Hi wondering if someone can tell me the best and right way to put a small engine away for the season? I have heard many ways to this ....is stablizer in the fuel the way to go, or drain the fuel dry, what about the carb, plug?

Any help would be appreciated!!

Thanks!

The question of drain the fuel or add stabilizer ranks right up there with
the Ford vs Dodge truck argument. Everybody knows the best way, and
thier all different. Here's a link to Briggs maintenance page on the issue.
http://faqs.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/faqs.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3431&p_created=1098899407&p_sid=7KlEZY7i&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX 3Jvd19jbnQ9MTkmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9wdj0mcF9 jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX 3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PVN0b3Jpbmc*&p_li=&p_topview=1

Replace the oil.... Don't want that acid and dirt filled oil in there over the winter do we?

Use a fuel stabilizer, fill the gastank to the tip top to minimize water condensation. Draining it dry will still leave some gas in there. Replace the airfilter once a year, now would fit in, I clean the spark plugs and gap em once a year, replace em when the engine gets hard to start. If leaving it under a tarp, make sure the tarp can vent, water condensation builds up from the ground. I keep one like this, I leave the front grill on the mowers hood uncovered, does fine. You can spray the deck down with a good water displacer... wd-40, liquid wrench, etc. if you feel like it.

Oh yes, you can use a dedicated engine fogging oil.... Not wd-40 or whatever. Of course I've found the bores to still be coated with oil after sitting 5 or so months without fogging them.

Yes, IMO fuel stabilizer is the way to go. Just yesterday I worked on a mower that the tank was perfectly dry, but when I pulled the carburetor off, everything had a coating of varnished gasoline on it. Jets were all plugged with the sticky mess, I ended up having to replace the needle & seat, float. And that would have happened because unless you go to the trouble of taking your carburetor apart in the fall and blowing it out dry, you're definitely going to have some small amounts of gas in it that won't drain.