Originally Posted By: Ethan1
Gather 'round and I'll share with you the secret to winterizing all your power equipment...
The secret is... make sure to store it in the corner of the garage so you don't trip over it all winter! I've never been able to find a difference between storing OPE with a full tank of gas, 1/2 tank of gas, running it dry, storing it with the fancy engineered fuel, running it dry on engineered fuel and putting it away, running Stabil through it, filling the tank with a gas/Stabil mix and putting it away, or any other procedure. I never have problems in the spring and I never have to do anything but preventative maintenance. My family's equipment, however, keeps me busy.
Tell that to the technician at the lawn mower repair shop, he'll make sure to have a new carb on hand for you. Ethanol will ruin a carb quick from sitting, it will attract moisture from the air and the fuel will break down and you'll need a new carb.
They see it all the time after a power outage, generators that were shoved in the corner of the garage and forgotten about until needed, they won't run.
At the very least install a fuel shut off valve in the fuel line and run the carb dry.