Carburetor long term storage ideas

What is the proper way to store a carburetor for the long term? I Googled it and some folks spray it down with WD40 and seal in a baggie. Some folks put marvel mystery oil in the bowl. Some folks wrap them in oily newspaper. One guy keeps his submerged in gasoline. The carburetor in question is an 8n Marvel Shelber. What can be compromised in long term storage?

When I rebuild one I put it in a zip lock bag and get out as much air as I can then put it in a old non working fridge. I have stored one for a year or more that way

If stored in gas or with gas in them, the gas will go bad.
If stored dry the seals can/will dry out. (not the end of the world)
I spray mine with fogging oil. The same fogging oil I use on my
outboard boat engine when I store it for the winter.
Then seal them in a Ziplock baggie.
Not sure what you mean by "long term", but I've stored one for
a couple of years this way and had it work well when I needed it.

The carburetor in question is an 8n Marvel Shelber. What can be compromised in long term storage?

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This is an updraft , solid bowl carb with no accelerator pump . There are no gaskets that operate submerged in fuel to dry out and crack.

The fuel passages are tiny and can stop up easily in an updraft system . I would worry more about inside the fuel bowl drying out and rust or crud flaking off . I would shoot WD40 in the fuel inlet until it ran clean out of the drain plug then zip lock baggie it .

(quoted from post at 00:36:17 05/30/15) What is the proper way to store a carburetor for the long term? I Googled it and some folks spray it down with WD40 and seal in a baggie. Some folks put marvel mystery oil in the bowl. Some folks wrap them in oily newspaper. One guy keeps his submerged in gasoline. The carburetor in question is an 8n Marvel Shelber. What can be compromised in long term storage?

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Ratface you still haven't got that 8N up and running? The next time you get a chance to work on it try this.
This is going to sound a little unorthodox but works well when you have a tractor that starts but wont continue to run. As you know liquid finds its own level pull your drain plug and rig a fitting or just wedge A clear tube in the bowl drain so it don't leak hold it up or tape it to the carb or along side the carb you will now have a visual aid and be able to see the level of fuel in the bowl If there is any and what happens after you start the tractor. This is similar to a water level made from a coffee can. As much trouble as your having the visual aid may help you sort out if its fuel or electrical. One more thing you might be able to send your carb to one of the guys to try out on their tractor or a neighbor this way you eliminate the carb as an issue.

I hope this helps Byron If you need any manuals or anything send me an email its open Ill help you out if I have em.

Get the air out, hmmmm, wonder if using one them vacuum food savers that seal the bag after sucking the air out would work.
Yea I know I over do it with thinking out side the box LOL

after you treat it with some oil or something that doesn't stink too bad.
wrap it up and put it in a new, clean shoebox.
Then put it in your closet in the house....
(in a shoebox, [i:bc27c58bbb]sometimes[/i:bc27c58bbb] your wife won't take any notice of it)

Bhunt I'm getting closer. It's a weekend place and I'm not there most of the time. Makes it hard to work on a tractor/troubleshoot a tractor. The rain has been relentless, seems every weekend I'm there it's soaking wet and I can't really test to well mowing. Put a new sediment bowl on it last week but could not get it to stop leaking long enough to test drive it. I think it was the fuel valve but not certain yet. The only other thing left is the carburetor. I hope to get up there this week and finally figure it out as the weeds are taking over!

Hey Rat-
I guess we need to know if you mean taking the carb completely off the tractor to store it and why would want to do that? If restoring the tractor and you just want a safe place for it, I use coffee cans, most all are plastic nowadays, but put the carb inside and fill it up to cover entire unit with straight mineral spirits. In my opinion WD-40 is only good for squeaky door hinges and MMO is just another snake oil product whose main ingredient is about 95% mineral spirits anyway. I have a carb that has been soaking now for well over a year in coffee can out in the barn over at the farm. I have not had time to get into it further and soaking in spirits will help loosen the crud too. I had it in a coffee can of white vinegar for about 8 months to help loosen the crud and the stuck throttle plate. Once it was cleaned up I then put it a can of mineral spirits soaking as I said. I keep the can lids on so the liquid doesn't evaporate. and check on it every time I go the farm. When the time comes to use the carb, you may want to do a PM rebuild on it. Never use compressed air to blow into the carb unless you are rebuilding it. If you blast air into the fuel inlet port fitting, you could damage the float.
[i:654c4848f0][b:654c4848f0]<font size="4">Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)</font>[/b:654c4848f0][/i:654c4848f0]<table width="100" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#000000"><tr><td height="25" colspan="2" bgcolor="#CC0000"></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td></td></tr></table>

