how to clean out a gas tank on a lawn mower

How To Drain Gas From Lawn Mower

Do you have a lawn mower that needs servicing?

If so, then this article is for you. We will teach you how to drain gas from your lawn mower and save money on future servicing costs. It's easy to do and anybody can do it! Give it a try today and see the savings for yourself.

You don't want to spend too much money on something that could be easily fixed by following these simple instructions. Follow them now and start saving big time!

Gasoline is the ultimate source of power for all lawn mowers.

But like anything that you leave for a long period of time it gets old and stale and brings bad news.

This is why you need to know how to drain gas from lawn mower to avoid engine problems.

Yes, you read it right.

The gas inside the engine tank can also go bad if it's left there for more than two or three months.

Because it is in liquid form and with added additives and detergents, sediments will eventually form.

These are varnish-like materials that can contaminate the gas and spoiling the gas itself.

Added to that there is also the condensation of liquid that can form inside the tank that can contribute to contaminating the fuel.

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When to Change Gas in Lawn Mower

It would be ideal during the end of the mowing season.

If you drain the gas completely from your lawn mower then after a month or so put a little gas in it.

Then run your engine for 10 minutes even though your machine stays inside your garage.

Just make sure you have the proper ventilation when doing this.

Then at the start of the mowing season which is usually in spring.

Half-full gas tank and observe if this changes in color after you mow.

If the gas turned black from golden brown and the machine sputters, drain again the gas completely and put in new gas.

Sputters may also be caused either by flooding in the carburetor or a dirty oil filter. So check these as well.

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Before we discuss how to how to simply change gas in a lawn mower, let's talk about the symptoms when its gas gets dirty.

Signs of Gas Going Bad in Lawn Mower

Sputtering, hesitating or no starting.

When the gas compound evaporates, it leaves gummy deposits from the old gas.

These residues can clog your engine's fuel lines and carburetor creating an imbalance of air and fuel mixture in the carburetor.

That can result in incomplete combustion in the combustion chamber thus sputters or hard-starting can happen.

Hard starting, machine starts and then stalls.

Water can enter the gasoline tank due to two main reasons – water seepage through the gas cap or through condensation that happens in the tank with old gasoline.

When water mixes with gasoline in the fuel tank the water sinks to the bottom because it's denser.

So when the carburetor sucks gasoline from the gas tank, water also comes along.

Then mixes along with the oxygen and fuel and enters the combustion chamber which causes starting and stalling problems.

Poor or slow performance.

Your machine may not get the right acceleration, surges or sputters and usually dies when you throttle it.

This could be caused by water corroding the fuel system.

Corrosion can create structural damage in your fuel tank and the dirt from the corrosions can reach the carburetor and problems in fuel-air mixing can occur.

Now let's talk about how to drain gas from lawn mower to ensure you have a clean tank before refilling.

Park your lawn mower on a high base to have easy access on its gas tank.

Do not tip the mower on its side like other people do to avoid oil from dripping and contaminating parts of the engine.

Disconnect the cap of the spark plug to avoid accidental startup.

Locate the fuel line that runs from the gas tank to the carburetor.

Position a plastic container under the tube which you would be pulling when releasing the gas .

Use a long-nose plier to loosen the metal clamp on the fuel line and pull this clamp into the middle of the fuel line so as not to lose it.

Pull the fuel line from where it connects and let the gas drain out to the plastic container.

As you wait for the gasoline to totally drain out, detach the fuel bowl of the carburetor which you can find under the carburetor.

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Unscrew the bolt under the fuel bowl using a ratchet and find the holes in it.

Clean both the bowl and the bolt and spray the hole in the bolt with a carburetor cleaner using the straw.

Make sure the hole in the bolt is all clear.

Check the floater if it's working well and spray carburetor cleaner inside the carburetor.

Once the gas is totally drained out from the tank, reattach the fuel bowl but make sure you don't tighten the bolt too much.

To ensure that no dirt remained in the gas tank you can drop a clean rag inside and wiggle it around the bottom of the tank using a stick.

Let the cloth seep up the remaining gas.

Reconnect the fuel line, pull out the spark plug and check its chamber for any residue.

Clean the chamber by inserting a clean cloth inside. Clean also the spark plug before inserting it back.

Screw the spark plug back and its cap then check the oil filter and the oil level. Replace the oil filter if it gets too dirty. Check also the air filter.

Fill the gas half-full first and put the lawn mower on the ground then start the engine.

There could be some sputtering for a moment but wait till the engine run stabilizes.

Summary:

Many people suggest that the quickest way to drain gas from a lawn mower is siphoning it out .

However, this does not take out the sludge that has formed inside the tank.

If you don't clean up the fuel bowl in the carburetor you cannot totally eliminate the problem of hard starting.

So the best way on how to drain gas from lawn mower is draining it from the tank like we have discussed above.

In cleaning your engine, the best way to use is an engine cleaner in a can or an engine degreaser.

This is very easy to use and can quickly eliminate oil deposits, grime and all kinds of dirt from your engine.