Welcome to the Twilight Week!

Now that Christmas is in the rear view mirror and the New Year is just around the corner we have officially entered the Twilight Week. Some people are off work this entire week while others are at work but might as well be off.  Or maybe, you are one of the unlucky people that have to be at work and actually have to do, you know, work.

Regardless of where you are in the Twilight week spectrum this is a perfect time to do a wellness check on your equipment. Those dusty bumps that you look at in the winter and don’t actually see. Things like your motorcycle, lawn equipment, generator, etc. This is the perfect time to take a few minutes and get each one of those things started. If the battery is low or dead, charge it (don’t forget it’s on the charger).  If your equipment won’t start, try dumping the old the fuel and putting some fresh in (not fresh out of the gas can that’s been sitting there all winter as well). If that doesn’t work give it a little shot of starting fluid, sometimes that’s all it takes to work through the bad gas if there is only a small amount in the system.

Once you get the engine started make sure you run it long enough to bring it up to operating temperature, in most cases 10 minutes or so is enough to get the old fuel out and the new fuel in. Don’t forget, if you do need to change out the fuel, fill the tank completely and add a fuel stabilizer. We, unfortunately, still have a few more months of cold weather. If your machine is liquid cooled make sure to check the anti-freeze, if it looks anything like a Slurpee it needs to be replaced sooner rather than later. Last but not least, don’t forget to add air to your tires, or at least check the pressures. Tires lose a fair amount of air just sitting, if you let the tires go completely flat it may end up ruining the tire before you realize there is a problem.

Ideally, it’s best to get equipment out and actually use them for a while; this will insure that you are getting things up to operating temperature and evaporating whatever condensation has built up inside the engine. However, if you are like us, and have snow on the ground that is not always possible. Even running things in place is better than not starting at all.

Finally, if you do need to get your equipment into the shop for some work, don’t wait until March or April or even worse, May. By then, most shops are already getting into their “Spring Rush” you might find yourself waiting a long, long time. We generally recommend getting your equipment in sometime in February or at the very latest the first part of March. Getting work done too early can be problematic if the equipment sits for 2-3 months before being used. The prime time is a few weeks before you actually need it so you have it back in plenty of time and it’s ready to go when you are.
 Happy New Year!