Winter maintenance of engines

3. 11. 2025

The time is coming to prepare motorized garden equipment such as lawnmowers, drum mowers, mulchers and brushcutters for winter storage. This also applies to minitractors and lawn tractors, unless they are used during the winter, e.g. for snow removal. But do you know what you need to do to ensure that they start up again without any problems in the spring?

Here are some essential tips that will save you money and worries at the start of the new season. Winterizing takes very little time and can save you many hours and kilometers to the service center in the spring.

We highly recommend!

Lawnmowers/drum mowers/mulchers:

clean the frame and grass bag of grass debris with a nylon brush and water, and treat the surface with preservative oil
for the last one or two tanks before storage use Aspen4 alkaline fuel, which does not contain biofuel components
completely drain the fuel from the carburetor and, preferably, also from the tank before winter storage
recharge the battery on machines with electric start
lubricate the cables and moving control elements of the machine with preservative oil
change the oil in the spring before the new season
store the machine in a dry, temperature-controlled place

Lawn tractors:

The same recommendations apply as for lawnmowers, but please draw your attention also to the starter battery, which should be recharged and removed from the machine, and stored in a temperature-controlled room.

VARI System four-stroke driving units:

If you do not use the driving unit all year round, the recommendations for winter maintenance of the are the same as for mowers.

If you use your driving units year-round, e.g., for transport, snow removal, sweeping, etc., we recommend always using fresh fuel, or even better, Aspen4 alkaline gasoline. For shutdowns longer than one week, always drain the fuel from the carburetor using the fuel tap. Use high-quality year-round engine oil for low temperatures with a wider viscosity range, at least 10W30, which you should change according to the manufacturer's recommendations and the number of hours of operation. When using the driving unit in combination with a snow thrower, do not forget to remove the paper insert from the air filter. However, do not forget to reinstall it in the spring.

Two-stroke brushcutters:

Again, we recommend draining the fuel from the tank and carburetor and not leaving fuel mixed with oil in the canister for the spring. Fuel degrades over the winter and its lubricating qualities decrease. If old fuel remains in the carburetor, the membranes may stick together and damage the carburetor.

All recommendations primarily apply to newer products and engines that already meet the Euro2 and Euro5 emission standards. We want to save you money, worry, and time, because ultrasonic cleaning is a service that is usually not free of charge. A damaged carburetor that cannot be cleaned must be replaced. Engine manufacturers do not accept warranty claims for the parts damaged by biofuel. Closing the fuel tap and draining the fuel from the carburetor does not cost you anything!