1

About eleven years ago, I bought a gasoline-powered pressure washer, and used it for some days to clean the driveway and house walls. Then it sat for 10 years, unused, unmaintained.
What are the chances of it still working ( or being revived)?

  • I let it run dry when I last used it
  • it is stored inside a garage (so no exposure to the elements)
  • it looks fine from the outside
  • I didn't yet try to use it - for some years I thought it's beyond help anyway, but now somebody told me it might be just fine.
  • I'm afraid that simply trying to start it might damage it, so I'm asking first
  • I'm not a handy-man - changing spark plugs might just be outside my skill set, but I could try.

What should I do before adding gas and trying it, if anything?

Aganju
  • 214
  • 4
  • 10

2 Answers2

4

You let it run dry, which was key. This means you don't have smelly, gooey, inflammable fuel dried in and clogging the small carburetor passages.

Check the oil level and fire it up. If it's lubricated, it's probably just fine. If there's moisture in the oil it'll evaporate when the engine comes up to normal operating temperature.

There's no reason to change the plug unless you have reason to believe that it's fouled, but storage doesn't do that.

isherwood
  • 158,133
  • 9
  • 190
  • 463
2

I would largely agree with isherwood's answer, but personally I would be tempted to pull the spark plug and put a few mls of oil in the spark plug hole, then crank it over a few times to make sure the rings were well oiled. Then add gas and start it. I've had a couple older engines that had sat dormant - although they were not literally rusted or seized, the the rings were so dry that there was some damage from starting up the first time.

Also, it may be worthwhile to put some oil in the water pump itself (you could even use the purpose-designed oil meant for winterizing pressure washers). Again, just to make sure parts aren't totally dry when you start it.

Old gas is the #1 enemy of unused power equipment, so you're definitely one step ahead from having run it dry.

dwizum
  • 1,096
  • 6
  • 9