Depends on your machine but on most you can remove the main jet nut on the carb and drain it from there. Some bowls have drain valves or drain plugs. If easier you could pull the fuel line going in to the carb and do it from there. If you have a small single cycle machine you can tip it. Hard to advise you with out knowing your machine. Can you post a few pics?

 

For the ones I cannot easily disconnect the fuel line, I use a hand pump and then run it til it kills.

 

If you have a fuel shutoff, close it while the engine is running which will drain the carburetor dry. If you don't have a fuel shutoff, simply start the machine for a few minutes every few months which will draw fresher gas into the carburetor.

You don't need to drain the tank. Gas left over in the spring will work perfectly fine next December. And if sealed tightly, the December after that. The oil companies state that gasoline has a shelf life of 6-12 months before it starts to deteriorate. But it will still burn in your engine for at least 2 years....Without adding fuel stabilizer.

The small amount of gas in your carb will evaporate, as it's not sealed. You either want the carb drained, or the fuel in it needs to be refreshed before it evaporates...by running the engine for a few minutes.

Always buy your equipment fuel at a busy gas station so the fuel is fresh on day one. A busy station will have a tanker delivery every day. Preferably from a TOP TIER brand which have better additive packages in their fuels. Here's the list:
www.toptiergas.com/licensedbrands/

Or grow some berries and siphon it using 1/4" clear tubing. Drain the tank and start engine to run dry.

 

If you have a fuel shutoff, close it while the engine is running which will drain the carburetor dry. If you don't have a fuel shutoff, simply start the machine for a few minutes every few months which will draw fresher gas into the carburetor.

You don't need to drain the tank. Gas left over in the spring will work perfectly fine next December. And if sealed tightly, the December after that. The oil companies state that gasoline has a shelf life of 6-12 months before it starts to deteriorate. But it will still burn in your engine for at least 2 years....Without adding fuel stabilizer.

The small amount of gas in your carb will evaporate, as it's not sealed. You either want the carb drained, or the fuel in it needs to be refreshed before it evaporates...by running the engine for a few minutes.

Always buy your equipment fuel at a busy gas station so the fuel is fresh on day one. A busy station will have a tanker delivery every day. Preferably from a TOP TIER brand which have better additive packages in their fuels. Here's the list:
www.toptiergas.com/licensedbrands/

Or grow some berries and siphon it using 1/4" clear tubing. Drain the tank and start to run dry.

closing the fuel valve and running motor till it dies does not get all the gas out of the bowl
sealing the tank will not make gas with ethenol last till next season
ive seen gas in a bowl after 4 months and it all junked up the bowl should be drainded if stabul has not been added

 

Just drained mine today. I removed most of the gas with a transfer pump I got at Walmart, then let it run dry. Opened the carb screw, a few drops came out, and then put her away for the season.

 

Now you’ll get a big snow storm.

 

My usual procedure:

1) Put Seafoam in the tank
2)Start engine and run for a few minutes
3)Turn fuel valve off (with engine still running)
3.5)If there is very little fuel left in the tank, I will just let it run without turning the fuel valve off
4)Allow engine to die naturally

Additional Note: I only use High Octane Non-ethanol Gasoline from a busy station that gets a lot of fresh fuel deliveries.

I do this with all my small engine machines when I know they are going to sit unused for an extended period of time.

So far so good.

 

Seriously? Full HAZMAT gear? LOL It's not that hard at all to drain the tank with a handheld bulb/siphon thingy and let it run into a gas can. Heck, I do it all the time transferring gas from the large 15gal gas can to the easier to handle/maneuver smaller 2.5gal can. As for completely emptying it, I siphon out all the gas, let it run itself dry and drain the bowl. All fuel is non-ethanol and already treated, so I don't have to worry about adding anything before running it out.

 

Now you’ll get a big snow storm.

I can only hope. One is circling around us on tuesday. Maybe it will come our direction. Still have fuel in the single stage. :wink2:

 

Go into the kitchen and get the turkey baster..... Just don't get CAUGHT!!!!

 

I do not drain the tank but run my blower dry (regardless of tank level).

 

One of the things I used to see working in a small engine shop was snowblowers and lawn mowers that hadn't had the fuel tank drained at the end of the season. The customer would bring it in because, at the start of the season, "this brand new piece of junk won't run". I'd drain the gas out of the tank into a glass jar, and let the customer see the layer of water on bottom with the gas on top. Ethanol is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture from the air, and non-ethanol fuel is too expensive around here to be a reasonable option. Drain it into a small can, put the gas in your car, get fresh fuel next year.

