Winter machine storage

[andyfrost]

Dave , they were never designed to run on sythetic type oils , many older twostrokes had bushes for crankcase bearings , and they relied on the film of oil(given by straight 30 grade) to form the crankshaft seal.
As Stew has correctly pointed out they simply will not run as they should , I suspect he is talking about a Bantam with a Villiers 25C , which although had ball bearing mains , still relied on a ph brass gland seal.
All my vintage gear (nearly all twostrokes) is used on a regular basis , and performs faultlessly on normal petrol , coupled with the correct grade of oil.
Hope this helps.

Andy.

[trusty220]

You are right, Andy, in that the modern oils simply don’t suit “our” type of 2-stroke engine. They shouldn’t be run on it every day, but the idea of storing them over winter with a small amount in the tank and carburettor is preferable to no fuel at all and having everything dry out and crack.

Certainly that’s what I’m going to try this year with the Trusty’s because I always have the battle in the Spring with stale petrol. I’ll let you know next year!

[charlie]

That is the brand of fuel I was thinking of. I think the issue with modern 2 stroke oil is the old oils were thicker and the crank seals seem to prefer it.

[andyfrost]

Geoff , I certainly wouldn’t have any issues with it from the storage point of view. I try to make it a once a month job to fire all mine up during the winter , just running a carbful through , and never seem to have problems.

Andy.

[wristpin]

On a four stroke engine do the oil in the bore thing and turn the engine over so that the valves are shut and the points closed. Good squirt of WD40 in he carb inlet and exhaust outlet and tape them off. Fuel tank. Either brim it with stabilised fuel to drive out moist air or drain it and hang a desiccating sachet in it having put a very small amount of thin oil in and let it run through the tap to lessen the risk of it drying out.
On a two stroke, oil in the bore and shut points and seal the carb and exhaust and treat the fuel tank etc.
If the shed is damp and the machine precious make a poly igloo around it and stick either an electrical or chemical dehumidifier in with it .
Not sure about the hessian sack suggestion as unless the shed is bone dry they will attract moisture .

[vhgmcbuddy]

Thanks wrist pin been thinking I will do the oil in bore just a ligth coating of sae30. Hadn’t thought about spraying the carb and exhaust only sealing after expeatfarmer said about mice but don’t suffer pest issues. It’s more the fuel tanks that’s causing issues as I have two on the mg as its tvo. The main one is just going to get brimmed with tvo when it gets parked up. And think same with petrol one. Still open on the idea of this fancy fuel as I’ve normally just used ultimate unleaded and been fine when I get back in spring , some times drain it and mix 50-50 with new and use on Morden machines.

For damp i luckily have a 40ft ex fridge box that’s fully insulated and my workshop isn’t to bad just the little shed suffers. I fine the hessian sacks work really well I’ve used for about five years. They keep dust and muck off and act as insulation layer and and damp then do get they keep rather than it getting to the machine. Then let them air in summer.

Am interested in what over people’s reasons to long term storage are, just would of thought winter would be a hive of activity in all the sheds

[vhgmcbuddy]

All tucked away for winter

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[vhgmcbuddy]

This has been my cawler for the last 6 months, just thought id share it with you all.

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