15% ethanol!?!?

[clemsonfor]

As to the OP the EPA is testing to see if 15% ethanol will burn OK in engines. The results are due maybe by the end of the month. From what I remember they said it looks good, a hint that the gov may push it from 10% to 15% soon.

There was a place that sold the good old MTBE gas but about a week or so ago they said they couldn't get it any more. I suspect that non ethanol gas will get hard to find soon. I have yet to see a car that doesn't loose 10% fuel economy burning 10%. I don't understand how anyone in their right mind could honestly say burning the same amount of gas and burning 10% ethanol for no reason is better than the ground contamination MTBE causes. Once you figure in all the fuel used by the farmers, the fuel used in the fertilizer, the water needed to make ethanol, etc is just doesn't make sense.

I can understand a flex fuel car that can burn up to 85% ethanol but I have yet to see one pump in this state that has it, hardly worth buying a car that forces you to drive to the next state to take advantage of the "flex".

As far as small engines go I think this is a government trick to force you into replacing those old engines. The newer ones have catalytic converters in them.

My work truck is flex fuel will burn e85. I fill it up (not my $$) with ethonol when i can, 2 full fill ups and one half. The last time i filled it (4x4 dodge dakota quad cab) i got around 10 mpg or 44% less mpg. I paid $1.39 at that time for the e85. The crazy thing is i drove past several stations with e10 gas for the same price just to get the e85 to test. If it was my money i would not buy the stuff when fuel is higher its only like 25% cheaper anyway. Luckily i can still buy real 93 octane around here at certain stations, its only .20/gallon more than the e10 85 octane.

 

[clemsonfor]

Ethanol has been around for a long time. Why would the mechanic just now see "this type of increase of the gell around the pickups in the last 8 months and he sees no end in sight"?

There is a lot of misinformation about ethanol floating around and some of it is 20 years old. I think mechanics are the majority of the culprits.

Mechanics dont work on my stuff, esp small engines. In my area ethonal has only really been used at most stations in 87 for 3-5 years just enough time to eat on some stuff. Sure at the discount stations it has prolly been in there for 10-12 years but not the 95% that it is at now.

 

[clemsonfor]

I've run lawn mowers, gas tractors, chain saws, trimmers, chippers, and everything else on 15% ethanol gasoline since about 1985 and have not had a single problem with any of them.

DEWFPO

I hope not new cause you voided your warrenty the second you put that in them, most cars even from a few years ago cant run on anything greater than e10 without voiding warrenty.

 

[kenmac]

around here all you can get says contains up to 10% ethanol. I own trimmers, blowers, chainsaws, & mowers and have never had a single issue using gas with ethanol. Maybe it's the 2 cycle oil that some are using that doesn't mix well with ethanol that's causing the issues

 

[crazyal]

Around here ethanol was used only in the winder because of the cold weather. During the summer months when most small engines are used they never saw ethanol. Two years ago that changed and the repair shops were flooded with engines needing carb work. Just last week a local paper went to a large repaid shop, the guy said 80% of the engines in his shop for fuel problems was from Ethanol. Of course that's only at 10% and who knows the number of equipment replaced because of ethanol.

 

[Iowachild]

I hope not new cause you voided your warrenty the second you put that in them, most cars even from a few years ago cant run on anything greater than e10 without voiding warrenty.

My 2008 Mercury Sable has a very plain E85 with the red circle and sash right on the fuel tank cap. If we talked the truth about the ethanol mandates, this would be a political thread!:mur:

 

[Wacky]

I wonder, if even possible, if anyone is going to make a "ethanol filter" to remove stuff from the fuel?

 

[SeymourBota]

I wonder, if even possible, if anyone is going to make a "ethanol filter" to remove stuff from the fuel?

Sounds like a challenge for 'Mr. Funnel' - get rid of water and ethanol!!

Problem is, since it is likely 10% of what is in your tank, what do you do with it if you can separate it out??

I'm buying Sea Foam in the gallon containers now!!

 

[clemsonfor]

My 2008 Mercury Sable has a very plain E85 with the red circle and sash right on the fuel tank cap. If we talked the truth about the ethanol mandates, this would be a political thread!:mur:

Yea im not talking about the flex fuel vehicles, that is an option. In say 2006 you could buy an e85 flexfuel chevy truck and one that could only run on E10. I have never bought a new vehicle so i dont know about now. I do run new ones at work though.

 

[clemsonfor]

Sounds like a challenge for 'Mr. Funnel' - get rid of water and ethanol!!

Problem is, since it is likely 10% of what is in your tank, what do you do with it if you can separate it out??

I'm buying Sea Foam in the gallon containers now!!

The problem is that water bonds with ethonol. Alcohol, which is what ethonol is is what is in water removal products like dri-gas and others. Alchohol will bond with moisture and allow it to be burned in a engine, where as water will not if the pump sucked pure water up and injected it or ran it through the carb, it just wont run well on the mix. The problem is that because of this trait the ethonol attracts water, what does a half full tank do, gets cool at night and then condenses in the hot day water is absorbed by ethonol and cause of the heavy water weight sinks to the bottom of the tank where it waits to be burned at a lower octane than the 87 or 93 or whatever you put in the tank to begin with. Water has 0 octane of couse which is why it is lowered and of couse new fuel is not the same quality as 20 years ago. Long story short this is terrible for 2 strokes and boat moters esp since they sit for weeks months sometimes between uses. Any way the 2 strokes can detinate early because of a lowered octane rating (which is the resistance to knock) which increases cylinder temps and can melp pistons or blow holes in them, basically catastrophic failure of the engine, so you want to run the marine/ethonal stabil in all your lesser used items and or seafoam.

-Nate