I noticed today for the first time that ethanol free gasoline can be purchased in Highlands at the Mobile station next to Main Street Nursery. It costs $3.59/gallon vs $3.10/gallon for regular 87 octane. However, for small engines, this is the way to go. Lawn mowers, blowers etc will all benefit from ethanol free gasoline. If you have equipment that has difficultly starting, this is part of the solution. The pros and cons of ethanol can be debated but the major downside, is it absorbs water. It has a very short shelf life. If you fill up a 2 gallon jug at the start of the season, you are going to have issues with it if it sits too long. I write this because HCC equipment tech, Paul Dalton, has many members that bring their equipment by the shop. 99% of the time the issue is bad fuel- namely water in the gasoline. At HCC, we purchase ethanol free fuel for all of our equipment. This certainly adds to the life of the equipment. In a vehicle, a small percentage of ethanol isn’t a big deal because you constantly burn through it. Compare this to the 1-2 gallon jug you fill up that lasts an entire year in your garage. Not only should you use ethanol free fuel in small engines, but also make sure your gas can has a tight seal on it and is always capped off while being stored. This will ensure your tools will have a long useful life and also start on the 1st or 2nd pull!