Hey guys, with all the wealth of knowledge my Trapperman comrades have, I thought this would be the best place to seek some input on a question I have. How do you all store your portable generator when your done using it for the year? Leave the gas in with sta-bil added or with this premixed stabilized gas you buy? Or let the generator run till it runs dry on gas and quits on it's own? Or just keep a small amount of gas in it and start it up every month or so and run for awhile? It will be interesting to hear "how I do it" from those who want to chime in. Thanks!!

Well I was told the best way to do It Is to leave It with gas In It and start It every so often. Any way that's how I do my snow blower.

I know there will be guys that know more than me on this subject but I would start it up once in a while. I rebuilt the carb on my tiller 3yrs ago and let it sit, gonna have to take the carb off and clean it cause it won't start. I'm not sure how well the stabil works now with all the ethanol.

Ethanol-free gas with sta-bil, or the pre-mixed stuff, is the way to go, with a full tank. Having a less-than-full tank invites condensation into the tank. Leaving it empty invites corrosion and varnish and spider webs and all sorts of nastiness to build up everywhere. Also, change the oil at the end of the season before you store it. Don't leave the old oil in it, because used oil has acids and moisture and such in it that aren't good for the engine.

All good options .

The most important part is to ALWAYS use non eth gas . I use it in my chain saw , generators , snow blower , weed eater , pressure washers , and motorcycles . They all have periods of down time and i cant always be on top of it , so non eth is the ansewer. Remember before government BS mandates you didnt have to worry about it ?


I ran some regular gas in my snow blower becuase i was out of non eth at the house and last year the dam thing wouldnt start . Had to clean the carb because i was too lazy to go to town for the right fuel .....lol

Because of ethanol, I run all my engines completely out of gas.

I use non ethanol fuel in every gas motor, I put stable in the gas and run every gas motor one a month. I do not have an outboard. I do them all at the same time. I only keep a half a tank or less, so when I have to add fuel it will be fresh. JMO

My primary power being off grid is a large generator. That, atv's, Sno gos, chainsaws, boats, etc EVERYTHING gets non oxygenated fuel. I keep fuel in all tanks and carbs. I cannot remember in many years having any carb problems on anything.
I do as said above change oil In things like the riding mower yearly, and I will fog cylinders if something will sit more than 6 months.
Never any problems with the wide variety of engines on the place.

Osky

I change the oil. Add Mechanic In a Bottle and run it for 15 minutes. Like you mentioned Sta-bil is a great product too. Works for me.

On my 8000 watt 13 hp I run it dry with treated gas pop the plug add a squirt of oil turn it over a couple of times and fresh oil. I also took a can of fogging oil and blasted the inside of the steel tank. It set for over 5 years that way. I pulled it out put gas in and it fired up and ran fine that was 2 years ago. I stored it back the same way My smaller 800watt coleman, chainsaws and such I use them enough through the season that treated gas does fine. Either way full of treated gas or bone dry empty.
J

I use the blue sta-bil that is for the ethanol problem. The red doesn't treat against ethanol. I think the blue is called marine sta-bil. I also turb the gas valve off and let it run out of fuel. i use the premixed store bought fuel in my chainsaw and weed eater.

I try to put only 91 0ctane gas (not suppose to have ethanol in it) in my generator and all small engines. Then i mix stabilizer and seafoam into the gas and run them awhile. I dont run every month ethier. Have been doing it this way for years now without problems.

Any engine that sits for extended periods of type without cycling is bad for it. Oil drains out of cylinders seals dry out and fluids go bad. I keep a bit of gas in mine and run them every couple months the exception is my boat motors them I run them dry last time out and fog the engines.

Like mentioned, use non-ethanol!!!! In all small engines. I cut the gas valve off and run out of gas. I've never had any problems.

I shut off the gas from the tank and let it run until it stops.
Then take hose off the carburetor and drain gas tank.
Then put a viva towel in the gas tank to get all left over
gas that did not drain out. Then remember to reopen the
valve from the tank to the carburetor.

If you forget to do this you will be pulling on the cord a lot
the next time you need it after you put fresh gas in it.

Been doing this for 20 years. It sat once for 4 years and
always starts on the second pull.

trapperEd method works well if it is going to be years but is a lot of work

I run

ethanol free gas and Startron http://www.starbrite.com/startron

every time you shut it down remove the electric load by turning off the breakers , then turn off the gas and let it run dry .

ideally start it every 2-3 months run 15 minutes then repeat shut down remove load , run out of gas.

doing this it should be ready to start any time you need it and will have some gas in it

I had a V-Twin 20hp Honda on the NC Outer Banks for about 12 years. Following hurricanes, it was rolled back into an air-conditioned storage area and kept out of the salt environment.

After each use, I closed the fuel supply, cranked the engine and ran it dry. I then siphoned the fuel from the tank and disconnected the fuel line to drain every drop of fuel from the system. I stored the generator with a splash of Staybil or Seafoam in the empty tank. I always used ethanol-free gasoline.

Never had a moments problem with the generator other than replacing the battery and having one tire go flat a few times. When I sold my home I sold the generator to the buyer for the exact amount I paid for it. We were both happy. I pampered it.

This is what I do. My Honda was given to me by my grandfather. I have had it fifteen years, and he had it close to twenty. It will crank on the second pull
every time.

Thanks all for suggestions and comments on what you do with your small engines. I am going to put a small amount of the pre conditioned gas you can buy (no 2 cycle oil added) in the Generator and then mark my calendar so every couple months I'll remember to run it for awhile. Going to change oil to a couple times a year as the champion generator I have only takes .4 quart of oil each change. That's a quart a year. Cheap just to change it and keep it fresh. Just gotta make sure to follow my schedule. I sure did like having a generator in elk and antelope camp. Way better for lights and charging phones and running a freezer to keep meat cold was better than ice!

1/3 gas, 1/3 stabil, 1/3 fogging oil. Run a few minutes until you are sure it's made it's way completely through the fuel system, then shut down.
I almost forgot, use ethanol free gas.