Thrower
1. Whenstoringthe snowthrowerin an unventilated or
metalstorageshed, careshouldbe takento rustproof
the equipment.Usinga light oil or silicone,coat the
equipment,especiallyanychains,springs,bearings
and cables.
2. Removeall dirt from exteriorof engineand equipment.
3. Followlubricationrecommendations on page 12.
4. Storeequipmentin a clean, dry area.
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