Do you guys burn all the fuel out of your 4 stroke carbs?

[kawaboy-zx12r]

when i was a kid and me and my dad went boating, he would always shut off the gas line and run the carb dry as we approached the boat launch when we were leaving for the day, and when i had little dirt bikes he always told me to shut off the fuel and burn the gas out of the carb (did this with my 2 strokes too). am i the only one that still does this? could it be harmful to the engine? Thanks, Dennis

[barnett468]

.
Howdy!

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQxr9P5OYMQvRhaWZ5QfBVTS7isj4zCS JQ6Ku1TmxO1HY-ScDvHod7NuYM



when i was a kid and me and my dad went boating, he would always shut off the gas line and run the carb dry as we approached the boat launch when we were leaving for the day, and when i had little dirt bikes he always told me to shut off the fuel and burn the gas out of the carb (did this with my 2 strokes too). am i the only one that still does this?I hope so.



could it be harmful to the engine?Yes.

It's possible your car has a drain screw or removeable nut on the bottom you can use to drain the gas if you want.

[kawaboy-zx12r]

can you tell my why it might hurt the engine? i have burned the gas out of the carbs on everything i have owned for the past 35 years. except once on my 2005 yamaha v-max and that time i had to rebuild the carb the next spring.

[Mr. Clean]

barnett468 your self portrait is AWESOME!!!



Howdy!

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQxr9P5OYMQvRhaWZ5QfBVTS7isj4zCS JQ6Ku1TmxO1HY-ScDvHod7NuYM
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I would just drain the fuel and not let it run out of gas, more so with the 2 stroke.

[kawaboy-zx12r]

barnett468 your self portrait is AWESOME!!!

no wonder he gets all the chicks!

[Liquid-Darkness]

I found that if I let my old R run the fuel out it would REV UP real bad until it used all the gas in the bowl. Not good for the engine when it does that. I dont do it personally.

[kawaboy-zx12r]

I found that if I let my old R run the fuel out it would REV UP real bad until it used all the gas in the bowl. Not good for the engine when it does that. I dont do it personally.
i wonder if it runs rich normally and when it leans out it revs higher. i once had a moped that did that. if i shut off the gas it would run really fast right before it died.

[barnett468]

POST CORRECTION

Hello;

I was using a small screen when I made mt first post. Now that I am using a bigger screen, I can clearly see that you said 4 stroke and not 2 stroke. With the small screen and boat comment, I thought you were talking about a 2 stroke. Sorry about that.

Imo, it's not likely to hurt a 4 stroke much, if any at all, however, I do suggest you don't rev it up during the process.


I have no edit button.

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-laughing025.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)

[jb2wheels]

2-strokes rev when they're running out of gas because they're running lean. That's a death rev. Probably better to drain them but such a mess because there's no drain screw (at least not on my R or Tecate) just a big "plug" in the bottom of the bowl.

Burning the gas out is OK for 4 strokes but not the best because it still leaves gas in the bowl to turn to varnish. Better to drain them as well.

I drain the carbs after every ride while still at the ride spot before they even get loaded up for the trip home. My stuff usually sits a lot (months) between rides.

If there's gas in the tank - it gets Stabill and becomes my source for lawn mower (4 stroke) and weed whacker (2 stroke) fuel.

[webbch]

Don't think it matters too much with 4 strokes. I'd be more concerned with the varnish aspect myself, and running it dry would take less time to varnish up I'd think. Since I ride the trikes a couple times a week, it likely makes zero difference in my case.

[MattDragontamer]

If you are using your trike every couple of weeks at the least, you can get away with just shutting off the petcock before storing.
Any longer of time you should empty the bowl of the carb to minimize buildup.
Some trikes (like the Taurus) uses a pump in the carb, so draining it isn't an option.

[barnett468]

no wonder he gets all the chicks!Howdy!

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQxr9P5OYMQvRhaWZ5QfBVTS7isj4zCS JQ6Ku1TmxO1HY-ScDvHod7NuYM

Actually, I couldn't find a recent photo of myself so I simply posted one of my sister because we are nearly identical twins. The photos below were taken when we were around 5. You may be able to see the resemblance.


