"Osprey" wrote in
oups.com:

Talking to my mate - he advised he had never done that when he owned it
- just started it once a month, and that was enough.

Be interested in views on this ... maybe running it up to warm once a
month may be better.



I wouldn't run it until Spring at all. If you start it without cooling
water, it'll tear up the pump impeller running it dry against its
housing. If you run it in cooling water, that'll freeze before you can
get it to drain, taking a chance of frozen water doing internal damage in
the already-frigid weather.

If it's fogged, leave it fogged until you can use it again....NO sense
tearing up the pump impeller burning it against dry parts. You might
feel better if you just hand turn it over to move the pistons would be
ok, I suppose....(c; I wouldn't crank the starter.

What kind of gas tank is in it, metal or plastic? A full metal tank
doesn't breathe and doesn't leak out the smaller molecules in the gas
that make its octane high. A plastic tank, even a full one, always
smells like leaking gas because it IS leaking gas, the light molecules
leaking through the large molecules of polyethelene...making "bad gas" by
spring, or at least gas with reduced octane...to make knock which isn't
good.

I saw one of those old pulse-pressurized red Evinrude 6-gallon gas tanks
on a shelf at a thrift shop, today. The perfect fuel tank for a small
outboard and they DUMPED IT! It was made to operate under pressure,
SEALED against the breathing in water vapor and breathing out light fuel
molecules. Its heavy metal tank didn't seep light molecules through its
solid metal can. Even half full, tightly closed under pressure that was
always there until you opened its filler cap, gas never went bad from the
breathing they all do, now.

How stupid to change something that worked so well just to save the
manufacturers a few dollars per unit with that crap tank CG let's 'em
use, now....



Larry
--
My calendar must be wrong....
In all the stores, it's ALREADY Christmas!