Empty the gas tank before storing your chainsaw all winter.

Yes, drain the fuel — don’t just add stabilizer and hope for the best. Even with stabilizer, ethanol gas turns to varnish in a few months, and the tiny jets in a chainsaw carburetor clog fast.

Run the engine until it stops from fuel starvation, then store it with an empty tank. That clears the carb bowl and fuel lines. While you’re at it, pull the spark plug and squirt a little 2-stroke oil into the cylinder, then pull the cord a few times to coat the walls. Keeps the rings from rusting.

One more thing: clean the chain and bar, oil them lightly, and store the saw somewhere dry. Mice love nesting in the air filter.

Future you will thank you next spring when it starts on the third pull.