It’s important that you maintain your generator regularly to prevent any deficiencies during use and to increase its longevity. Having stale fuel in your generator will likely cause starting issues due to buildup inside the unit. Drain the gas from your generator regularly to maintain proper care of it.
Your generator should always have fresh, stabilized gas. If your generator does not have a drain, empty the tank and then run the generator until the gas runs out. If your unit does have a drain, wait for the engine to cool before draining. The best time for draining the gas out of your generator is after an extended period without use, if you are not going to be using it for the next couple of weeks or if you’re storing it for the summer.
How to Drain Gas from Your Generator:
- Bring your generator unit into a well-ventilated area.
- Open the gas tank cap to allow airflow throughout.
- Make sure you have easy access to the fuel lines. If there is a plastic cover, remove it.
- Switch the fuel valve to Off so the valve is closed when you remove one side of the line.
- Pinch and remove the clip off of the fuel line that does not connect to the gas tank. Then, remove the tube from the fuel valve.
- Place a bowl or other container next to the unit, and put the fuel valve tube into the container. Tilt the generator slightly so that all of the fuel goes to one side and runs out of the fuel line not connected to the gas tank.
- Turn the fuel valve to On to drain the rest of the fuel from the generator.
- Reconnect the fuel line, close the lid on the fuel tank and put the cover back on.
- Find the carburetor using your generator’s manual and remove the bolt. Let any remaining gas run out into the container.
- Using pliers, reinstall the bolt onto the carburetor.
