UPDATE from your favorite songstress- soon to be full-timer!

You will want to "exercise" your generator on a monthly basis. Run it for at least 1/2 hour with a load. I run my AC when exercising my generator and I try to do this while I'm driving because I'm too impatient to stand around while the genset does its thing.

The monthly exercising prevents gas from going stale and gumming up the carburator; it also helps burn off / dry out accumulated moisture in your generator.