tdriver

i fly my gassers on weekends sometimes every other week. (even less in winter)

from other posts i have gathered the information to not empty the tank/carb after flying. tygon gets stiff when dry,it's better for the carb, and it seems you don't empty your chain saw every time you use it so why do it on these engines,which are very similar.

i have found that after 2 weeks of not using my heli, (zenoah G270RC) the carb (wt-990) dries out anyway. to make it even more difficult for the gas to escape i leave the choke open and plug the vent line, but it's still gets dry. i haven't open the carb to see if there is any gas left,but the primer bulb and fuel line is empty and need a lot of priming to get filled up again.

is this normal? i mean if all carbs do that why not empty them in the first place? i'm concerned that there are residue left from the escaping gas which will clog the carb eventually...

mrbigg

My Feedback: (21)

I like leaving gas in the tank. Never a problem.

krayzc-RCU

My Feedback: (31)

me to for any period of time

karolh

Ditto that.

Karol

Jezmo

+1 here

rangerfredbob

My Feedback: (13)

I leave mine wet too.

To answer your question, If it's drying up in a couple weeks and doesn't prime quickly even with a primer bulb it sounds like there is a carb issue somewhere. Either a leaky gasket that is letting air in/gas fumes out or a reed valve in the fuel pump that is't sealing well

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

Just going through the carb circuits in my mind.... I think if you plug the tank vent, it would take damn near forever for the gas to evaporate out through the carb orifices.... You wouldn't even need to plug the tank vent unless you were using a primer bulb.

AV8TOR

tdriver

something that i just remembered..... after a few days with the vent line closed,the tank collapses a bit,not too much though, is it possible for the tank to suck the gas out of the carb?

btw,
it has a primer bulb

pilotpete2

I pump out the tank after a flying session, but since I always run a 3 line setup with felt filter clunk, the fuel line and carb are always wet.
Pete

Ernie Misner

If left over the winter you'd want some Stab-bilizer in the gas wouldn't you? I've heard that the pre-mixed gas from Sthil and others has stabilizer already in it.

Thanks,

Ernie Misner

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Not really, many oils already have a stabilizer. Neither wet or dry storage matters.

Steve Landron

Don't really have any Gas Rc's mine are all either Nitro or Electric and if they are going to be sitting for a few months I always drain the fuel. Regarding Gasoline, I learned long ago if gas is to be sitting in a tank for more than a few months, add a little fuel stabilizer like "Stabil" and you will never have any starting problems. I use "Stabil" in my 1:1 Boat, and 1:1 1965 Mustang and have never had any problems starting them.

My brother-in-Law on the other hand, never winterizes his jet ski or uses any fuel stabilizer, and every year I have to go over there and clean out the intake/jets and use starting fluid to get the thing started. Pain in the butt. I guess if I were paid for working on his jet ski, I would say it's good job security but I've never been paid!

Last thing that persuaded me to always use fuel stabilizer was my younger brother left his 1100 Kawasaki at my house for about two years. When we finally tried to start the bike it would not even fire, the injectors were clogged. I had to take everything appart and clean it with carb clearner before it would finally run. Maybe all the above is just my luck, but everytime I plan on deploying or winterizing, I always put in some fuel stabilizer. It's piece of mind knowing when I go to start up my boat or old Mustang it will start up with no problems.

Steve

willig10

I drain mine because I keep them in the hose. But it is ok to leave gas in the tank. Let me ask you this. Do you drain your weed eater gas?

Glenn Williams

Steve Landron

I don't have a gas weed eater, but have two gas chain saws, basically treat em like the boat and car, I use Stabil in them as well..

Steve

willig10

Most of the 2 cycle oils have a stabilizer additive in them. If you are flying every 2 weeks or once a month. You dont need any more stabilizer than what is in the 2 cycle oils. If on the other hand you are letting the fuel sit aorund for 6 months or more then I would add a little stabil. Drain the fuel from your tank and then run the engine until it pulls all the residual fuel out of the tank and quits.

Other than that there is not much more you can do.

Remember the carb is a walboro and as such they are on pretty much all 2 cycle engines all over the world and are pretty robust.

In a worse case scenario you have to rebuild the carb and it only takes about an hour or less to do it right. Yes you will have to remove your high and low speed needles to do it correctly. But dont fear tuning after a carb overhaul.

Glenn Williams

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Willig10 has it right.

I can go to the shelves and pull any one of a hundred+ used engines that have been sitting for years and mount it up. Withing just a few minutes any of them will be running. They receive no special treatment for storage. Off the plane and on the shelf.

Carbs DO have to be serviced periodically. Period. Only in R/C and with amature homeowner gardners does there seem to be a thought that everything on an engine will last forever with no thought for servicing. If a carb is left open to the atmosphere, a vent line left unplugged, and an exhaust port/muffler open, the gas left inside will evaporate. Stabilizer or no stabilizer. A carb left dry will do the same thing only sooner. None of this happens overnight.

Worst case is the gas evaporates and the oil, and stabilizer if added, will gell and clog a passage or stick a metering needle. A flush with straight gas clear that up. If real dry the check valve diaphragp will need to be accessed and wetted with gas prior to working again. Same thing happens with quite a few new carbs. The point is that it doesn't matter how you store you carb, eventually it will need something done to it so store it the way that best suits you.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Constant discussion on this issue and we all have our own preferences. I run my models dry at the end of each day since they are kept in the house and I don't like gasoline in the house, call it "retired Firefighter syndrome" if you will?

As for the outdoor power equipment; I've always used an oil which has stabilizer in it for mixing gas (Stihl) for the weed eaters and chainsaw and never worried about them sitting over the winter. I've always run the lawn mower and wheeled weed eater out of fuel at the end of the season.

Now for some input from Stihl. I was forced to buy a new chainsaw since some ****** stole my Stihl chainsaw right out of my garage because I left the garage door open even though I was here and both vehicles were in the garage. Stihl says always run a fuel stabilizer and you can guess which oil they recommend.... but they are also quite adamant that if the saw is to be left unused for 90 days or more, the fuel tank should be drained and the carb run dry.

RCER88

My Feedback: (25)

I store all my planes in the house. I drain them and run dry. Just makes it easier and they smell less.

At the end of the flying season I dump any remaining gas in the can in my tractor and it gets burned up plowing snow. Then I buy fresh gas for the planes in the spring. I have less trouble that way.

A matter of personal preference.

CRFan1

I leave my planes wet and they are stored in my basement where it is always cool. No issues.