ethanol

[JasG]

Don't know why you should change the oil, but at the very least drain the tank, fuel filter change. Cleaning the system won't hurt either.

Will the station pay for any of the work?

 

[JasG]

The truly sad part is all this crap with ethanol IMO is a huge give away to the farm lobby. Most of what I have read when you take into account all factors it is a net energy loser. It gives incentive to farmers to grow corn where they otherwise wouldn't. Which means more fertilizer used, which a lot comes from natural gas. Much of the corn after it is used is dumped. Brazil makes it work because they use sugar cane, a much easier thing to do.

That doesn't even take into account all of the older engines damaged for this stuff.

While this is old and they have gotten better, it still takes more fuel to make it than it ever produces.
Study: Ethanol Production Consumes Six Units Of Energy To Produce Just One

 

[murphy1244]

Don't know why you should change the oil, but at the very least drain the tank, fuel filter change. Cleaning the system won't hurt either.

Will the station pay for any of the work?

Your link says to change the oil due to the acids, fuel filter in the tank part of the pump I think. Get go SAY"S they will take care of any costs including a rental car which I don't need.

 

[JasG]

Your link says to change the oil due to the acids, fuel filter in the tank part of the pump I think. Get go SAY"S they will take care of any costs including a rental car which I don't need.

I missed the part about the oil change, thanks for pointing it out.

 

[murphy1244]

There were 500 gas transactions on this fuel, could even imagine the cost to them?

 

[DeereMann]

Here is what Briggs and Stratton has to say about too much ethanol --> Briggs & Stratton CEO Cites E15 Issues At D.C. Hearing

Keep in mind, these engines are carbureted, but still, ethanol has much higher solvency than gasoline - dissolves elastomers (hoses, seals, etc) not specifically made for it. Also, less energy content than gasoline.

A great taxpayer subsidy for the agriculture lobby. Nothing more. The best government that money can buy-off.

 

[JasG]

Not just less energy, but also it takes on water from the time it's made which takes energy to evaporate in the cylinder. The only way to even begin to make it work would be engines made just for ethanol with higher compression. This would take advantage of ethanol's high octane rating. Instead we have engines built for both, so they don't really optimize either fuel.

I also have a few friends that do small engine repair and they are doing very well because of this.

If they can ever make the celulistic isobutanol work, we might have something. I don't know what the difference is as far as production other than different microbes. Isobutanol is supposed to be very close to gasoline in energy and isn't supposed to have any issues with seals and injection lines. Basically it is supposed to be a real replacement for gasoline.

Briggs and Stratton like it too.
http://opei.org/isobutanol-fuel-blends-show-promise-for-use-in-small-engines-off-road-vehicles/

 

[oldyellr]

The truly sad part is all this crap with ethanol IMO is a huge give away to the farm lobby. Most of what I have read when you take into account all factors it is a net energy loser. It gives incentive to farmers to grow corn where they otherwise wouldn't. Which means more fertilizer used, which a lot comes from natural gas. Much of the corn after it is used is dumped. Brazil makes it work because they use sugar cane, a much easier thing to do.

That doesn't even take into account all of the older engines damaged for this stuff.

While this is old and they have gotten better, it still takes more fuel to make it than it ever produces.
Study: Ethanol Production Consumes Six Units Of Energy To Produce Just One

I doubt if all farmers want to grow corn for fuel, only the unscrupulous ones who want to make money at any cost. Growing corn for ethanol production is highly subsidized and the money comes out of consumers' pockets. It's just another scam, like wind turbines.

 

[JasG]

I doubt if all farmers want to grow corn for fuel, only the unscrupulous ones who want to make money at any cost. Growing corn for ethanol production is highly subsidized and the money comes out of consumers' pockets. It's just another scam, like wind turbines.

So is the farmer who see the price of milk go up and adds cows to milk unscrupulous? Or the farmer that sees a shortage of soybeans and plants more unscrupulous? Or the famer that sees a demand for beef (because of higher prices) and adds beet cattle unscrupulous?

Of course not.

Farming since people began leaving the homestead for other work has been about supply and demand. The farmers are doing nothing more than projecting what the demand for certain crops will be. It's more about the corn lobby which is highly funded by the seed companies pushing congress for this boondoggle. Of course there are also some large companies that own huge grain farms, but they aren't a large amount of the overall number of farmers. The average farmer Joe is doing nothing more than trying to plant the crop with the greatest return to try and make a living.

 

[oldyellr]

So is the farmer who see the price of milk go up and adds cows to milk unscrupulous? Or the farmer that sees a shortage of soybeans and plants more unscrupulous? Or the famer that sees a demand for beef (because of higher prices) and adds beet cattle unscrupulous?

Don't get dairy farming confused with the green energy scam that's being paid for by taxpayers. Ethanol from corn is heavily subsidized. Governments are too weak-kneed to oppose all the pseudo-green boondoggles.