Can I leave my lawnmower in an outside shed over the winter? What protective measures should I take?

MML_ProdMgr EXPERT August 30, 2007

Storing your mower in a shed should be okay provided you take some precautionary steps.

As you mentioned, the fuel should be drained, both from the carburetor and the fuel tank. You could leave the fuel in if you use a fuel stabilizer, but generally it is better to remove the fuel to prevent any build up of fumes in the closed area or under the cover. If you decide to try a fuel stabilizer, mix it in as the stabilizer recommends and then run the unit for about 10 minutes to get the stabilizer mix through the system and carburetor.

I would cover the mower to protect it and a tarp would work provided it is not a plastic one. Plastic does not allow the air to breathe through and that creates moisture, which is as bad or worse than cold.

Another important precaution is to coat the piston and cylinder with oil. That is not as difficult as it may sound. Just pull out the spark plug, pour 1 ounce of oil through the plug hole, and then turn the engine over slowly to spread the oil over the engine internals and reinstall the plug.

It is also a good idea to add lubricant and touch up paint spots to prevent rust damage and your owner's manual has details on those and other storage tips. You can view the manual online at Manage My Home. On the home page, hold your mouse over the square labeled "HOME" in the upper left of the page and choose the option "Products and manuals" from the drop-down menu that appears. (If you already logged in, go to the red tabs on the upper right of the page and click the Magnifying Glass icon instead.)

In this case, enter the following search criteria:

               CATEGORY  "Gardening"          BRAND  "Craftsman"          MODEL #  "917377410"

Then select "FIND MANUALS", scroll down to the search results, and click on the blue "Owner's manuals" link to open the manual online.

LG_RY_Shed