I've been told by several mechanics that it is better to run 100% gasoline instead of the stuff blended with 10% ethanol. They claim that it burns cleaner and that the 10% ethanal blended fuel can harden and leave deposits. Is this true? If this is true, then why is the claim made that the E85 gasoline which is 85% ethanol burns really clean due to all the alcohol?
100% GASOLINE
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alcohol is nasty and wastefull as a fuel. That's all I have to say about it.
Technically alcohol burns cleaner than gas. It hurts your mileage because there is less energy in it than in the same amount of gas. So by that way it makes you have to buy MORE gas because it is mixed in.
I think the main reason to mix it is to reduce hydrocarbon(HC) emissions.
Personally I am not a fan of the idea of "gasohol" in any of its forms. I would rather see more fuel efficient vehicles but hey thats just me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel
Since we are stuck with this crud in our gases, we now need fuel additives to make sure our vehicles stay clean inside, Fuel Power, Gumout Regane, Techron, and a couple others like Lucas Upper Cylinder Lub help to counteract the effects of this fuel.
I think the main reason to mix it is to reduce hydrocarbon(HC) emissions.
Personally I am not a fan of the idea of "gasohol" in any of its forms. I would rather see more fuel efficient vehicles but hey thats just me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel
Since we are stuck with this crud in our gases, we now need fuel additives to make sure our vehicles stay clean inside, Fuel Power, Gumout Regane, Techron, and a couple others like Lucas Upper Cylinder Lub help to counteract the effects of this fuel.
Does anyone know which companies, if any, sell 100% gasoline, i.e. no alcohol, during the summer months?
I believe summer gas is required to have alcohol in many areas. If your gas tank has water in the bottom it will mix with the alcohol and be sucked through the fuel system. I've heard you might run more risk of the fuel pump sucking in sediment.
Alcohol has about 1/2 the energy content of gasoline. 10% gasahol will have about 95% of the energy of regular gasoline. Our gas in Texas says it is "up to 10% alcohol". I'm not sure of the actual %.
Alcohol has about 1/2 the energy content of gasoline. 10% gasahol will have about 95% of the energy of regular gasoline. Our gas in Texas says it is "up to 10% alcohol". I'm not sure of the actual %.
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I dunno about deposits with the blended ethanol. I was under the impression that they help keep stuff clean. When gasohol came out in the latter 70's ..I plugged three fuel filters due to cleaning of residue in the tank. No problems after that. This was on a car that ran over 300 miles a day and had done so since new (not much chance for sediment or whatnot). It was carburated ..but I imagine that it would have removed deposits form the injectors just like it did the rest of the fuel system. I was kinda disappointed when everyone dropped the stuff. It had a better smell at idle then regular gas. I noted no loss in economy ..though I really didn't track it that much in that car (it got over 30 mpg in 1978) and I could squeeze over 40 out of it if I placed an egg between my foot and the gas pedal
Does anyone know if BP in Georgia uses ethanol (and at what %) during the summer? I noticed a slight drop in mpg over the last tank full, when my mpg typically gets much better this time of year. I'll keep an eye on it and see what I can find out about GA's summer gas rules.
Running E10 is cleaner than running non-ethanol fuels. However, E10 has less energy overall, but it really does burn cleaner from an emissions and deposit standpoint. The biggest problem with E10 is that it is hydrophillic or water loving, so its pretty easy to get moisture buildup in your gas tank if you don't fill up regularly. Deposits are going to form no matter what you burn because you're burning carbon, and carbon is what builds up on everything inside the engine causing it to turn black (like used oil).
You need to find a mechanic that knows what they are talking about.
I've used 10% ethanol in everything that I own since the 1980s and never had an ethanol related problem. That includes several vehicles with well over 100K miles on them, small engines (both 2 and 4 stroke) and tractor engines. I've never had a problem with water accumulating in any tanks either. Nearly all newer vehicles have a closed fuel system. If you get water condensation in the tank you have non-ethanol related problems.
As far as mileage goes I consistantly get higher than the 30MPG highway rating with my 2005 Subaru using 10% ethanol. So either the Subaru handles 10% ethanol much better than other cars on the road or most of the fuel economy hit is related to driving habits.
Even with a fuel mileage decrease by approximately 2% a vehicle that averages 30 MPG on the highway would average 29.4 MPG using ethanol-blended fuel (30 * 2% = 0.6. 30 - .6 = 29.4.). Since 10% ethanol is less expensive than regular unleaded (usually by .10/gallon around here) it's more cost effective even if there is a slight fuel mileage decrease.
