I have a Honda lawn mower (HRX217K2VKA) and I want to drain the fuel for winter. How should I do this? Three options spring to mind:
The manufacturer's manual (see page 13) recommends option 1, but I was wondering if anyone could recommend an alternative that didn't waste the gas.
I have always just had a "last mow of the year", where when I run the mower dry, and I've never had a problem. Then you're not really "wasting" the gas.
Depending on your model (and it looks like the one you specified ought to manage this), you may be able to do option 2 if you have a really full gas tank. Then, after emptying, you still ought to run it dry for what little remains.
I personally would not recommend siphoning it. Unless you wanted to go to the trouble of buying extra equipment to do it (and think about that - how often are you going to be siphoning gasoline? Enough to justify a special purchase?), that means a distinct risk of drinking a little bit of gasoline... not exactly a pleasant experience, nor good for you.
from this site:
Many adverse health effects of gasoline are due to individual chemicals in gasoline, mainly BTEX, that are present in small amounts. Breathing small amounts of gasoline vapors can lead to nose and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, confusion and breathing difficulties. Symptoms from swallowing small amounts of gasoline include mouth, throat and stomach irritation, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and headaches. Some effects of skin contact with gasoline include rashes, redness and swelling. Being exposed to large amounts of gasoline can lead to coma or death.
So, siphoning probably won't kill you, but I certainly wouldn't endorse it.
IMO run it dry, most of my neighbors and I do this by mowing our leaves. Either bagging or mulching actually helps.
Alternately look for the line that runs from the bottom of the fuel tank to the carburettor. If this is easy to get to and remove you may be able to remove the line and use that to drain it.
I bought a little gas siphon with a squeeze bulb from home depot for $5. I use that to empty the tank. I then run the mower to pull the remaining gas out of the system (runs for like a minute).
Oh, and +1 for using Sta-bil. Even if you don't leave gas in the mower, you should put a fuel stabilizer in your gas can. Unless you use up the fuel in your gas can every 2-3 weeks, it needs some kind of stabilizer or the gasoline will start to break down.
Either run it until it's dry or put sta-bil in it. Definitely don't just leave gas sitting in it.
Depending on how yours is setup, you might be able to unhook the hose that goes from the tank into the carb. They usually have those spring clamps you can pinch with pliers to get off, but really, that is more work than you need to do. And you can't reliably save the gas, and letting it run off on to the ground isn't a great idea.
I usually mulch down my leaves until it runs out of gas and then put it up for the year.
There is a drain valve to drain the fuel in my Honda mower.
See page 56 of http://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/pe/pdf/manuals/31VH7H20.pdf .
