A new sweepstakes sponsored by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute has been launched on the organization¹s Facebook page. The sweepstakes, running March 21 to April 6, 2014, offers an interactive message about how to avoid misfueling outdoor power equipment, and will reward one lucky recipient with a $200 gift card for gas.
Legal US residents (16 or older) are eligible to enter the Facebook sweepstakes. The winner will be informed via email on April 7, 2014. To enter please visit http://ow.ly/uJPAa.
Participants simply watch a 30-second, informative public service announcement explaining the importance of putting the right fuel E10 or less in outdoor power equipment. After answering one question related to the ethanol warning message, participants can enter to win. The more they share the sweepstakes with their friends, the higher their chances of winning.
The sweepstakes is designed to alert consumers that price alone is not the only factor to consider when fueling outdoor power equipment, such as mowers, chain saws, blowers, trimmers, power washers and generators or other non-road product, such as boats, snowmobiles and motorcycles, with the exception of ³flex-fuel² engine products.
It also supports OPEI’s Look Before You Pump¹ education campaign hitting retail stores (Lowe¹s, Walmart, True Value and other retailers and independent dealers), which warns consumers about the adverse impact of putting higher than 10 percent ethanol fuel blends into outdoor power equipment for which it is not designed.
The urgency of the industry¹s campaign comes from research that shows high-ethanol blends of gasoline (E15, E30, E50, E85), currently on or entering the marketplace, can damage or destroy small engines not designed to handle it.
And, consumer research shows the vast majority of Americans (71 percent) are ³not at all sure² if it is illegal or legal to put high level ethanol gas (i.e., anything higher than 10 percent ethanol) into engines such as those in boats, mowers, chain saws, snow mobiles, generators and other engine products.