Many of the folks at AMSOIL love working on vehicles and equipment after hours and on weekends. Our Senior IT Project Manager, Mike Hudec, is one of them. By day, he ensures the AMSOIL IT Department is running properly. After work, he puts on his coveralls and heads to the garage, often to fix problems with his neighbors’ small-engine-powered equipment.
Check out Mike’s story here.
Video transcript: A Company of Enthusiasts: We’re Into Small Engines
I’m Mike Hudec, Senior IT Project Manager at AMSOIL, and I’m into small engines. [ Music ] Some of the things I do in my garage is repair and maintenance on our two vehicles and then also a whole lot of small engine repair. A neighbor of mine will come over in the spring and say, “Hey. I can’t keep my lawnmower going.” I’ll say, “Hey.
Bring it up to my garage. Let’s take a look.” Over the years, I’ve gotten a bit of a tag of Mike’s Garage for Small Engine Repair. So I drive home from work and, you know, right on the side of my garage, if I’m lucky, there’ll be a couple or one or two pieces of equipment sitting there. Hey.
Fantastic! I know what I’m doing tonight. It looks like snow blower and what’s that thing? A little rototiller.
Huh. What happens from time to time – well, it’s happened more often than not. There’s a note on it. It says, “Hey.
I’m a friend of the Johnsons. I hear you work on small engines. This isn’t running right. I can’t get it started.
Would you mind taking a look? Give me a call.” So it’s kind of fun, you know, also meeting new people, friends of friends. That little rototiller, I’m pretty excited about that one. I don’t see a lot of small rototillers, but the note on there said that he couldn’t get it going.
And just doing a quick look, it doesn’t look like it’s been run in a while with the cobwebs hanging off that thing. So that’ll be fun. A coworker of mine was going to go fishing this spring, and he’s disappointed because his outboard didn’t run. He said, “Oh, man.
I’ve gotta bring it in.” And I said, “Well, bring it in tomorrow. I’ll throw some tools in the back of my truck. You know, we get an hour for lunch. Let’s see if we can get it done in an hour.” And he kind of looked at me, and it’s like, “All right.
Let’s do it.” Right at high noon, headed out to the parking lot, set everything up, ripped the carburetor off it, cleaned her up, put it back together, put some fresh gas in it, fired her up. It was actually really fun. Working on small engines for neighbors, friends and family, I have a passion for it. I really love the problem-solving and also some nice quiet time for me.
I love my family. I love coming home and making dinner and helping with homework and hearing about the day and then going to soccer practice and then going here for flag football, you know, and then spending some time with my wife. But then, after that, I enjoy coming out here to my garage, and that’s some of my time. What I enjoy is problem-solving.
You know, I do that for my career every day: problem-solving in information systems, problem-solving with human resources, you know, getting a project started, defined, and closed. Same thing with fixing a small engine. The most fun is how can I fix it with the least amount of expense or how fast can I do it? You can take the carburetor off and you see a bunch of goop in there.
Sure. You can throw it out, right, and go buy a new one. No. Rip the thing apart down to the bare bones, clean her up, put her back together.
It costs you nothing. The future of Mike’s Garage? My kids. I don’t want my kids to be someone who hears a noise in their vehicle and what they do is turn up their radio.
I want them to think to say, “Okay. Something’s going on. I’m gonna look into this.” They’re getting interested in what I do with small engines, talking in the scope of take care of things, your things because then they’ll take care of you. That’s the future of Mike’s Garage.
I’m Mike Hudec, Senior IT Project Manager at AMSOIL, and I’m into small engines.
How to avoid common small-engine problems
Leaning on years of experience working on lawn mowers, rototillers, snowblowers and other equipment, Mike compiled this list of common small-engine problems and how to prevent them. His top causes for engine failure include fuel issues and inadequately preparing equipment for seasonal storage.
Buy high-octane fuel specified for small engines
Some fuel pumps at your local gas station are labeled for recreational use and dispense non-ethanol fuel. It’s best to use fuel with no ethanol to avoid degrading rubber fuel lines or gaskets if the fuel is allowed to sit in the carburetor for long periods.
Fuel with ethanol added may cause damage to your small engine’s carburetor. As always, consult your owner’s manual on fuel recommendations before you head to the pump.
Buy only enough fuel to last a month
Just because you have a five-gallon gas can doesn’t mean you need to buy five gallons of gas (unless you are going to use it fairly quickly). Gas begins to degrade in as few as 30 days. When it does, varnish and gums can form that clog fuel passages and foul the carburetor. Buy enough gas to last about a month to avoid problems with degraded gas.
Use fresh gas
If you have an inline fuel shut-off valve, close it after you are done using your equipment and run the carburetor out of gas. Just make sure to open the valve back up when you use your equipment again.
Use a fuel additive
Use an additive designed to keep components clean and stabilize fuel during short-term storage, such as AMSOIL Quickshot, in your transport gas can. Be sure to follow the recommendations for everyday use.
After your small engine has cooled down, be sure to clean it off and give it a good inspection. That way you will notice any leaks or other minor issues before they turn into major problems.
Prepare your small engines for seasonal storage
Once the season ends, drain the fuel from the tank and carburetor bowl and change the oil prior to storage.
If you leave the gas in the tank during storage, stabilize it with AMSOIL Gasoline Stabilizer, which keeps fuel fresh up to 12 months. It also fights corrosion, as the image shows.
Run the engine for a few minutes to warm the oil, then shut it off and drain the oil. Wear gloves so you don’t burn yourself. Warm oil flows faster and more completely from the sump, ensuring you get the majority out. Take your time when adding new oil to avoid over/under filling – live by the dipstick. Consult your owner’s manual for the correct viscosity recommendations.
Avoid storing equipment outside
Exposing your lawn mower, snowblower and other equipment to the elements invites water contamination and corrosion. Store equipment in a garage or shed. If you have no choice, secure a good tarp over it to prevent rain or snow from infiltrating the fuel system and causing problems.
No one likes a problem – unless, like Mike Hudec, you enjoy fixing them. To avoid small-engine problems, use the right fuel and keep it fresh, drain the fuel system and change the oil before you store it for the season – it’s all about prevention.
This article is part of our Small Engine and Power Equipment guide. See every article in the guide.
This article is part of our Small Engine and Power Equipment guide. See every article in the guide.
This is very interesting and amazing article that I read today. It’s about the fixes of small engine failure. It is one of my best article and I hope all the readers will love this article. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I live in Panama City FL. We have non ethanol fuel available and I use it in my mower, my antique 1951 John Deere Tractor and my logsplitter engine. When completed with using the machine I turn off supply and run the engine till carburetor is empty/ engine stops. Just started my tractor yesterday, the fuel had not been renewed for over a year and no problems starting and running. The tractor has been with me about 15 years with no problems. Yes I use Amsoil.
Hi, Thank you so much for sharing this information about small engine failure. I think most of the car owner doesn’t know about this. I also add with this that we should keep our tank no less than ¼ full. Keep up with good work. I will share it with others.
Hey how’s it going…..i was hoping you could shed some light on a problem I might be having I put a c.f. carb with an electric choke on my predator motor and I can’t get it to idle. my question is this .does the carb have to have 12 volts for the choke to function correctly
Hi Fred,
It’s tough to say without more specifics. Contact the carburetor and engine manufacturers to get the specs for required voltage. Once you have that, you can determine if it’s an electrical issue or a jetting/dirty-carb issue.
Thanks.
I like your tip to use high octane fuel. Using the right fuel, and fresh fuel, is really important. After investing in something like an engine, the last thing you want to do is damage it from negligence. Luckily manufacturers make it pretty easy on us.