I went out to check out the generator today, just in case I need it next week. I checked where the petcock(gas shutoff valve) had pulled out of the gas tank last year and all the gas had run out of the tank. It looked OK, so I started it up and the next thing I knew, gas was running down on the generator. I spent the next 2 hours hunting for just the right size material to tightly fit into the gas tank's petcock hole. I finally found something that looked OK and reinstalled the petcock. I started it up and it was good to go and I didn't see any more leaking. I have a really nice generator but for some reason they put a friction fit petcock on it. Sometime between now and next season, I'm going to find a new petcock that screws in and has a nut and gasket on the inside of the tank. Its going to be tough to work through that 3" gas cap hole.