Garden machinery advice for the winter

Fuel - the stuff we all need - but apart from its eye-waveringly expensive cost, fuel has its perils for those of us who own lawn mowers, generators or motor boats. The problem is ethanol, which was added to replace lead in petrol, since ethanol starts to evaporate when left in your engine for a long period of time, leaving water in your carburettor. This issue is not usually encountered with normal car usage as we use them on a regular basis, and the moisture burns off. However, lawn mowers, generators and boat engines often have long periods of inactivity which means the ethanol can evaporate and cause moisture. Steve John, director at West Devon-based Abbey Garden Machinery, says: “We see a lot of these issues and as soon as a client says they’re having starting problems we suspect that there could be water in the carburettor.”

There is a solution though if you want to leave fuel in an engine which is not going to be used for a period of time. Aspen alkylate petrol was developed in Sweden in 1980 and Aspen 2 was developed later in 1988 by a fuel expert at Volvo, Roland Elmdng, who saw the potential to develop a fuel which was better for people and the environment as well as providing a better performance from engines. For further information regarding Aspen fuel and general advice about engine care you can contact Steve John at Abbey Garden Machinery on 01822 614053.