and run the fuel tank dry.

Best era was circa 2005 with metal decks etc . Saw a 20 year old Hoda recently working fine with no oil showing on the dipstck!

Metal decks rust .. a lot.

MY B&S engne in my Viking lawnmower has been painless for the 3 years we have owned it. I don't drain fuel in winter, just add fresh in spring.. No issues starting ...

Briggs and Stratton do a fuel preserver called Fuelfit, it stops the petrol deteriorating for up to 3 years, though I've never needed to test it for that duration.

Just put 10ml into a 5 litre can, the fuel is preserved over winter and treated petrol can be left in the mower - no starting problems.

Ethanol in modern petrol is terrible for corrosion of the fuel system, it eats away at the rubber pipes.

Edited by corax on 03/07/2017 at 21:26

A Honda engine will always start more easily than a BS, tends to be smoother and quieter, just my experience in 15 years of garden maintenance. Some Haters can be a right sod to start.

Since buying a rechargeable EGO mower, every petrol engined one I have to used feels like an unrefined, smelly, polluting dinosaur. Urgh!

Edited by Fishermans Bend on 03/07/2017 at 23:38

So throw away old fuel at the end of the season and run the fuel tank dry.

Our Hayter walk-behind must be about 15 years old with a B&S engine. It uses an unmeasurably small amount of oil, and starts well from cold. We have it serviced every other winter, tipping out any unused fuel (which goes into the old car). It can be very awkward to start hot, and as the engine must stop to empty the grass-bag that can be extremely irritating. But I guess that problem is down to poor tuning.

If it's one of those with a bar that you hold to keep the engine going, a giant clothes-peg or Bulldog clip can be very useful to clip the bar to the handle and keep the throttle open while you empty the grass-bag.

I wouldn't recommend doing that, it's your life.

Ah - when I had a Hayter, the 'clutch' which put it in motion was a separate bar. So provided that the machine was on level ground, it stayed where it was.

More the danger from the rotating blade than anything else. The best Hondas have to have the blade engaged separately, so you start just the engine and engage the balde when you need it, therefore you can leave it stationary without the blade rotating.

If it's one of those with a bar that you hold to keep the engine going, a giant clothes-peg or Bulldog clip can be very useful to clip the bar to the handle and keep the throttle open while you empty the grass-bag.

I've thought about that many times but not actually tried it. I have used just such an arrangement on a cordless hedge trimmer, which allows more freedom of movement than otherwise, but probably poses similar hazards. However with the mower, if you wait until the bag is full enough to need emptying, there is usually grass in the throat which needs clearing, and I'm not going to do that with the engine running .....