Greetings MossRoad,
I think what you are missing in the discussion - is just how much you are adapting your methods to deal with E10. I get it - you live in South Bend, so you have some cold weather like we do in Wisconsin. And I get it that you've been doing this for years. But what you are missing is that for many people, they don't have every vehicle with a computer and a no-knock sensor in it. The idea of buying gas in sealed cans - is just nuts when you don't have to. Now maybe in your area of a 15 mile radius - you don't have E0 outlets and so you are forced to do what you do . . . but that is certainly not the situation for many others.
I go thru mixed (2 cycle) gas in spurts where I can use as little as 2 gallons in a month or 2 gallons in a day. 2 cycle gas for lawnmowers, snowblowers, weed whackers, chain saws, motorcycles etc.. You mention things are subjective - but I've over time made them quite objective. Lets take some examples:
1. I can take E0 gas and e10 gas bought on the same day at the same location - both "rated" at 87 octane and run each of them in my Pickup (Silverado 2 wd SS with an LQ9 performance engine in it). In each case before running the traveling circuit - I had the fuel tank virtually empty and the circuit was run on the same highways, in the same combination of directions and weather conditions and speeds. The result was 22.1 mpg with the E0 and 19.8 mpg with the E10. Because my engine is a 10+ compression engine - the E10 87 octane caused some power delays and weaknesses or some mild knocking, meanwhile the E0 showed no such indicators.
2. I don't know about you - but for me - I have a 4 cycle 8700 watt gas generator (Honda engine) - that stands at the ready for remote tool usage or power failures. I can't predict when I might need gas that is 30 days old or less. I certainly can't afford to have "sealed can" gas, I have to keep gas at the ready as most people do when they have gas powered tools or generators - or end up like the puppy's lined up at the gas station lines with 1 single 5 gallon container for their power outage situations. If I had to babysit my gas supply like you do with a 30 day requirement of gas aging - I'd be caught with my pants down many times each year - and I have no desire to run to the gas station right when everyone else is doing the same thing. Do I use E0 87 octane in everything I can - yes. On long trips do I sometimes put E10 in my truck when I have no other choice - yes - plus I add additives to try to "fix its problems".
3. People say they use premium gas at $1 a gallon more so they can get E0. But its also important to recognize that many many stations with premium gas are still not E0 - they are E10. If there isn't a sticker on the pump saying non-ethanol gas or "off road gas" - then its E10. No sticker - no E0 that's a government inspection requirement.
4. I can take my favorite weedwhacker. With E0 87 octane it starts in 2 pulls and 3 if its been not used for weeks. I can dump out the E0 and put in E10 and if cold it requires 4 or 5 pulls plus diddling with the choke and revving it up the first 2 minutes - and if I stop whacking and I don't keep my finger on the trigger to some extent - it may kill about half the time - no so with the e0. Now that whacker has had 0 adjustments to it since I bought it 5 years ago.
MossRoad, my point is not to get you to change your mind - my point is - you don't seem to recognize just how much you have adapted everything you do relating to gas - to fit E10 weaknesses (except the air pollution issues of ethanol). I like Tennessee/Kentucky Bourbons - but I don't want to run alcohol in my equipment because its not "smooth" like Bourbon - its "corn squeazings" which is not lubricating oriented its very harsh. Ask any pipeline company what they think of ethanol - and you'll get an earful - because it forces them to scrub their lines often where they run ethanol thru them. Or ask service techs that work on small engines. You don't get "green carburetors" from E0 - you get them from E10. And "green" doesn't mean environment - it literally coats the carburetor components and often requires replacing the carburetor all-together.
Yes some things are quite subjective in life - but that doesn't mean everybody is and it doesn't mean every opinion is subjective - opinions can be factual.
Here's one way you can see it from a whole different viewpoint. People want to argue about what manufacturers recommend for their engines - but then they conveniently forget to note that those recommendations from manufacturers are based on what is "the legal norm" and available norm". If you look at instruction manuals done 20 years ago (still in the E10 era - you will see different recommendations. REAL 87 octane E0 octane gas today is made from actual 87 octane petroleum distillates. But 87 octane E10 in big percentages is now currently mixed as 84 octane gas and then ethanol is added to acquire the other 3 octane rating. But alcohol octane is different than petroleum octane in its properties for burn compression - which is why often you now see small engines recommending 89 octane because of e10.
I'm always open to new thinking and supported input.
jmho
P.S. I never use Stabil for anything except my "emergency backup" 5 gallon containers of generator fuel.
