Signs of Spring

johnnyb

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Feb 22, 2013
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In the past two days we’ve seen a big maple on Pemberton-Ft Dix access road beginning to leaf out and others in bud, blueberry bushes in bud at Whitesbog, red-bellied turtles on a log in a wet ditch in Tuckahoe WMA, a tree (Cherry?) with pink blooms along US9 on the way to Cape May, and daffodils in bloom on a friend’s farm near Wrightstown.
We'd better not get a hard frost or a lot of plants and farmers are gonna be in ahem of trouble.
 

Boyd

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Jul 31, 2004
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It's still February - I can't imagine that we won't have any more freezing weather, although we're headed back to Spring tomorrow and the forecast calls for 74 on Wednesday. Really weird. I hope the price for this isn't a brown summer….
 
Feb 1, 2016
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Camden County, NJ
It's still February - I can't imagine that we won't have any more freezing weather, although we're headed back to Spring tomorrow and the forecast calls for 74 on Wednesday. Really weird. I hope the price for this isn't a brown summer….
First day of Spring is Monday March 20th, right around the corner! We are pretty close to having a year without a winter. I am hoping for one nice snowstorm (but not too cold temperature wise) before Spring.
 

Boyd

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Here we go again….

Friday
Rain, snow, and sleet before 10am, then rain likely between 10am and 11am, then a chance of snow after 11am. High near 42. North wind 13 to 16 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible.


Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 18. Northwest wind around 18 mph.

Saturday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 32. Northwest wind 15 to 18 mph.

Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 17. Northwest wind 7 to 14 mph.

Sunday
Partly sunny, with a high near 35.

Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 19.

Monday
Partly sunny, with a high near 39.

Monday Night
Snow likely, mainly after 10pm. Cloudy, with a low around 28. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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Mine is all ready. Bad timing on a Monday night though.
 

Boyd

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I bought a new snow thrower in the fall of 2015, still haven't used it and never even fueled it up this year. My home is in the 2 to 3 inch zone on that map, my driveway is a sand road about 800 feet long and I don't even start to think about clearing it unless there's over a foot of snow. But who knows? Note that the forecast says "low to medium confidence" in the snowfall amounts. I suppose that could be either good or bad. ;)

Here's a question for you guys that know all about small engines: in the winter of 2016 I ran the snowblower for a half hour every month as suggested, then followed the manufacturer's instructions to run it dry and put some oil in the cylinder at the end of the season. Is there any reason why I can't just leave it as-is until next winter? That would result 18 months or more of storage in drained/unused condition.
 

Boyd

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Yeah, I use that in my generator. But why should I fill it up when it's not going to be used for a year? The manufacturer says you shouldn't do that.
 
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Teegate

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Well, then I would follow what the manufacture says.
 

Boyd

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Yeah, I am doing that. What I'm wondering is if there is some limit to how long you can store an engine without using it. Seems like it would be fine for a couple years, but the instructions only discuss storage during the off-season as opposed to longer periods of time. No big deal one way or the other though - thanks!
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
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What I'm wondering is if there is some limit to how long you can store an engine without using it. Seems like it would be fine for a couple years, but the instructions only discuss storage during the off-season as opposed to longer periods of time. No big deal one way or the other though - thanks!

My MGB has been stored since 1999. As long as you got rid of all the fuel and squirt a small amount of some Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinder before you start it you will be fine. Did you change the oil before storing it? If not, it would be wise to do that.

You should start and the run the genset for a while with a load on it once a month.
 
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Teegate

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It has slightly changed depending where you are. In the end there is a potential for 18 inches for some of us. Could be interesting.
 

imkms

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Feb 18, 2008
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SJ and SW FL
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