A lot of people seem to be having problems with carbs gumming up and dying due to "old/stale fuel".
I'd just like to share with you what has worked for me for the last 40 years
I have several dodads with small engines (snowblower, lawnmower, generator) as well as an 1100 cc Honda Shadow Motorcycle.
I've had these things for the better part of 40 years and never ever had an issue where the carb had to be cleaned because of gumming up with fuel residue.
My snowblower, lawnmower and generator are fueled from portable fuel cans that ALWAYS have fuel stabilizer mixed in with the fuel, summer or winter doesn't matter.
I don't bother adding stabilizer to my bike during the riding season but in the winter I add stabilizer and fill the tank.
Every spring I drain any fuel left in the snowblower, generator, lawnmower and use it in my car/truck. This also goes for any left over fuel in my portable gas cans.
I then fill my gas cans with fresh fuel with fuel stabilizer, refill snowblower, generator, lawnmower and the cycle continues.
This has worked for me for close to 40 years (knocking on wood/head)
I don't believe in draining fuel systems because IMHO it can cause gaskets/O-rings etc to dry out and leak.
Happy winterBeer 4U2
BTW: the hibernation season for my bike and lawnmower here can last from Nov to Apr.

 

Yeah I agree 100%. I think most (90% or more IMO) issues we read about are owner/operator error.

I don't believe in draining any fuel systems for the same reason. I think one should use StaBil, Seafoam or whatever as per the directions and simply start and run any small engine equipment every 2-3 weeks (1 month max) for a bit to keep things in proper shape. I've been doing this for 10+ years and never have any problems like most complain about. Later!

 

I agree, I think a lot of people hear they should put stablizer in their fuel at the end of the season and just pour some in the fuel tank and assume all will be fine and the stablized fuel never gets to the carb. Have a good one. Geo

 

I never run any of my engines during hibernation. Unless you run them long enough to get them thoroughly warmed up, you'll probably do more harm than good. The culprit is the creation of condensation inside the engine during "short runs".
For example, my motorbike hibernates from about middle of Nov to middle of April without the engine being started. She just sits there in my garage with the battery hooked up to a "battery maintainer".
Other than the occasional pat on the seat she gets no attention whatsoever. Yet she starts and runs fine every spring

 

I put stabalizer in the boat and don't touch it till the spring, trying to start some motors in the winter just isn't in the cards.

 

When I start them I do let them warm up for a bit. Not just a start, run for 5 minutes and that's it. In my case it definitely helps them start much better when I really need them. Later!