How to Store a Snow Blower for Summer: Fuel, Batteries and Covers

Off-season storage means preparing the fuel system, engine, batteries and metal parts to sit unused for six to eight months without degrading. The order matters: deal with fuel and oil while the machine is outside and ventilated, then clean and protect it, then put it away covered.

The one step that varies by manufacturer is fuel. Some operator manuals direct you to fill the tank with stabilized fuel and run the engine so treated fuel reaches the carburetor. Others direct you to drain the tank and run the engine until it stops so no fuel sits in the carburetor at all. Read your manual and do what it says, because the manufacturer knows whether its carburetor and fuel system are better protected wet or dry.

Do what your operator manual specifies. Both methods exist because both work when done correctly, and the manufacturer chooses based on its carburetor design.

Stabilizer method: add stabilizer such as STA-BIL Storage fuel stabilizer to fresh gasoline at the label rate, fill the tank nearly full to leave little air space for condensation, and run the engine for several minutes outdoors so treated fuel reaches the carburetor. This is the simpler method and avoids dry gaskets.

Run-dry method: drain the tank outdoors into an approved container, then run the engine until it stalls from lack of fuel. Some manuals also have you drain the carburetor bowl. This leaves nothing to go stale, but a machine that only "sputters out" can still hold a little fuel in the bowl.

Either way, start with the right fuel. Use regular unleaded with no more than 10 percent ethanol (E10). The EPA prohibits E15 in outdoor power equipment such as snow blowers and mowers, and higher ethanol blends can damage small engines. Many owners use canned ethanol-free fuel such as TruFuel 4-cycle for the final fill before storage.

1. Handle the fuel first, outdoors with the engine cold, using the method in your manual.
2. Change the oil. Used oil contains acids and moisture from combustion that sit on engine parts all summer. Fresh oil protects them.
3. Inspect the spark plug. Replace it now or note it for the fall tune-up. Some manuals call for a teaspoon of oil in the cylinder (fogging) before long storage; do it only if yours does.
4. Clean the machine. Knock off packed snow and salt residue, wipe it down and let it dry completely. Do not pressure wash; water forced into bearings, the gearbox and the electric start does more harm than the grime.
5. Protect bare metal (see the rust section below) and grease the fittings the manual lists.
6. Relieve tension on the controls, and if the manual suggests it, loosen the belt tension or disengage the drive.
7. Cover and park it on a dry floor, away from furnaces and water heaters.

The machine itself is easy: wipe it dry, check the scraper bar and auger, and store it covered. The batteries need more care, because they are the most expensive part of the kit. Two 7.5Ah EGO packs alone cost about as much as a mid-range gas two-stage, at $439.00 each for the EGO Power+ BA4200T 56V 7.5Ah Battery.

• Take the batteries out of the machine for storage.
• Store them indoors in a dry spot at room temperature, away from direct sun, furnaces and freezing temperatures. An unheated garage that bakes in summer is a poor place for lithium-ion packs.
• Store at the charge level the manual recommends. Many lithium-ion makers advise a partial charge rather than full or empty for long storage.
• Check them before the season, then charge indoors at room temperature on the manufacturer's charger.
• Never charge, use or store a pack that is swollen, cracked, leaking or badly dropped. Take it to a battery recycling drop-off.

If the same batteries run your mower and blower, they will not sit idle anyway, which is one of the quiet advantages of a shared platform. The battery snow blower buying guide covers platform sharing.

If the machine lives in a shed, carport, dusty garage or outdoors under an overhang, yes. A cover keeps dust, sawdust, bird and rodent droppings, and sun off the machine, and outdoors it keeps rain out of the chute and controls. The key is ventilation: a cover that traps moisture against steel causes rust, so avoid wrapping a snow blower in a plastic tarp.

• The EGO Power+ CB004 Snow Blower Cover ($93.99) is the genuine cover for EGO 24 and 28-inch two-stage machines, with vents to cut condensation.
• The Ariens Heavy Duty Snow Blower Cover (24 to 36 in.) fits Ariens two-stage machines from 24 to 36 inches and measures 60 by 38 by 46.5 inches, a useful benchmark for how big a two-stage really is.
• The Tough Cover Premium 600D Snow Blower Cover ($38.66) is a universal 600D cover with a tightening cord for most two-stage and three-stage machines.

Never cover a machine with a hot engine or muffler. Let it cool completely first.

Plan a floor space of roughly 3 by 5 feet for a 24 to 28-inch two-stage, plus about 2 feet in front to roll it out. The Ariens cover dimensions above (60 inches long, 38 wide, 46.5 tall) show the envelope of a typical 24 to 36-inch machine with the handles up. Single-stage and battery single-stage machines are smaller, and many fold their handles to stand in a corner.

A snow blower rarely lives alone. Put it next to a lawn mower and you need a shed or garage bay sized for both, with a door wide enough for the widest machine. The shed size for a snow blower and mower page works through the layout, and the shed size calculator adds your own equipment. An 8 by 10 foot resin shed such as the Lifetime 8 x 10 ft. Outdoor Storage Shed, which includes its own floor, holds a two-stage snow blower, a walk-behind mower and hand tools. A riding mower plus a snow blower points toward the Suncast Tremont 8 x 13 ft. Resin Storage Shed or the Arrow Shed Elite 10 x 12 ft. Steel Storage Shed, which offers 117 square feet of floor. Compare options in the best storage sheds.

• Attached garage: convenient, but keep a gas machine well away from a furnace or water heater with a pilot light, since fuel vapors can ignite. Never store extra gasoline beyond what you need, and keep it in an approved container.
• Shed: good if it is dry and ventilated. Put the machine on a pallet or rubber mat rather than a dirt or damp concrete floor, and make sure the door and ramp can handle a heavy two-stage.
• Outdoors: the last resort. Use a vented, fitted cover, keep it off bare ground, and expect more rust and more UV wear on plastic chutes and tires.

Store the machine level. Tipping a gas snow blower on its end to save space can push oil into the air filter or cylinder and fuel out of the vent, so do it only if the manual shows that storage position and the fuel and oil have been handled as it directs.

Road salt and melted snow are what rust a snow blower, and the damage happens during the summer when the machine sits with salt residue on bare metal. At season end:

• Wipe the housing, auger and chute clean with a damp cloth and let everything dry completely, ideally in the sun.
• Sand and touch up scratches and chips with a rust-preventive enamel. The auger housing interior and the edges of the scraper bar take the most abuse.
• Coat bare steel, the auger and exposed linkage with a light oil or a lanolin-based rust inhibitor such as Fluid Film.
• Grease the fittings and lubricate the chute rotation and control pivots per the manual.
• Store the machine under a vented cover so condensation can escape.

Worn steel skid shoes and scraper bars are also where rust starts. Replace them before they wear through into the housing.