This one is me.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQxr9P5OYMQvRhaWZ5QfBVTS7isj4zCS JQ6Ku1TmxO1HY-ScDvHod7NuYM


This one is obviously her.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQxr9P5OYMQvRhaWZ5QfBVTS7isj4zCS JQ6Ku1TmxO1HY-ScDvHod7NuYM



OMG...I think I'm gonna hurl! ! !
http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-laughing025.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)

[YTZ drew]

I do this to all my bikes, except the '06 599 which has a vacuum operated petcock. On the 2 strokes, I just hit the kill switch as soon as the rpms start to rise. I have never had a problem doing this. I think the lean condition you are creating is not a big deal, even on a 2 stroke, because you are not under any load when it happens.

[El Camexican]

I do this to all my bikes, except the '06 599 which has a vacuum operated petcock. On the 2 strokes, I just hit the kill switch as soon as the rpms start to rise. I have never had a problem doing this. I think the lean condition you are creating is not a big deal, even on a 2 stroke, because you are not under any load when it happens.

Ditto:beer

[czac]

I do this to all my lawn equipment and I always use Sea foam in all my gas run things... I haven't had any carb problems with anything but my trike now but its was because I bought it with he wrong sized carb on it and now im trying to put the stock one back on and it was all jacked up and cruddy. .. the person who had it obviously didn't use sea foam or run it dry...ever. Or he used varnish as fuel...lol

[Big G]

I remember a long time ago a mechanic telling me to burn the carb out when done riding before storing the machine. So as a kid I used to do that with my dirtbikes, but haven't done it for the past 20 years with my trikes. Because I have a handful of ATC's, it's hard to take them out for a ride on a consistent basis, so inevitably they can sit for 2-3 weeks or more at a time. Never had an issue with carb gunking up.

[tri again]

Very interesting thread.
I've gone to non etoh fuel exclusively.
some stored with stabil and some with seafoam
and some carb bowls drained dry.

One dry bowl had some very nasty white aluminum corrosion fuzz, looked like fine salt grains.
Maybe condensation from being empty??
Pretty sure what works for this climate is to ride every couple weeks or drain float bowls and refill with fresh gas once a month?

Still not sure what's the best, except to run 'em.
oh and keep the tanks fullFULL or dead dry and empty with marine fogging oil.

[YTZ drew]

One dry bowl had some very nasty white aluminum corrosion fuzz, looked like fine salt grains.
Maybe condensation from being empty??

Condensation is inevitable if the machine is stored outside or in uninsulated space. If running non-ethanol fuel, leaving the carb and tank full is probably best. All my stuff is in the basement, so I prefer to keep as little fuel as possible in mine, from a fire safety standpoint. I drain everything out, and due to constant temperature, I have not yet had a fuzzy carb issue.

[Mr. Clean]

Condensation is inevitable if the machine is stored outside or in uninsulated space.

Is condensation inevitable everywhere as described? How about Arizona? I have experience with Florida (Clearwater) and Arizona (Surprise!!!) and I can assure you that storage is vastly different based on climate, in a basic non controlled garage environment.

[YTZ drew]

Is condensation inevitable everywhere as described?

You're right, Mr. Clean. Climate plays a part there too, I wasn't thinking about more temperate regions. You guys in the southwest with all your darned good weather....

It has actually just about rained IN my trailer on a fluke warm day in the winter due to the sudden temperature shift!

[coolpool]

I do this to all my bikes, except the '06 599 which has a vacuum operated petcock. On the 2 strokes, I just hit the kill switch as soon as the rpms start to rise. I have never had a problem doing this. I think the lean condition you are creating is not a big deal, even on a 2 stroke, because you are not under any load when it happens.

I don't drain anything 4 or 2 stroke but as stated before our climate probably helps. I do use Seafoam but not religously. I remember my teacher in a small engine course back in the early 80's say to never run a 2 stroke out of fuel because the fuel carries the lubricant. This was obviously before improved 2 stroke oils were available though.

[emmie357]

I use stabil in everything, and drain nothing... never had an issue.
My atv's always get started every few weeks year round. But my snow blower, weed wacker, lawn tractor, and chainsaws all sit for months with no issues.

[shovelryder]

I use stabil in everything, and drain nothing... never had an issue.
My atv's always get started every few weeks year round. But my snow blower, weed wacker, lawn tractor, and chainsaws all sit for months with no issues.X2 here........that stuffs great!