After 45 odd years in the outdoor power equipment business I finally came to the conclusion that some people just have a small engine curse, wile others do not. Since taking the lead out and putting the corn in, many problems have developed that were never there before, for sure, but still....... there were always regular customers of mine whom I would see with the same piece of equipment several times a year for varnished up carbs, fuel lines that were no more than a glob of melted rubber stuck to the bottom of the fuel tank, and when you took the fuel cap off, the rotten fuel smell would just about knock you over. But then there were those who NEVER had any of those issues (me for one). I was always asking questions in my attempt to find out just why some had problems but some did not, but I really can't say that I found any one conclusion. the storage conditions did seem to have an effect in many cases. equipment that was stored in a garage, rather than under a carport or under the usual chunk of plywood for example, seemed to benefit greatly from that. fuel stabilizer helped somewhat. non-alcohol fuel may have helped. draining the fuel during longer term storage always seemed a good idea. etc etc. but then again... I myself never drain fuel out, have NEVER used non-alcohol fuel, and almost never use any form of fuel stabilizer. yet just a couple weeks ago I dug my little Mantis 2 stroke cultivator out of the woodshed where it had sat since this time last year. the fuel stunk a bit, so I dumped it in the drain oil can, put in fresh fuel, cranked it up and used it for an hour or so with no problem.
One thing that I told all my customers was that the best thing you can do for your equipment is to go out and start it up for 10 minutes or so at least once a month. those that heeded that advise most certainly had fewer problems with the fuel system. also if it hasn't been run for a few months always sniff the fuel in the tank
before you pull the rope. if it doesn't smell like fresh fuel than dump it and put in fresh fuel.
I never got rich in the 31 years that I owned my own shop, but maybe that was because I always tried to offer free maintenance advise. fortunately for me, many did not take it and, as I said, some just have the small engine curse.