The Pros and Cons of Buying Gas With or Without Ethanol

[Invective]

Nearly 5 year old article but informative.

http://kosu.org/post/pros-and-cons-buying-gas-or-without-ethanol

E0 87-90 are still readily available in my region but E0 93 stations are disappearing. About 2 years ago we had about a dozen stations around Charlotte selling E0 93 but now we're down to three and two of those are at area marinas.

In the same time frame, there were about a half dozen E0 93 between Charlotte and my daughter's house down in SC - now, there are none - marinas in many areas are dropping E0 93 too, sadly. The only remaining E0 93 station close to family is a 50 mile round trip to Aiken, SC and return.

I burn E0 87 in my 2006 Ranger, E0 90 in both bikes and E0 93 in the Mustang and Marauder - vehicles just flat run better with noticeably better fuel mileage.

For E0 fuels in your area, consult www.pure-gas.org

[justbob]

What is the big gripe? That’s all we’ve had in Chicagoland since practically the 80’s! As a guy who’s touched an engine or three I’ve never once seen an issue, nor have I heard of one from other mechanic buddies? Old cars, newer cars, lawn mowers, bikes, nothing.

Hell, Chicago’s been rolling out E15 in many stations even. Engines and fuel systems have been built radically different the last few decades.

Almost any car since the late 90’s will trim its own fuels and timing according to the o2’s readout and burn within 3% OR LESS difference in MPG between the two. Same goes for performance, the ECM will tweak the efficiency. The ones claiming much higher drops in MPG should perform more accurate tests. You can’t compare tank to tank.

Reminds me of the old timers when I did oil changes at my first job in high school “what oil would you like?” Customer- *pulls up on belt* “why 10w40!” Dude, that’s like sludge in these tighter tolerance engines! Customer- “hogwash! I’ve ran that in my cars since the 50’s!”

My god those poor cars would clank RIDICULOUSLY waiting for the oil to get up top! SMH


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[dmjarosz]

I run whatever comes out of the pump at whatever station I'm at. Cars, snowmobiles, snowblower, lawn tractor, chainsaw, etc. The only issue I think I've ever had was I just had to replace the fuel lines on my 90's John Deere weedwacker. But its 20+ years old and the replacement fuel kit was $13 so I'm not concerned.


Marauder always gets filled at a Mobil or Sunoco however.

What justbob said: Engines and fuel systems have been designed/built radically different the last few decades. Engineers have been working around this for years. No company wants the reputation of their products failing during normal use and Ethanol is the new normal.

[Grimrepairman]

The only issue I've seen is with storage. The fuel with ethanol seems to break down way faster. I clean lots of carburetors because people just can't possibly be bothered to add stabilizer.

[Marauderjack]

The only issue I've seen is with storage. The fuel with ethanol seems to break down way faster. I clean lots of carburetors because people just can't possibly be bothered to add stabilizer.

^^^ This IS THE problem!!^^^:argue:

If you go much past 10% EtO stability falls dramatically until you get to the other end of the spectrum at 85%!!:cool:

[Invective]

There are both great advantages and great disadvantages associated with the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel to petroleum.

https://easychem.com.au/production-of-materials/renewable-ethanol/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-ethanol-as-a-fuel/

When one factors in the costs of manufacturing ethanol and the resulting efficiency losses vs. pure gasoline advantages - ethanol fuel is a bust - complete **** IMO..

[Invective]

http://www.fuel-testers.com/ethanol_fuel_history.html

[Invective]

I remember watching this when it first came out. Might be worth a look to those who haven't seen it. John Stossel's take on ethanol blended gasolines.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFTcmORherM

[Fastbob]

The only time I would be at all cautious about buying ethanol versus non-ethanol fuel would be in a marine application where there is lots of moisture. Ethanol fuel such as E10 or E15 is a NONE issue in a car or truck. I have never had an ethanol fuel issue with any of my vehicles, lawn mowers, gas trimmers or chain saw. NEVER.

[Invective]

The only time I would be at all cautious about buying ethanol versus non-ethanol fuel would be in a marine application where there is lots of moisture. Ethanol fuel such as E10 or E15 is a NONE issue in a car or truck. I have never had an ethanol fuel issue with any of my vehicles, lawn mowers, gas trimmers or chain saw. NEVER.


Your experience doesn't change the facts. E85 can be a good racing fuel in certain applications. Low E blends like E-10 and E-15 are likely 10-15% less efficient as compared to straight gasoline. A good read from 7 years ago.




Outside of the technical issues, there is a concern about turning food—corn in the U.S.—into fuel. Partially driven by an 8-percent rise in corn orders from ethanol plants, corn prices doubled in the last six months of 2010 and are expected to continue rising.

There are benefits to ethanol, of course. It has a higher octane rating, so it supports a higher compression ratio and more aggressive ignition timing. Like its cousin methanol, with its high octane and clean burn, ethanol makes a good racing fuel. NASCAR, a politically astute organization, is running E85 this season. Testing has shown it supports a little more power and costs a little bit of mileage.

Cutting gasoline with ethanol is said to reduce gasoline consumption for a reduction in greenhouse gases and lessen dependence on imported oil, plus ethanol is considered a renewable resource. But even if true, the argument that ethanol saves gasoline is a tough sell when consumers see their fuel mileage drop, and the debate continues on how much water and energy it takes to produce ethanol in the U.S., so it is unclear whether ethanol is energy positive, or even neutral.

We humbly suggest E10 and E15 be eliminated in favor of widespread distribution of E85 alongside undiluted gasoline. This would return readily available pump gasoline to usefulness to millions of drivers, boaters, pilots and small-engine users while allowing the market to decide if high ethanol content is beneficial in those vehicles designed to burn it in large quantities.


https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a17240/how-does-ethanol-impact-fuel-efficiency/