When spring arrives and you’re ready to tackle your lawn care, the last thing you want is equipment that won’t start. At Ty’s, we see it happen every year—customers frustrated with mowers that won’t crank over after sitting through winter. The good news? Most of these problems are totally preventable with proper winterization.
Grant Lisiecki from our service team agrees: “Winterizing is really important to prep yourself for next season.” Here’s everything you need to know about getting your outdoor power equipment ready for winter storage.
What Equipment Needs Winterizing?
You might think winterizing only applies to gas-powered mowers, but that’s not the case. As Grant explains, “It’s not just gas-powered equipment you have to winterize. It’s also electrical equipment.” The following equipment should be winterized if you live in an area with cold winters:
Gas-Powered Equipment
- Push mowers (residential and commercial)
- Riding mowers
- Snowblowers
- Chainsaws and other handheld tools
Battery-Powered Equipment
- Electric mowers
- Battery-powered blowers and trimmers
- Any equipment with rechargeable batteries
The Cost of Skipping Winterization
We’ve seen the problems that happen when customers skip this important step. The most common issues include:
- Fuel Problems: During the winter months, fuel left in equipment can deteriorate and damage the carburetor. “Problems usually relate to keeping bad fuel in there and over the 6-month span of winter. That fuel can kind of just deteriorate the carburetor,” Grant notes.
- Dead Batteries: Even when equipment isn’t running, batteries slowly drain power. “Batteries, they kind of will draw power and slowly drain themselves, and then you have dead batteries on equipment,” he explains.
- Internal Corrosion: Old oil, grass, and dirt debris that isn’t cleaned can contain acids and contaminants that corrode internal parts during storage.
- Carburetor Issues: If you skip the step of running fuel through a carburetor to prepare for winter, the fuel can deteriorate, causing issues with starting equipment.
Essential Steps for Gas-Powered Equipment
First, let’s walk you through some essential steps to properly store your gas-powered equipment for the winter season.
1. Treat Your Fuel
The most important step for gas equipment is proper fuel treatment. Here’s what Grant recommends:
- Add fuel stabilizer to your tank
- Run the engine to circulate the treated fuel
- For your last use of the season, consider running synthetic fuel through the system
- Drain remaining fuel before storage
2. Handle Battery Care
Grant admits battery care is easy to forget: “The biggest issue, and I suffer from this too, is batteries. You kind of just forget about them. You leave them connected. Don’t really think about it.” For riding mowers and other equipment with batteries:
- Disconnect the battery completely
- Connect to a trickle charger for winter storage
- Store in a dry location if possible
3. Perform Maintenance Tasks
Before storage, consider these additional steps:
- Change the oil to remove contaminants
- Clean grass and debris from the deck
- Replace air filters and spark plugs for next season
- Sharpen blades if needed
Battery-Powered Equipment Winterization
Electric equipment has different needs, but it is equally important to winterize properly. Grant emphasizes that both types need attention: “If you own one or the other, it’s pretty important to make sure you nail both.” We recommend the following:
- Remove batteries from equipment
- Store batteries in a temperature-controlled environment
- Charge batteries to about 50% for storage
- Clean battery connections
- Store equipment in a dry location
How Ty’s Can Help
Whether you’re a first-time homeowner or an experienced equipment owner, our team is here to help make winterization simple. Call or stop by for a complete rundown of what your specific equipment needs. We stock fuel stabilizer, synthetic fuel, oil, and other winterization supplies.
If you prefer, you can even bring your equipment in, and we’ll handle the winterization, blade sharpening, and deck cleaning. As Grant puts it: “We want to make sure homeowners and commercial cutters don’t feel like they were left in the dust on easy winterizing prep things for their mower.”
Ready to Winterize Your Equipment? Head to Ty’s Outdoor Power
Whether you want to tackle winterization yourself or have our experts handle it, we’re here to help. Stop by our Gretna location or give us a call. We’ll make sure you have everything needed to keep your equipment running strong.
