Winter use of a gas cart
 

How good are these engines (FE290) for cold weather starts? I don't have a heated garage so any warmth will be subject to mother nature.

My 2 Garden tractors are a real pain in cold weather. I had to throw a tarp over one of them and put an electric heater under the tarp with the fan blowing on the engine for a couple hours when the temps got to 15'f or lower... Up to 30' f it's touch and go if it'll start. Any hints to aid my cold start confidence? :scratch:

I live in southern New England so the temps don't normally get below zero.

Re: Winter use of a gas cart
 

I know that last winter my cart would fire up without any problems when temps were in the 20's or 30's. It did take a bit to run smoothly and I had to mess with the choke a bit, but overall it was trouble free.

Re: Winter use of a gas cart
 

I could live with starting up with no problem at 20'f ..

Re: Winter use of a gas cart
 

My old Marathon was a little cold blooded last winter. But not too bad.... just choked it a bit for a minute & it was good to go. The biggest issue I had was freezing batteries. I setup a & never had another problem.

Re: Winter use of a gas cart
 

i've got a 97 medalist with the standard robins engine. no problems starting. had to use the choke, of course, let it idle a bit (transmission in the neutral range - no high speed reving, just a nice idle).

of course, once its warmed up, no problems.

Re: Winter use of a gas cart
 

No Problem here @ 20 degrees didn't try it when it was colder, Chocked and started in neutral and let warm up run fine.

Re: Winter use of a gas cart
 

you're going to have more problems with your transaxel than motor starting. my cc fe290 motor ran fine in the winter, it was the trans oil that got to thick at temps below 30 degrees (i live in n. indiana). i have a friend in finland who runs dextron in his. he says it works great. i'm thinking about dumping the 90wt oil for something with a lower viscosity for winter........maybe 30 wt. i use mine for cutting wood, chores around my property, and trail running. with chains and knobby tires it gets around pretty good in the snow. my cart has not seen a golf coarse in the 8 years i've owned it.

Re: Winter use of a gas cart
 

Just like your car or truck keep the tanK close to full
and add the right amount of gas deicer. The small
carbs will ice up easily, a fresh clean fuel filter helps.

Re: Winter use of a gas cart
 

i got a 99 with a fe 350, had no issues pulling a sled with it in the winter time with 8 inches of snow. and a scraped pack on the street of 4 inches. like previously stated, you got to choke to get it started, then itll run like a top! i use seafoam in mine as a fuel stabilizer. i still have the same gas i bought for it in febuary! im at a 1/4 of a tank. so i will fill her us for 20 bucks, add some sea foam and let her rip!

Re: Winter use of a gas cart
 

I live in Indiana and use synthetic in both motor and transaxle works for me.:thumbup: