WH Collectors storing your Herd

[JCM 10,251]

Curious to find out how you guys with I will say more than 5 Tractors, you know who you are I don't have to mention any names put away your tractors the ones you are saving for a rainy day in regards to fuel etc after you purchase them then do a refurb, clean up or total restoration and know that they will not be run for quite some time.I have seen the #'s in some of your collections as in the 10's  20's  30's 40's  50's and I congratulate you on that just wondering how you do it. As always thanks for your time.

[ebinmaine 73,015]

 

We'll have 6, maybe 7, by spring so this could be valuable information.

[squonk 43,945]

I unhook the bat neg terminal. Attach a tender to the battery. As for fuel I drain out the regular gas. I buy a can of the 4 cycle fuel from Lowes.   3 year shelf life. Put about a pint in. run it for 10 min..No issues starting next year.

Edited October 5, 2019 by squonk

[pfrederi 18,719]

I have about 20.  All stored in side nothing ever sits out overnight.  Non-ethanol gas with stabil.  A couple days before i plan on using them I put a trickle charger on them.  Under seat tanks on infrequently used units are being converted to electric fuel pumps. The older batteries even with couple days of trickle charge cannot always crank them long enough.

 

My biggest issue is mice building nests in the engine. Nothing reliably works.  Had a terrible experience with dryer sheets.  Mouse used it in nest construction when i cranked the engine it wrapped around the starter pinion and jammed every thing up tight.  The are very tough.

[Pullstart 67,084]

I bought a really big can of sta-bil a few weeks ago.  So far it isn’t working though... I guess I’ll have to open it soon!  

 

Everything is in the back storage building.  The ceiling is open and it ventilates very well.  There’s a trusty peanut butter pop can water trap for mice and some day I’ll dump some antifreeze in there to better preserve the swimmers but for now I empty the water every couple days.  Hot Wheels sat in the heated / finished portion of the shop for 10 days and when I fired it up all kinds of debris and rag bits shot out of the cooling shroud... so it’s time to ramp up the mouse evictions!

 

 

[oldiron613 584]

My tractors that I know I won't be running regularly, I turn the fuel off and run them until the carb runs dry, then add Stabil to the gas that's in the tank and have had pretty good luck. Then if I go to run it and it's been more than a couple of months, I'll usually take extra precaution and just drain the tank and refill with fresh fuel. My batteries stay on a tender, or through the winter I'll pull them and store them in the basement where it stays a little warmer through the winter months and rotate a tender on them. 

[chip61 666]

So far, stabilized non-ethanol fuel does a pretty good job for me. I usually run several tractors to pull a trailer a few times during the winter. The rest that won't get used I will run stabilized fuel in them, but then run the carb dry just to be safe. I usually take the battery out of those and rotate the battery maintainers between them. I used to leave a maintainer on a battery all winter, but after I cooked a couple of them I just rotate between batteries every few weeks.

[JCM 10,251]

@chip61     Curious how to tell the battery is cooked,can you tell by looks or will it just not even click when you try to start it after storage?   Thanks

[ebinmaine 73,015]

Just now, JCM said:

@chip61     Curious how to tell the battery is cooked,can you tell by looks or will it just not even click when you try to start it after storage?   Thanks

I'd like to see his answer as well but I've had this happen on batteries that turned out later to be no good.

I've had the experience of a battery that was not capable of keeping a charge, boiling out the fluid.

 

[chip61 666]

I had several batteries with removable caps that had water in them in the fall and the water was below the plates in the spring (after leaving them on the maintainer). According to the indicator on the maintainer they showed charged but when installed they would barely start the tractor if at all, and in a day or two be too dead to start. Since I started moving them from battery to battery every week or so I haven't had any problems.

[Herder 2,355]

Well I know that everyone try's to stay with nonethanol fuel but I use a fuel treatment instead and have had good luck so far.  I do however remove and cleanout the fuel bowls on the carbs as part of normal maintenance.  As far as batteries and cold weather, I try to not let them sit for more than a week or so without starting them.   You tend to figure out what tractors may be problematic.  Most of my tractors start right up every time no matter what the weather is, but I have one or two that I can bet will be a pain in the A$$ if I let them sit for to long.  

[pfrederi 18,719]

And every tractor seems to have its own desires when it comes to choke and throttle for quickest starting.  Hard for and old guy like me to remember who is who and what they want.

[squonk 43,945]

21 hours ago, JCM said:

@chip61     Curious how to tell the battery is cooked,can you tell by looks or will it just not even click when you try to start it after storage?   Thanks

I cooked one with a cheapie HF Tender. Saw where stuff came out the vent. No issues with a Battery Tender brand

[Stepney 2,354]

I run regular pump gas with a shot of marine stabilizer. I've never had an issue with degrading in some engines even after setting for 4/5 years. And I'm right near the seaside, so I'd expect it to be worse honestly. 

Drain or full carb .. depends on the engine. I never let a Tecumseh sit after cutting the fuel and running dry. The needles with the rubber seat always seem to leak after that.. IE setting a year or so. But if I keep treated fuel in them and the valve open .. off we go next time it's needed. 

Some of my really old engines have 5+ year old fuel in them.. I'd cut gasoline 50/50 with coleman fuel. They burn so little it doesn't matter. I still wait for the day an engine doesn't start .. hasn't come yet. 

As for the tractors in general.. mine all stay in routine use. So come winter when they all get laid up I take in the batteries, and rotate them on a tender. Most of my batteries are older now too. No issues yet. I usually just switch the fuel off at the tank, and check the oil before and after setting. I worry a pump diaphragm may go some day and flood the oil pan. Never has yet.. but it's always possible. 

I also usually jack the tractors up. Hate getting flat spots in the tires after storage.