Thanks. I sold Lawnboy mowers and consumer John Deere too.
“I don’t know if E10 would hurt a fuel line”
Me either, but the only real problems I recall were from wood alcohol/methanol. I hold ethanol `suspect’ but there are enough other good reasons to not use corn for fuel.
By the way, I’ve used Stabil brand when I stored an engine for a while with fuel in the tank and it seemed to work, but like you, for long-term storage—suck the gas out with a siphon (for the snowblower) then run the engine until it quits.
If it didn’t start, first thing I’d do is pull the plug and make sure it’s not `bridged’ with carbon. (Actually, first step is see if it has fuel!) Next, check `spark’ by holding the plug (carefully, by the rubber wire) in a shady spot and pull the cord to see if a spark jumps from the terminal. Usually the problem is fuel, esp. with solid state ignitions. I don’t miss condensors and points, esp., at all! I expect you know these things. They might be helpful to others & younger freepers.
It’s not a good idea to advise people to repeatedly run their engines out of fuel, especially 2 cycles with mixed fuel.
The reason for that is, when an engine becomes fuel starved, it increases exhaust gas temperatures dramatically and also brings cylinder head temps up to critical ranges due to the extreme leaned condition of the fuel air mixture.
Particularly in 2 cycles, leaning the engine this way greatly reduces the engines only way to lubricate itself, in addition to the much higher EGT. Repeated use of this practice is a guarantee of severe engine damage, regardless of the fuel.