Winter storage tips

Winter storage tips from WAGNER Classic Oil

Rule No. 1: Before parking or storing your vehicle/machine for winter, do not forget fuel stabilizer - next spring everything will run smoothly again.

Do not forget to add stabilizer to your small engines!  Yes, classic cars, boats, dirt bikes, and sports cars will need a fuel stabilizer before going into winter storage, but so will the small engines in lawn mowers, generators, and tools powered by fuel!

During longer storage times like winter storage un-stabilized fuel can degrade and oxidize, resulting in tank, fuel line, and fuel pump/injector corrosion. Corrosion must be prevented to ensure the engine runs smoothly after storage. Corrosion causes rust and rust can cause all sorts of headaches for your engine—clogged filters, limited fuel supply, mechanical failures.  

Modern fuel "acidifies" when left unused for a long time. Bacteria produce dirt and sludge in the tank resulting in the accelerated formation of extremely corrosive acetic acid.

Furthermore, modern fuel loses its ignition readiness at a high rate. In extreme cases, already after a few weeks, the fuel cannot be used any more to start the engine. For this reason, fuel must be completely drained and replaced by fresh fuel. Stabilizers can prevent this!

To avoid all these problems, Walter Wagner developed two products to stabilize fuel:

Bactofin for vehicles with petrol/gasoline engine; 2-stroke and 4-stroke motors, Wankel engines that are refuelled with petrol/gasoline as well as Diesel-Additive for all vehicles driven with diesel or crude oil.

Rule No. 2: Lubrication before winter storage!

For the following reasons WAGNER Classic Oil advises to change oil BEFORE winter storage.

During the past season, the engine oil has worked hard and because of this there can be impurities in the oil from natural contamination. Fuel residues accumulate in the old oil, thinning the oil and increase the chance of oxidation.  If the vehicle was rarely in use, the consequences are even more disastrous.  Minimal use can mean minimal oil adhesion on the engine components, which allows the metal surfaces to oxidize/rust. Therefore even if the engine had minimal running time the oil should be changed and ran so the oil coats all the internal surfaces.   

Acid formation and corrosion resulting from dirt, water and fuel residues can damage the engine during winter storage. So it is best to replace the old oil, removing troublesome impurities.

If the motor gets fresh oil before a storage, it will be well protected. You can start your car in spring right at the first ray of sunshine and drive off headache free!

All other lubrication and care should be done before winter storage. An all-round lubrication should be mandatory. Grease all joints, check wheel bearings, etc. Any lack of lubrication allows for corrosion.

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