Your trusty lawn equipment has served you well this season helping to keep your property neat. Do yourself a favor now and winterize the equipment and you'll save money next spring on expensive repairs. Here are some tips from the E.P.A.

How To Winterize Your Lawn Equipment
As winter approaches, it reminds us that it is time to winterize not only your home and car, but also your gasoline-powered equipment such as lawn mowers and chain saws. Winterizing will help extend the life of your small gasoline engines. To winterize your small gasoline engines there are two different approaches you can take:
Drain the Tank
Check the owner's manual for information on draining the fuel system for off-season storage. If recommended for your specific model, draining the tank will reduce evaporative emissions that occur during storage, according to the Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA). EMA is a Chicago based trade association for manufacturers of engines used in many applications including ground care equipment.
If the owner's manual says the gasoline can removed and it can be done easily, the gasoline should be carefully drained from the tank (and carburetor, if possible) and collected in a clean, approved storage container. Any remaining gasoline in the system can be removed by operating the engine until it stops. If you want to make the extra effort, adding a small amount of oil through the spark plug port also helps winterize an engine.
The collected gasoline can be used in your car.
Use a Fuel Stabilizer
If the gasoline cannot be easily removed, a gasoline stabilizer should be added to the fuel in the tank. To minimize air space in the engine's fuel tank, fill the tank full with the gasoline/stabilizer mixture. The engine should be operated for a few minutes to draw the stabilized gasoline into the carburetor. For added protection you may want to consider taking the time to close the engine's valves. For engines with hand-pull starters this can be done by pulling the cord until resistance is felt. Also an effective vapor barrier can be added by placing a piece of aluminum foil over the tank cap and then securing the foil with tape.
Whichever approach is taken, you should also store your motorized equipment in a cool, dry place that is well ventilated and out of direct sunlight.
Either winterizing approach is the same, regardless of whether you are using reformulated gasoline or conventional gasoline. Reformulated gasoline meets all the same requirements for storability as conventional gasoline. Therefore, reformulated gasoline is just as storable as conventional gasoline.
Why it Is Important to Winterize
Winterizing is important because gasoline left in an engine's fuel tank and carburetor can degrade over time. During storage, gasoline can interact with air and moisture to form gums and deposits. Therefore you should not store gasoline in the engine's fuel tank for any inactive periods longer than one to two months.

Merriam-Webster's on-line definition of a friend is: one that favors or promotes something (as a charity). During the past three months, I became acquainted with the "Friends of Gillette Castle State Park" after doing a story about their restoration effort of actor William Gillette's Electric Engine. The 1930's Steam Locomotive facsimile was worn and tired after circumnavigating Lake Compounce Amusement Park for nearly 50 years. The new owners of the Amusement Park gave it back to the State, who stored it along with it's sister "STEAM ENGINE" to be resurrected somewhere down the line.

After a multi-million dollar renovation of Gillette's stunning stone Castle high above the Connecticut River in East Haddam, the Friends of Gillette Castle became inspired to renovate one of the actor's most cherished possessions, his toy train engines. The Electric engine was the first to come out of hibernation. That was 10 years ago. Ted Tine of Ted Tine Motorsports of Chester initially took on the project. Eight years would tick by before "FRIENDS" President Judi Glover started pushing. The "FRIENDS" tight knit group would grow to include world renowned wood and metal artisans, historians and others, all collaborating on the restoration of the Little Engine. A dedicated task-master and stickler for detail, Ted wasn't going to settle for a "mop and glow" restoration. No, as I've come to know Ted Tine the work he produces is only top notch. Just check it out for yourselves, and the Gold Leaf 7-S logo on the boiler which represents the name Gillette called his 3 mile rail line: Seven Sisters RR.

Meeting, and then getting to know many of those involved during the last weeks of this restoration project showed me again how much people care about our beautiful State, our local history and their passion for preserving a little bit of the past for future generations.

And special thanks to another "FRIEND", my cousin Phil Gauvin and his crew at PYRO-FX and TRIPEG STUDIOS in Hamden for their generous donation of time and talent. Their special effects and fireworks show enabled the "Friends of Gillette Castle State Park" to showcase William Gillette's engine as it finally comes home.

So, what do you say "FRIENDS", I hear a whistle blowing and the voice of Mr. Gillette -

as he stated in his will: