How To Drain Gas From Lawn Mower: Easy and Productive Ways
Is your lawn mower in need of service? If so, then you will enjoy this article. You will learn how to drain the gas from your lawn mower and save money on future lawn mower maintenance. It’s an easy process. Just try it out for yourself!
You don’t want to spend too much money on something that can easily be fixed if you follow these simple instructions. Get started now to save a lot of money!
The ultimate source of power for all lawn mowers is gasoline. If you leave anything untouched for a long time, it becomes old and stale and will create bad news. That’s why you should know how to drain gas from the lawn mower to prevent engine problems.
That’s right, you read it right. Leaving the gas inside the engine tank for more than two or three months can also cause it to deteriorate. The fact that the liquid is in liquid form and that additives and detergents are added will result in sediment formation.
These materials look like varnishes, and they are capable of contaminating and spoiling the gas. There is also the possibility of liquid condensation forming inside the tank, which can contaminate the fuel.
This would be ideal at the end of the mowing season. Once you have drained the gas completely out of your lawn mower, you can refuel it after about a month. Then run the engine for 10 minutes, even though you are in your garage. Be sure that you have proper ventilation while doing this.
Usually, we mow at the beginning of the spring season. Fill half of your gas tank and observe the change in color after you mow. If the gas turns black and the machine sputters, drain it completely and put in new gas.
Sputters can also be caused by a dirty oil filter or by flooding in the carburetor. These should also be checked. In order to properly change the gas in a lawn mower, let’s first discuss the symptoms of dirty gas.
Signs of Gas Going Bad in Lawn Mower
Sputtering, hesitating or no starting.
When the gas compound evaporates, it leaves gummy deposits. Your engine’s fuel lines and carburetor can become clogged with these residues, causing an imbalance of air and fuel in the carburetor. This can lead to incomplete combustion in the combustion chamber and thus sputters or difficult starting.
Hard starting, machine starts but then stalls.
There are two ways in which water can enter a gasoline tank: through the gas cap or condensation that occurs in the tank with old gasoline. When water mixes with gasoline inside the fuel tank, the water sinks to the bottom because it is denser.
In other words, when the carburetor sucks gasoline from the gas tank, it also pulls water with it. Then, it mixes with oxygen and fuel, causing starting and stalling problems.
Slow or poor performance.
There is usually a problem with acceleration, and if you throttle your machine, it usually sputters or surges. This could be due to water corroding the fuel system. The corrosion of your fuel tank can cause structural damage, and dirt from the corrosion can reach your carburetor, causing problems in fuel-air mixing.
Now let’s talk about how to drain gas from lawn mower to ensure you have a clean tank before refilling.
How To Drain Gas From Lawn Mower?
Step 1: Safety First
When working with any machine, safety should be your number one priority. Wear some good quality gloves because you’re going to get gas on you no matter what you do.
It is important to wear eye protection since the gas in the eyes does not feel good, and to wear protective clothing. You have to be very careful now that you will be handling gasoline.
Step 2: Clean the Fuel Tank Area
You should clean the fuel tank area first before draining your mower. You can do this in several ways. There are several things you can use: water, a towel, mineral spirits, gasoline, a paintbrush or even a garden hose with very light pressure.
Step 3: Use an Oil Catching Pan or Container
In order to recycle the old bad gas, you can use any type of oil catching pan or container. Simply place it on the dipstick side of the lawnmower.
Step 4: Removing the Gas
The gas can be removed from the mower in many ways, but we will show you two of the simplest and easiest methods.
- By Tilting the Mower
Turn your lawn mower over onto the dipstick side so the air filter is always pointed up. The air filter should never be on the lowest side because then the filter will become saturated.
This method can be applied to any lawnmower except the riding lawnmower because riding lawnmowers are much heavier, and for a single person, tilting them is very risky.
If you really want to tilt it, you can take someone else’s help or you can drain the gas by using the other method.
- By Using the Siphon Pump
The easiest way to drain gas from any gas-powered tool or lawn mower is by using this method. For this method, however, you will need a siphon pump. If you already have one, that’s great, but if not, you can either make one yourself or purchase it from a hardware store.
The siphon pump is equipped with several hoses. For this particular project, just two hoses are needed, the top and bottom hoses. The top hose is the one we will extend into the gas tank to siphon out the old fluid, and the bottom hose will be used to catch the liquid that is recycled.
Pump it about three to four times, and it will begin to pump all the gas out of your mower’s tank into your container. Please be patient as this process may take some time.
To drain the gas from the mower’s fuel tank, you will need to unscrew the dipstick cap; however, before unscrewing, please ensure that your pan is well positioned below the hole in the fuel tank, otherwise all the fuel could spread on the floor.
Step 5: Unscrew the Dipstick Cap
You now need to unscrew the dipstick cap and hold it in the same position for a few minutes. This will let all the oil drain into a container or pan.
Some Key Points to Keep in Mind when draining gas from the lawn mower
- Don’t forget to remove the spark plug to avoid an unexpected start.
- If you have just started your mower, wait until it cools down then park it on a level or balanced surface otherwise it might move while draining.
- Always use protection and do not remove it until all work has been completed.
- Check again if there is no gas left in the fuel tank after you drain the gas because if it does not drain out properly, it can ruin all your work.
Conclusion
These are some methods you can use to drain the bad gas from your lawn mower. But implementing these steps safely and correctly is very important; otherwise, you might damage your lawn mower and yourself too.
Make sure to use fresh fuel after draining, and don’t forget to use fuel stabilizer, as it will keep your fuel fresh for a longer period, and you won’t need to drain your mower after using it for at least two years.
Now you are good to go ahead and use your mower to wipe out the extra grass according to your need and make your garden healthy again.
