therealcrazy8

Ok I know spring is just knocking on the back door right now but this is a question regarding winter storage. There is a great possibility that my planes may need to spend the entire winter out in the garage. How does a minnesotan, or any other person who has to deal with these frigid temps, prepare there planes to be stored in a garage without causing any residual damage, or is it quite difficult?

G.Barber

My Feedback: (1)

About the only thing I do is pull the battery packs and put a little additional after-run oil in the engines. Other than that, Mine sit in the garage year-round. The good thing about our Minnesota winter is that the air is SO dry. Spring, summer and fll are actually worse for engines that don't get used much because of the hydroscopic tendancies of our methanol based fuels and the humidity in the air.

Technito20

I keep my planes stored in cold locations (basement/garage) during the winters all the time. I've never once seen any rust or any signs of moisture damage to any of the electrics either. The only thing is I pull out the receiver pack because cold weather obviously decrease the life of batteries. Also some of my expensive Transmitters I do keep in a moderately warm environment because I wouldn't want to risk any possible moisture damage. So I guess from my experience I've only protected the batteries and Transmitters from the cold. Everything else has always been fine.

therealcrazy8

So in regards to nitro planes, does fuel need to be emptied or any extra special precautions for those types of planes?

G.Barber

My Feedback: (1)

I never leave fuel in my tanks, and use the after-run before long-term storage.

Technito20

Sorry, I was referring to nitro planes as well. I meant "electronics" (such as the receiver, servos etc) not electrics (typo). But yeah as gabarber said, it's a good idea to always empty the fuel out of the tank after each day of flying and put after run oil in the engine before putting into storage for the winter. Because the fuel turns solid when it sits inside the tank which causes cloggage which isn't good for the engine.

SushiSeeker

Electronics will be fine in the cold. I would remove the batteries and keep them inside and trickle charge them once a month or so.

Actually I think it's okay to store batteries in the cold (charge them first) as the cold slows down the internal chemical reactions.

therealcrazy8

So if I drain all fuel from tank, remove electronics, and run engine to get rid of any fuel in the engine, then Im pretty much good to go for winter storage?

G.Barber

My Feedback: (1)

Just pull the battery, drain the tank, run the fuel out of the engine and add some after-run oil through the carburetor and glow plug hole. Spin the engine over quickly a few times to evenly distribute the oil and you'll be good to go. I do the same for my 2 and 4 stroke engines.

therealcrazy8

Awesome thanks a lot for the help. I will be sure to do this this coming winter.

Campgems

Itake a different approach on the fuel tank. Inever drain it and if it is going to be stored for any lenght of time, I full it first. Ialways plug the lines to the take so it can't breath. This process has worked well for me, and when I was in Michigan, I always topped of the tank in my boat as part of the winter storage ritual. I tried to not let the tank go below 1/2 for cars I drove and keep them fulll for cars that were not diven often in the winter. With the car and boat, the amount of air in the tank was at a minimum to prevent condensation and water in the fuel that results from heating and cooling of the fuel, This was a problem with the older cars, the newer ones all have a closed system now.

Don