 

I always put Stabil and Seafoam in my 5 gal gas cans as per recommendations.

Run this fuel in all my small engines.

Start all small engines every couple months, regardless of season or unit.

Never ever had a problem.

 

I run stabilized gas all year round. I just turn off the fuel and run it 'til it's dry. It starts right up at the beginning of the season. That goes for lawn as well as snow equipment. Stabilizer is cheap insurance.

 

I use a siphon pump to remove most of the gas from the tank then i run the engine until it dies. I leave the blower in the sun with the cap off the tank for a bit to dry out any of the gas that may be left. On engines with metal gas tanks i spray the inside with wd40 and then put a plastic bag over the fill hole and put the cap back on. the bag keeps the tank from venting and keeps moisture out. Been doing this for over 20 years and never had a metal tank rust.

 

On engines with metal gas tanks i spray the inside with wd40 and then put a plastic bag over the fill hole and put the cap back on. the bag keeps the tank from venting and keeps moisture out. Been doing this for over 20 years and never had a metal tank rust.

Thanks for sharing that trick. It Makes perfect sense.

 

These work pretty good, there are a couple similar ones you can find in other stores.

[url]https://www.harborfreight.com/battery-operated-liquid-transfer-pump-63847.html[/URL]

 

I dont put them down anymore just run them every 90 days with fresh gas treated with stabul for 5 min so much easier
thats only 3 times in between seasons

 

Well, now that I drained the gas from the two stage blower last weekend, we are in the middle of a nor' easter. A week ago, the weatherman assured every one that this was not a milk and bread storm and would have no significant impact. Now we are supposed to get 8-14".
The weatherman doesn't know the power of draining a snowblower. Some how I knew/hoped this would happen

 

Now I know who to blame. I got 19" on Long Island (They predicted 4"-6"). Thanks a lot. I was going to put my baby to bed for the summer. I'm glad I didn't. I probably would have gotten 3'.

 

possibly to 18 inches here at 1400 feet elevation,

 

5-8 inches of snow here in Maryland. This is the first snow over 2 inches this year.

 

This B&S pump is a little expensive but it is amazingly fast. I have one for gas and one for oil. It drains my 1gl tank in less than a minute. I have always just put fuel stablelizer at end of season and never had problem. This year I want to try either draining the tank and fill it with TruFuel (ethanol-free), or I was going to try draining the tank and running the carb clean and spray rust prohibitor and leave the gas cap opened. What rust prohibitor spray do people recommend?

 

Saved me some work this year. Usually I do the drain, open the tank, let whatever evaporate out, etc. I ran the machine till it was empty for this nor-easter, did not bother to fill it up. Just shoveled the rest. So come warm weather day, it's just a quick carb drain and full on wash and wax.

 

We ended up getting 12". Was able to use the new Honda on a decent size heavy wet snow. I got my fix for the year. Bring on spring

 

used to run all my blowers handheld equipment mowers ect out of gas at the end of the season.

most times the equipment would be ok when i put new gas and started them the next season.

i had a couple problems with toro single stages carbs leaking when i put fresh gas in them the next year needle and seat problems. also had a HS621 surge and need a carb clean.

ever since i have been using sea foam treating the gas and fill half the tank with fresh gas before storage. and fill the rest after storage with fresh gas. i also start them a couple times in the off season.

havent had a problem since. i am now in the camp of treat your gas keep them filled and run your equipment a couple times in the off-season.

 

That's what I've always done with the B&S on my lawn mower with no issues. So I decided to try that with the Tecumseh on my Ariens one year and ended up having to rebuild the carb. I don't know if there is a single way that's best with all engines.

 

this guy knows his stuff a nice video on winterizing.

 

+1 on keeping some stabilized fuel in the tank all year, and also running the motor a few times off-season.

 

Another option is to pour a can or two of TruFuel into the tank, it's more expensive than draining the tank or using additive.

If you keep the tank full and run it once every 2-3 month, then there is no need to squirt oil into the hole, right?

 

I have never drained the tanks on any of my ope. Chainsaws edgers, trimmers, blowers snowblowers, tillers, lawnmowers.... Before we had a local station start selling non e gas I always used a combination of Startron/Seafoam and never had any starting running problems. Now we have a non e station and I use that. At least 30 years ..... No problems. Well, Mantis carbs are a little touchy but still, only minor stuff. Just my personal experience. One more very important thing. Everything gets stored inside out of the weather.