Ethanol on the Ropes?

[Duffster]

With free trade came lots of deals between companies (taxes/offshore). They were planning to bring corn in by ship to supply the plant right on the coast. And again east coast corn was and may still be a little higher than corn belt corn because of shipping. I remember reading a post over on NAT where a guy in Ga. posted that they were getting more money for corn than in the midwest at that time. I'm buying course cracked corn right now for a calf for freezer beef and paying $9.50 per 50 pound bag. That's through a coop too. If you want to see a ticket on that cracked corn I can scan it and send it to you. If you know what corn is going for now, do the math and tell me it doesn't cause food prices to rise. I use to sell beef for freezer for $2.60 a pound. I have to get $3 now and if corn stays up I'll have to go up again. It cost me more so I have to go up on my price. The folks that eat that beef will pay more or eat something else.

A quick google search shows corn closed 3 cents lower in your area than it did at the local ethanol plant here.

Not sure what the price of a bag of cracked corn has to do with anything. That stuff is alway a rip off and I would be surprised if you can't find something better then that. For that price I could deliver it to you. :thumbsup:
You would probably be happier with the quality.

 

[Duffster]

You wont get a 10% reduction in mileage. To get that, you would have to use 10% water. But you will see a 1% to 3% reduction in mileage as was stated in the link I posted.

Sorry I should have worded it differently. I didn't mean to imply that you or the link you posted said that mileage would drop 10%. I agree with the 1-3% thing but a 1% drop would be impossible to notice outside of a controlled study and even the 3% is minute.

If you replace 10% of your fuel with something that has a lower energy content, you WILL use more fuel.
Will it be enough to notice? That depends on the car, but you WILL use more fuel IF you keep all of the other variables the same.

Aaron Z

According to this study certain models of cars got better mileage running E20 over E10.

http://www.ethanol.org/pdf/contentmgmt/ACEFuelEconomyStudy_001.pdf

 

[Duffster]

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Glad to see some one still in my camp!:laughing:

Somebody has to have your back. :thumbsup:

 

[piller]

Government subsidizes corn based ethanol and then mandates it be added to gasoline. Ethanol blend gets reduced fuel economy (and harms some fuel system components) so if consumers don't change vehicles or driving habits they will purchase more fuel. Government taxes fuel so tax revenues to government increase.

I think if one looks at the big picture they will conclude that corn based ethanol increases costs to consumers and also pollution.

 

[Dargo]

Ethanol has less effect on some vehicles than others. Energy per gallon is really only part of the equation. Anybody that claims a 10% reduction in mileage from E10 is blowing smoke or need a tune up.

For years now, making the same 400 mile round trip on business I can tell a very noticeable difference between the E10 and (getting hard to find) straight gasoline. I have to run premium in my '06 Acura TL and the E10 is only 92 octane where the regular gas is 93 octane. I use cruise control and run about 7 mph over the speed limit (shhh, don't turn me in) each trip.

When I start with a full tank of E10 92 octane, I get 28 or 29 mpg each trip. When I use real gasoline without alcohol at 93 octane, I get 33 or 34 mpg each trip. I've duplicated this difference time and time again to the point where I simply will not buy E10 unless I have to. As they say, your mileage may vary, but hand calculating my mileage, it just makes me fume when I have to pay basically the same price for a lower quality fuel that is very cost prohibitive to produce since it takes more than one gallon of fossil fuel to make one gallon of ethanol from corn.

If our country depended on sugar cane rather than corn for our farmlands, it may be a different story. The way it is now, it's just another "good intentioned" idea that the government fell for that screws all of us. I'd like to see ethanol gone from all gasoline.

 

[Duffster]

fuel that is very cost prohibitive to produce since it takes more than one gallon of fossil fuel to make one gallon of ethanol from corn.

This is just not true.

You will have to forgive me for not believing your mileage story.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

This is just not true.

You will have to forgive me for not believing your mileage story.

I think you need to reread what Al Gore stated on the subject and it was his vote as VP that make ethanol usage the law of the land in like 1994.

 

[mmurphy]

This is just not true.

You will have to forgive me for not believing your mileage story.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Another thing to add to the story is the E-10 would have had a higher octane.
There is gas with higher octane but at a much higher premium. It is for the reason gasolines octane levels is why we can not run high compression engines like a diesel. Alcohol you can.

 

[Dargo]

This is just not true.

You will have to forgive me for not believing your mileage story.

Exact same results, time after time. The pure facts are the pure facts. Waaaaay too many times to be some sort of fluke. Ethanol in gas is a plague and tax burden on society, pure and simple.

 

[Dargo]

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Another thing to add to the story is the E-10 would have had a higher octane.

Um, no. As I clearly stated, the E10 states right on the pump it has an octane rating of 92. The straight gasoline has a stated rating of 93 octane, stated right on the pump. The E10 had a lower octane than the premium gasoline I run. Yes, it does cost more, but I very clearly get more MPG that more than offsets the price difference.