Maybe the Ethanol producers really make all their money on fuel stabilizer and replacement carburators.
FYI, never leave any fuel in 2 cycle engines for more than a month. It dissolves the fuel lines and plugs the carburators.
I just replaced the carburator in my Echo hedge trimmer. The ZAMA distributor in OH said he had shipped over 2000 of my ZAMA carburator so far this year. I now run all my 2 cycle engines dry if they are not to be used for more than a week. I empty the gas back into the ONE gallon can.
I have also gone to mixing it in ONE gallon quantities only.
Me, too. I mix the fuel in one gallon batches, or two gallons if I know I have a really big job. And I run the chain saws or weed whackers until they are empty. Or if necessary, I pour the gas back out of them.
I have found that if you have a bit of 40:1 mix and it’s getting stale, you can add it to your car’s gas tank and burn it up that way. A little bit of two cycle oil in the gas doesn’t seem to hurt, and the car is better able to deal with it than leaving it to rot the small engines.