Winterization question

[steplift20]

I own my beautiful wellcraft Steplift and my 1988 150 Mercury 2stroke ( I love th 2 strokes, the oil burning in the morning is wonderful. ) I always winterized my engine ,sprayed fogging oil and all that stuff but last year I didn't do it. Just topped off the fuel and ran the motor dry of gas,when it came time to start her she started up,like the usealle crank crank than fired up. My engine stays in hybernation for about 5 months maybe six cause zi live in nj I want to hear from you guys ,is it ok to not winterized it just top off the fuel and run her dry, what do you think? I'm curious to know how you feel. Thank you all and have a safe and healthy thanks giving .

[phatdaddy]

Living in Florida, not real familiar with winterizing. All I would add is that after running fuel out, i would squirt some 2 stroke oil in each cylinder and turn the engine over a few times by hand. Also drain the carb bowls and blow a little air in the to dry them out, then squirt a small shot of WD40 in each one and replace the drain plug.

That s what I do to my generators between hurricane seasons. Sometimes i can go 4-5 years between cranking.

Maybe that s what fogging oil does, never used it

[spareparts]

not sure what kind of fuel you get up there but the crap we get it doesn't like to sit. Empty your fuel tank as much as you can. The old wives tale of moisture building up in an empty fuel tank is BS( I've done test over a period of time to prove this). If there is any ethanol in your fuel, it will absorb more water from the atmosphere. For 2 stroke engines, run the engine on stabilized(treated) ethanol free fuel and fog the engine while its running. I don't recommend running the carbs dry, as you are eliminating oil as well in a premix engine. If you are storing it for prolonged periods, use the synthetic fuel they offer for lawn equipment. It stores up better. In an oil injected engine, running it out of fuel fills the carbs with oil which gels over time. Pull the plugs and spray some fogging oil in the cylinders, replace the plugs and spin the engine over a few times. Make sure theres no water in your gear lube(good time to change it), tilt the motor down. Some put a trash bag over the pro to keep water and small animals out. Disconnect your battery and you're done.

[phatdaddy]

Good point about the gas, Spare. I only use rec 90 non ethanol and try to run my boat at least twice a month, so don t really worry about gas getting stale.