I have had one 1959 Power Wagon that I had to do carburetor work on-however that truck was from Washington and had not run on ethanol. It needed carb work when I purchased it and had it shipped here. After rebuilding the carb it ran fine on 10% ethanol for the 3 years I owned it. It's now owned by a collector in California and still runs like new. I don't know if he currently uses 10% ethanol or not.
I did need to clean the carburetors on a couple of old tractor restorations-however those tractors had always been sitting for several years. No matter what was blended with the fuel it would have varnished and clogged the passages.
Bottom line-ethanol is here to stay in one form or another. CRP acres are starting to be pulled out for corn production (there are around 32 million CRP acres). So there is an added benefit of not paying farmers to idle the land. Use ethanol and don't worry about it.
We have, for the most part (gas station wise, such as Husky, etc.) ethanol blend (up to 12%) for all these times and none of the cars I've driven so far suffered from any kinds of hard deposit problems.
For those mechanics that called on 100% gasoline I would say this myth is total bunk. There isn't such a thing called pure 100% gasoline anymore since the mid 80s. This is mainly due to the call for gasoline mix that comes with all kinds of deposit control (esp. on the pintle/orifice on the tip of fuel injectors in MFI/EFI engine designs), detergencies, etc.
Have you folks noticed that gasoline you purchased from gas stations nowadays no longer smells like gasoline you bought some 15+ years ago? Truth is, there's so much additives and such to the point where the usual generic terms called "gasoline" no longer applies these days (it's a "gasoline blend")
Same with kerosene: modern double/triple filtered K-1 fuel no longer smells like what kero we used to smell some 15~20+yrs ago. In fact, for us kero pressure lantern collectors, running some antique kerosene pressure lantern with modern K-1 fuel sometimes require slight modification to the fuel/air mixture ratio so as to compensate for the differences with the original design (or the kerosenes some 50yrs ago).
For those mechanics that called on 100% gasoline I would say this myth is total bunk. There isn't such a thing called pure 100% gasoline anymore since the mid 80s. This is mainly due to the call for gasoline mix that comes with all kinds of deposit control (esp. on the pintle/orifice on the tip of fuel injectors in MFI/EFI engine designs), detergencies, etc.
Have you folks noticed that gasoline you purchased from gas stations nowadays no longer smells like gasoline you bought some 15+ years ago? Truth is, there's so much additives and such to the point where the usual generic terms called "gasoline" no longer applies these days (it's a "gasoline blend")
Same with kerosene: modern double/triple filtered K-1 fuel no longer smells like what kero we used to smell some 15~20+yrs ago. In fact, for us kero pressure lantern collectors, running some antique kerosene pressure lantern with modern K-1 fuel sometimes require slight modification to the fuel/air mixture ratio so as to compensate for the differences with the original design (or the kerosenes some 50yrs ago).
I'd run pure gas if I could find a station around here [Chicago area] that sells it. I like Texas gas - cheaper and better.
But I don't think there is any actual harm with the alcohol blend, by personal experience and in the shop. I just like the power and mileage of the 100% gas.
But I don't think there is any actual harm with the alcohol blend, by personal experience and in the shop. I just like the power and mileage of the 100% gas.
Nope. It's required in certain areas, but not everywhere. It's voluntary where I'm at, but a lot of places do have it.
Federal law may be changing to allow certain areas that had ethanol blends to not use them, but local regaultions may trump even that. In Minnesota, its 10% ethanol all the time by State law. (Now also 2% Biodiesel by state law!).
Ethanol goes bad quickly and can cause "varnish" that can gum up small carberators and other parts. The problem is in the pre-burn state, not how it's burned.
Minnesota is the only state that requires 10% ethanol and it has for over 10 years. Classic car clubs pushed for a few non-ethanol pumps to be put in a number of years ago.
Minnesota is the only state that requires 10% ethanol and it has for over 10 years. Classic car clubs pushed for a few non-ethanol pumps to be put in a number of years ago.
Shell stations in Delaware I use now have the 10% ethanol label on the pumps. Not sure about other stations since I use shell exclusively.
So far, no ill effects. I also use Lucas UCL at a ratio of 1:500-600.
So far, no ill effects. I also use Lucas UCL at a ratio of 1:500-600.
T-Keith - I think you are referring to METHANOL, not ethanol.
The EPA has dropped the requirement for oxygenates in gasoline and the previous regulations expire during the middle of May 2006.
Currently, EPA or any other federal agency does not mandate the use of ethanol in gasoline.
However, as part of the renewable fuels legislation recently passed, the petroleum companies are receivng tax credits for adding 10% ethanol to stretch the supply of gasoline.
Currently, EPA or any other federal agency does not mandate the use of ethanol in gasoline.
However, as part of the renewable fuels legislation recently passed, the petroleum companies are receivng tax credits for adding 10% ethanol to stretch the supply of gasoline.
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