I’ve noticed several gas stations that have notices displayed which state “Ethanol is not added to our premium gasoline” What is the significance of stating this? Is ethanol bad for your engine?
Ethanol (E10) reduces milage slightly (10% ethanol means about 3% less mpgs), and it attracts water, so some folks like to avoid it. Too bad they only keep it out of the premium!
I have found two stations in our state that sell 87 octane without ethanol. We have two cars with fuel mileage computer readouts and I can tell you that ethanol gasoline is less economical than gasoline without ethanol. If you can save 4 cents per gallon with ethanol gasoline and consider the mileage and price differences, ethanol gasoline is a loser.
In Iowa you can choose 87 octane gasoline with or without ethanol where I travel.
We are being set up for the day when ethanol can be economically made from crops other than corn. Meanwhile, the farm lobby is getting fat but their party will be over one day.
Being forced to buy ethanol reminds me of the bad old days when it was illegal to sell colored margarine but it was ok to add color to butter in winter when cows did not have access to fresh grass. Cheddar cheese is naturally white too and most has color added to make it orange.
If I were king, farmers would be required to use ethanol in their tractors and to leave the rest of us alone. Unfortunately Dieselhol has problems.
End of speech!
“I have found two stations in our state that sell 87 octane without ethanol.”
You better have it tested to verify that claim. No refiner is going to provide 100% gasoline to just two stations…The ethanol gets blended in as the fuel is transferred to bulk storage tanks at the refinery not at the truck loading dock. Individual stations can not decide whether or not they want ethanol.
Every drop of ethanol we use as fuel is one less drop of petroleum we have to import.
More like 1/3 of a drop, what with the petroleum used to grow, harvest, and distill it. Corn ethanol is corporate welfare.
“Every drop of ethanol we use as fuel is one less drop of petroleum we have to import.”
Well that depends. Often even more oil is used growing and processing the stuff than the gasoline it replaces. That is not always the case, but it does happen. In a true free market it would happen less, but with all the government regulations and incentives it can end up side down.
slightly better mileage. but dont go out and refuse to buy ethanol gas.
that corn is grown by American farmers, and they (We), are having a hard time already.
A friend was a 'Yota salesman for a while, and He sold a pruis to a guy, Who asked Him “What about running ethanol?”. He replied, “… You get a 10% drop in power”.
is this alledged 10% worth not supporting American farmers and keeping cash stateside?
Agree that corn ethanol is an energy efficiency disaster. Most governments which encouraged it are now having second thoughts. However, ethanol from sugar cane, as grown in Brazil and not available in the US, is environmentally Ok. I believe it uses 16% of the energy is delivers in the production process. Normal petroleum refining gobbles up about 10-15% of the energy in the crude to produce gasoline and diesel.
There is likely no power loss, only a slight fuel economy loss.
1 pound of gasoline = about 18000 BTU of energy.
1 pound of ethanol = 12600 BTU of energy.
Indy cars burn 100% ethanol and make lots of power, they just burn lots of fuel to do it.
Indy cars used to burn 100% methanol, 9600 BTU/pound, and still made lots of power but had to burn even more fuel to do it.
Top fuel dragsters burn nitromethane, 5000 BTU/pound and make ridiculous amounts of power while burning ridiculous amount of fuel.
Quote from Caddyman: "You better have it tested to verify that claim. No refiner is going to provide 100% gasoline to just two stations…The ethanol gets blended in as the fuel is transferred to bulk storage tanks at the refinery not at the truck loading dock. Individual stations can not decide whether or not they want ethanol.
Every drop of ethanol we use as fuel is one less drop of petroleum we have to import." Unquote
I buy gas in Iowa in only one small town in the heart of corn, cattle and hog country; have not looked elsewhere. The gas pumps are labeled and the sellers would run into big trouble with the FTC and who knows who else if the pumps were mislabeled.
Ethanol production due to the energy input needed including diesel fuel, natural gas and electricity needs to be subsidized by the government in the form of tax relief or would otherwise fail in the marketplace. The controversy on whether or not ethanol is a net energy gainer is still not conclusive after years of ethanol production and associated arguing so that in itself may be the answer. Ethanol simply trades one form of energy for another with a net gain if you ask a corn farmer.
We have plenty of coal to make electricity and natural gas to heat the ethanol plant so in effect, we are trading coal and natural gas to make motor fuel with some imported petroleum needed to complete the ethanol scam.
My theory is that there’s plenty of stations out there that don’t have ethanol in their gas (but still have the “may contain up to 10% ethanol” stickers because they occasionally might have ethanol gas), but that only a few have been enterprising enough to point that out. After all, the anti-ethanol backlash is fairly new in the mainstream.
I also think that only having ethanol-free premium should be illegal, since it’s just another way to try to sell premium gas to people who don’t need it.
Pure ethanol is very high “octane” and can support very high compression ratios. The increase in efficiency provided by 14 to 1 compression engines more than makes up for the lower BTU content…Burning ethanol in a 9 to 1 compression engine is indeed a waste…
If ethanol fuel were taken off the market tomorrow, 10% of our fuel supplies gone, we would be faced with an instant gasoline shortage and skyrocketing prices. If you crave a return to $4=$5 / gallon gasoline, keep whining about ethanol…
Yes, ethanol can support high compression ratios but you can’t even begin to list the motor vehicles available with 14 to 1 compression ratios as there are none unless you include truck diesels (my diesel car has 22 to 1) which don’t burn ethanol.
To state that 10% of our fuel supplies would be gone if ethanol was eliminated is like saying that 10% of our recreational pleasure would be gone if we eliminated crack cocaine.
This is due to emission regs that state certain fuel types (by volume sales) are not required to have the oxygen content increased due to air pollution issues. The up shot is that in order to reduse air pollution the vast majority of fuel sold must have a “clean air” or oxygen enhanced mix during the summer months. In the northern areas we switch back and forth between enhanced or not. The Ethanol is added to reduce raw hydrocarbon emission that adds to ozone smog, by adding extra oxygen molecules. This all depends on what region of the country you are in.
For whatever reason, 10% ethanol provides the cheapest way to produce 87 octane motor fuel today…Gasoline is sold with a price sign. You want 100% petroleum gasoline? You will pay more for it…As crude oil prices continue to climb, this fuel cost disparity will widen. There is nothing “wrong” with E-10. That’s a straw man argument.
Yeah, given the choice between MTBE and ethanol…booze is a lot better if a bit leaks into the water table!
I find it amusing that making fuel from plant oil is the Left’s darling, but making fuel from plant starch isn’t…
What does “The Left” have to do with it?? Ethanol as fuel is ADM’s “darling”, Corporate America milking the cow at both ends…
I’ve seen only 2 or 3 stations that offer non-ethanol gas. And it is not more expensive. I thought it was required by federal law to use E10, but I guess not. I try to buy the non-ethanol gas whenever possible. The small-engines repair guys swear that the E10 is terrible for these lawn mowers and chain saws.
Ethanol replaces MTBE in highly populated areas and is not required by the EPA anywhere in Iowa. The closest areas that require reformulated gasoline are Chicago and St. Louis.
That is indeed true…Pumper type diaphragm carburetors DO NOT LIKE alcohol laced fuels. The newer ones don’t seem to mind so much…But the old stuff just turns to goo…