Well this promising day went to pot - and not the medical kind!

[Baxter6551]

I use the “Tru Fuel” to store and the pump protector fogging oil as noted above. The Tru Fuel is non ethanol and contains stabilizers but I still add the marine grade stabilizer and some mystery oil. Yes it’s expensive but how many tank fulls do you normally use in a season? They say it can sit for more than 2 years without issue.
If I’m running regular gas the engine shop told me to run high test and I use the marine stabilizer and mystery oil. If end of season I let it run completely out of gas.

 

[BC38]

Best laid plans and all that....
When you say you "run it out of gas" do you mean you let it run until it runs out of gas and dies? Just curious, because that is exactly what I do with my boat, quads, lawnmowers, generator, and yes, pressure-washers. It's always worked well for me, BUT I also add a dose of STA-BIL fuel stabilizer additive to the tank before I run it out of gas.
I did have kind of a similar experience with my generator a couple of years ago. Poured gas in the tank and it came pouring out on the ground. Cracked rubber hose between the tank and carb.
I also had the leaking problem exactly like you described on my pressure washer too - outlet pipe where the high pressure hose connects cracked. I got lucky and went to a local store that repairs them and got a used part same day for just $5 though.

 

[Tom S.]

Best laid plans and all that....
When you say you "run it out of gas" do you mean you let it run until it runs out of gas and dies?

That's exactly what I mean. If this carb didn't have a float bowl on the bottom, it should have worked OK for me too. Stabil works, but is only good for about a year, and that's fine for my snow blower and mowers but the pressure washer can sit for several years between uses so next time I put it away, I'll pull off the bowl after I run out the gas and drain it as well.

 

[Skeet 028]

I have had a 7 1/2 horse Ole' Eminrude Ob since 1983...it is an 81. Given to me but had to pick it uppp at the repair shop. I have run that motor summer winter fall since 83. Everytime I run the carb empty fuel lines off...pull the choke when it gets a little weak till it quits. Only thing I've had to replace on it was the water pump in all those years. BTW high test alcohol free and just a touch of Sta-bil when I fill the tank. At the end of hunting season I run the motor in a tank of fresh water...that was in Chesapeake waters. No salt out here. Still looks almost new...a lot better than the little Ouachita jon boat it's attached to. It has been the cheapest boat I've ever had...one water pump$12 the boat cost me $50 dollars worth of shotshell loading components many years ago and a fellow gave me the trailer(Galvanised) ..put 3 bearings on each side over the years...say 50 bucks...as I don't remember their cost and a set of tires on the trailer...which someone else paid for. Treat those small engines well and they will last. Now my Troybilt tiller developed a crack in the tank...got to find one now

 

[PALADIN85020]

It's cosmic retribution for all the dings you have "awarded" with impunity all these years, Tom!

John

 

[s&wchad]

I wish you would have phoned me Tom.

I've got a carpet cleaning machine and lots of chemicals in the basement.

 

[WR Moore]

You might want to keep the pressure washer-or any other gadget that has water in it, like a sprayer for weed killer- in a heated space in winter as you'll never get all of the water out of it. I think it's obvious how I know this, but at least my enlightenment wasn't terribly expensive or time consuming.

 

[jeffrefrig]

I usually say bad words in that type of situation...loudly. One neighbor always blesses me and another just kinda keeps one eye on me when I'm outside if he is. My dog loves me, though, as long as I feed her.

 

[BC38]

That's exactly what I mean. If this carb didn't have a float bowl on the bottom, it should have worked OK for me too. Stabil works, but is only good for about a year, and that's fine for my snow blower and mowers but the pressure washer can sit for several years between uses so next time I put it away, I'll pull off the bowl after I run out the gas and drain it as well.

Too bad the carb doesn't have a drain screw at the bottom of the bowl like on my quads...

 

[yeti]

Gasohol is horrible for small engines. Sta-bil, marine fuel stabilizers and MMO can help, but gasohol is no bueno.
We turned perfectly good food into lousy fuel.

I was waiting for the bits o' soggy rug all over the driveway too.

 

[zeke]

ime seafoam works better and lasts longer than sta-bil.

 

[BC38]

ime seafoam works better and lasts longer than sta-bil.

I've used it as an additive for carb cleaning and maintenance, but never as a fuel stabilizer.

 

[Mercury]

You might want to keep the pressure washer-or any other gadget that has water in it, like a sprayer for weed killer- in a heated space in winter as you'll never get all of the water out of it. I think it's obvious how I know this, but at least my enlightenment wasn't terribly expensive or time consuming.

We had a brand new electric power washer that the wife had used and put away in the shed without draining the water out of it. Well, up North it drops below freezing during the winter and I found out when I went to use it the next spring that the water tank and the nozzle had split when the residual water froze.
Of course, the best solution was to just replace it rather than dwell on how it got damaged, but nope, I just had to mention it to her.....live and learn.

 

[glenwolde]

Could've been worse. After the first three paragraphs I was waiting for "...rugs burst into flames.."

 

[Tom S.]

Could've been worse. After the first three paragraphs I was waiting for "...rugs burst into flames.."

That may happen after the washer parts arrive...