I would recommend doing what you did to any small engine at the end of its working season. I also hate the ethanol and finally figured out where I can get good ethanol free gas at any time. It is AV gas. I have found 4 small airports near me that will sell their AV gas. It is 100 octane and the 2 cycles love it. I do not use the AV Gas in my 4 cycle engines. You will pay more for AV gas, but I think it is well worth it. My local small engine equipment dealer told me that there is nothing wrong with using high octane gas in 2 cycle engines.