honda portable generator question

The manual with my generator goes thru how to prep the unit
for storage. One item is to loosen a screw under the carb,
pull plug wire, and crank it to force out the remaining fuel
in the lines and carb. (all this after emptying the fuel tank).

My question is: what is wrong with just letting the beast
run out of fuel and stop? They don't mention that
possibility in the manual. Thanks for opinions (and surely
some flames from the shutins).

 

I don't think anything is wrong with your approach to run it out of
gas. I guess it depends on how long you are going to let it sit idle.
Draining the bowl will remove any condensation and sediment that tends
to collect in the bottom of the bowl, which is probably why its
recommended at storage time. If you run it out of gas first, then
there won't be any fuel in the bowl to carry the sediment and water
out the drain. An additional step is to use a product called "Storage
Seal" or similar products on the market.These spray lubes are rust
inhibitor that keeps internal engine parts lubed during storage.
Again, it depends on how long the engine is going to be idle. One
thing that seems to be universally accepted though is to get the old
gas out of the system if it is going to sit more than a couple of
months. Kev