Before I put my lawn mower away for the winter, I run it until it's out of gas. With the engine now hot, I drain the oil. Then I pull the spark plug, put a couple large spoonfuls of motor oil in that hole, and pull the starter rope slowly a few times after each spoonful. That's what the owner's manual says to do.

I don't save old gas for the next season. Fuel stabilizer only works for several weeks, so I;m told. Now that my snowblower is not a 2-cycle engine model, I just keep using my fuel (with stabilizer added) until the can is empty.

I also do not use gas with ethanol for my small engines.