[woodbutcher1963]

Drain all fuel out of your small engines when you put them away for the summer/winter. This includes running them until they stall out and lastly drain the bowl of the carburator. This is the only way I have learned(the hard way).
I replaced one carburator on my hedge trimmer. I have also replaced fuel lines on my lawn mower and rebuilt the engine on my lawn tractor.
Lastly , I blew the engine on my Toro 2 stoke snow blower.
I blame ALL of these problems on Ethanol in the fuel.

ALSO, DO NOT TO FORGET TO PUT MOTH BALLS IN A STOCKING ON YOUR ENGINE BLOCK TO KEEP THE MICE FROM NESTING IN AND AROUND THE ENGINE AND AIR INTAKES.

[prophetic]

This ethanol crap was never about 'reducing greenhouse gases' but about gradual govt intrusion on running our lives at the expense of everything else. This includes wrecking perfecting running engines, driving up food prices and the additional & unnecessary taxpayer funded subsidy to corn growers to produce more corn to create ethanol.

As Ronald Reagan said 'Government is NEVER the solution, but the source of every problem' and now this obummer regime poking their noses & hands into every areas of our lives things will get PROGRESSIVELY WORSE (deliberate pun intended).

[Wilum]

Drain all fuel out of your small engines when you put them away for the summer/winter. This includes running them until they stall out and lastly drain the bowl of the carburator.

Been doing that to this machine since I've owned it (1982). But apparently the "waits" between snowstorms did the damage. I am using the Marine Stable stabilizer as recommended by my repair guy. I also had him install a gas line shutoff. I did that to my lawn tractor and seems to help.

[glorgau]

I blame ALL of these problems on Ethanol in the fuel

Change gas stations - lots of them have water in their tanks. That stuff freezes and WILL ruin whatever engine it is in.