It’s time to put your snow blower aside for the season. Chances are, you’ve already left it in the corner of your garage or shed and have happily forgotten about it, but trust me, drag it outside and take a little time to prepare it for proper storage.

Plus, it’s much easier to work on it in the natural sunlight of your driveway or backyard than in the middle of a big winter snowstorm. It won’t take long if you’ve been taking good care of it. First, buy yourself a spark plug, some winter weight oil like 5W 20 or 5W30, the same year round oil that most cars use these days. Also, buy some fuel preservative like Sta-Bi, Store Safe, or any other comparable brand.

First, change the spark plug even if it looks good. It’s worth spending a few bucks for the added benefit of a hot spark on a cold day. It wouldn’t hurt to tighten the head bolts in case any of them have come loose. If you don’t have a torque wrench, just tighten them while choking on the wrench handle so you don’t overdo it. Use a crisscross pattern for even distribution.

Most likely the bolts won’t even budge, but it’s worth the extra 2 minutes. Fill the gas tank with fresh fuel, leaving enough room for the gas preservative recommendations, and turn on the snow blower and let it run for about 10 minutes to allow the preservative to enter the carburetor and its small holes and cavities. where unattended fuel turns to varnish and creates a no-start situation when the first snow falls.

Note: There is another school of thought that says to empty the fuel tank and run the carb completely out of fuel for storage. In my opinion, flip a coin and do whatever you want. Both avoid the problem of stale fuel clogging the carburetor.

Next, take advantage of the hot engine to drain the hot engine oil while the nasty sediment is properly suspended and drained with the old oil instead of staying at the bottom of the oil pan. Dispose of the oil properly at your local auto repair shop.

If you can, replace worn or stretched drive belts and rubber-coated drive disc if your snow thrower has one. Otherwise, save it for your local service dealer. Lubricate all external pivot points of levers, cables, linkage, etc. with a little WD-40, white lithium grease, or a suitable substitute. All those little pivot holes dry out and elongate over time if they never get lubricated.

That is all. Enjoy your summer!