Guest Author - Dale Yelich



When I was a kid living in Wisconsin, the summers were hot and the winters were cold, There weren’t too many fluctuations in that formula, as we would get sun and rain in the summer, cold and snow in the winter.

Well, folks, according to scientists the world over, the times they are a changing. It appears as if our winters may not be as long and as cold as they once were, and our springs and summers may extend months longer. Believe it or not, in the world of home maintenance, this is going to cause some problems.

The first thing is that, yard machines like trimmers and lawn mowers/tractors are going to be used more. These small engine machines are pretty tough and sturdy all their lonesome, but if they are beginning to be used 2 and 3 months more per year, this now becomes a potential shorter life expectancy for small engines.

The best thing anyone can do is this. Instead of just doing a fall or a spring oil change, change the oil in midyear as well. Also, switch to a slippery synthetic oil, which will coast a bit more than a standard petroleum based type, but the advantages to adding life to your machines will be well worth the cost.

The opposite amount of usage time will happen to winter machines, like snow blowers and even snow mobiles. At times, they will be getting used just barely, and although too much engine running will cause an engines life to be cut short, not enough run time will have the same effect. Moisture and impurities in the cylinder, carb and combustion chamber, will ruin an engine just as much.

For all winter motors, it is an absolute must to pour in a gas stabilizer, like Sta-Bil, virtually every time you use the machine, not just when you store it. Again, switch to a synthetic oil for the crankcase, and no matter how often the engine is run, change the oil once per year. Why? Because moisture from condensation can accumulate in the oil, especially when the engine is only run for a short duration every time. All those nice shiny steel components inside your engine, will have a chance to oxidize when water touches them. Oxidation inside your engine's cylinder, better known as rust, will chew up the piston rings in record time.

This also goes for 2 cycle engines on weed eaters, snow blowers, and everything else. Use a synthetic 2 cycle oil for the mix, add Sta-Bil right to the mixture straight off the bat, and you shouldn’t have any problems.

These new rules for winter maintenance are a good way to keep ahead of what many scientists say are warmer winters ahead. That may be the case, but I will still be dreaming of a white Christmas every year, just like the one that Bing Crosby used to know!