Probably would work well unless it sucked the floats down and made them clasp

(quoted from post at 18:29:32 05/30/15) Bhunt I'm getting closer. It's a weekend place and I'm not there most of the time. Makes it hard to work on a tractor/troubleshoot a tractor. The rain has been relentless, seems every weekend I'm there it's soaking wet and I can't really test to well mowing. Put a new sediment bowl on it last week but could not get it to stop leaking long enough to test drive it. I think it was the fuel valve but not certain yet. The only other thing left is the carburetor. I hope to get up there this week and finally figure it out as the weeds are taking over!

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We haven't had any measurable rain here and the weeds are as high as my knees my tractors down as well. We wont get rain until the end of June or 1st week of July.
Good luck Hope it all works out for ya
Byron

(quoted from post at 18:29:32 05/30/15) Bhunt I'm getting closer. It's a weekend place and I'm not there most of the time. Makes it hard to work on a tractor/troubleshoot a tractor. The rain has been relentless, seems every weekend I'm there it's soaking wet and I can't really test to well mowing. Put a new sediment bowl on it last week but could not get it to stop leaking long enough to test drive it. I think it was the fuel valve but not certain yet. The only other thing left is the carburetor. I hope to get up there this week and finally figure it out as the weeds are taking over!

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Yea the sediment bowl can be a pain particularly with a screen as well, I think most folks like the cork gasket when installed with a screen but you need to soak it in fuel first. I never had much success with the cork and the screen combination. I threw the screen away and just used the cork and that worked for a couple years but you still have to remove it and clean the bowl periodically so it goes bad. Mine has a screen inside the tank that works good enough for me. When the cork went bad I made one out of a .080 piece of rubber coated cloth that was a pain but its still holding. I have never been able to just tighten the bowl by hand cork or rubber and stop the leak. I center it carefully and tightened it with a pair of pliers that's always worked for me. I have an inline filter as well so nothing get through to the carb. An inline filter don't work for some application's but I haven't had a problem with it.
Byron

Tim, Because I have two carburetors and this tractor is 120 miles away from me on a small farm that is increasingly getting overgrown because the tractor has been having power issues under load since spring. I have an old parts tractor in a bay in my barn that I bought to swap engines with this 8N which I did years ago. Now it is an in house junkyard for me so I had the carburetor rebuilt from it. One of the few remaining Carb rebuilders is near my home here. If the sediment bowl fixed my problem then I have a fresh/spare carburetor. I don't think it will store for more than a couple of years. I may have to sell it at some point before it goes bad from sitting. I won't know until I get a chance to work on the tractor again. I'm in Northern Illinois and there are some parts on there that wont fit my 8N like the front tires and rims are a different size from what I can tell. I need to start parting some of the remains out someday.

(quoted from post at 10:00:50 05/31/15) Tim, Because I have two carburetors and this tractor is 120 miles away from me on a small farm that is increasingly getting overgrown because the tractor has been having power issues under load since spring. I have an old parts tractor in a bay in my barn that I bought to swap engines with this 8N which I did years ago. Now it is an in house junkyard for me so I had the carburetor rebuilt from it. One of the few remaining Carb rebuilders is near my home here. If the sediment bowl fixed my problem then I have a fresh/spare carburetor. I don't think it will store for more than a couple of years. I may have to sell it at some point before it goes bad from sitting. I won't know until I get a chance to work on the tractor again. I'm in Northern Illinois and there are some parts on there that wont fit my 8N like the front tires and rims are a different size from what I can tell. I need to start parting some of the remains out someday.

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If the carburetor has been rebuilt, but never installed, never had gas in it, then the best way to store it is on a shelf in your house. Keep it dry and do not expose it to excess humidity. The carburetor will be good to go if and when you need it. Up to 20 years or longer.

I've rebuilt a few carbs with the help of Royse who is found on this board.
Before assembling I wipe the entire inside of the carb with 3-1 house hold light oil. It is meant to be a rust inhibitor. I have had the same can for 25 years. A small bit on a lint free cloth is all it needs. A Q-tip swab for tight areas.

Than its off to the Seal-a-meal machine. I just tell my lady friend that I am sealing a bag of leftovers so she doesn't chase me out.