Gas with 10% Ethanol, Good or Bad?
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We went to 10% EtOH gasoline from previous years of adding MTBE. We use it to oxygenate and raise the octane of the fuel, but it lowers the fuel energy in the process, leading to cleaner burning but less mpg gas. Also its hydrophilic so it attracts water and spoils quicker.
Originally Posted By: JasonC
I have seen no change in gas mileage by using gas that contains up to 10% Ethanol.
Well you are lucky. Most folks have definitely noticed a slight decrease in their mileage as have I. Pumps in SC have recently been switching over to >10% ethanol over the past year or so.
I have also noticed that as soon as I used this fuel my start ups were a bit rougher and the idle will flucuate a bit more during warm up. However most of the time during regular drives I notice no change in performance.
I have seen no change in gas mileage by using gas that contains up to 10% Ethanol.
Well you are lucky. Most folks have definitely noticed a slight decrease in their mileage as have I. Pumps in SC have recently been switching over to >10% ethanol over the past year or so.
I have also noticed that as soon as I used this fuel my start ups were a bit rougher and the idle will flucuate a bit more during warm up. However most of the time during regular drives I notice no change in performance.
Originally Posted By: Dominic
We went to 10% EtOH gasoline from previous years of adding MTBE. We use it to oxygenate and raise the octane of the fuel, but it lowers the fuel energy in the process, leading to cleaner burning but less mpg gas. Also its hydrophilic so it attracts water and spoils quicker.
Yes I am in Pa also and we are pretty much ethanol at every station but a few. not really worried about my trucks as much as running it in my boat. from what they say it has likes to attract water and if my boat sits over winter I am sure it will end up with water in it. have seen people suggest to run the tank empty and add fresh fuel in the Spring. I do run the new FP in the gas at their preferred rate of 1oz to 5 gallons of gas as a stabilizer.
We went to 10% EtOH gasoline from previous years of adding MTBE. We use it to oxygenate and raise the octane of the fuel, but it lowers the fuel energy in the process, leading to cleaner burning but less mpg gas. Also its hydrophilic so it attracts water and spoils quicker.
Yes I am in Pa also and we are pretty much ethanol at every station but a few. not really worried about my trucks as much as running it in my boat. from what they say it has likes to attract water and if my boat sits over winter I am sure it will end up with water in it. have seen people suggest to run the tank empty and add fresh fuel in the Spring. I do run the new FP in the gas at their preferred rate of 1oz to 5 gallons of gas as a stabilizer.
It depends on how your vehicle responds to ethanol. In some vehicles it causes decreased fuel economy.
I personally like having ethanol in the gas, but that's because my truck is a Flex Fuel model. I think it is tuned to run best with ethanol in the tank. With regular 87 octane, it will ping sometimes under certain driving conditions. The pinging goes away completely with 89 octane, but it definitely runs best on E85. E85 is around 105 octane.
My fuel economy does drop with E85. It goes from 21 MPG average to 19 MPG average. At one time the cost trade off made it worth it to use E85, but not anymore. I just use 87 for most fill ups. I get E85 whenever it is convenient and cheaper than regular gas though. To be honest, I don't know if E10 is used around here or not. I don't remember seeing it on the pumps here. I do remember seeing "10% Ethanol" labels on pumps in other states though, so maybe we don't have it.
FWIW, hard starting is another issue some cars may experience with ethanol. Even FFVs can have hard starting. During winter when my truck had E85 in it, it wouldn't want to start on really cold mornings. After putting some 87 in the tank it fired right up.
I personally like having ethanol in the gas, but that's because my truck is a Flex Fuel model. I think it is tuned to run best with ethanol in the tank. With regular 87 octane, it will ping sometimes under certain driving conditions. The pinging goes away completely with 89 octane, but it definitely runs best on E85. E85 is around 105 octane.
My fuel economy does drop with E85. It goes from 21 MPG average to 19 MPG average. At one time the cost trade off made it worth it to use E85, but not anymore. I just use 87 for most fill ups. I get E85 whenever it is convenient and cheaper than regular gas though. To be honest, I don't know if E10 is used around here or not. I don't remember seeing it on the pumps here. I do remember seeing "10% Ethanol" labels on pumps in other states though, so maybe we don't have it.
FWIW, hard starting is another issue some cars may experience with ethanol. Even FFVs can have hard starting. During winter when my truck had E85 in it, it wouldn't want to start on really cold mornings. After putting some 87 in the tank it fired right up.
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Thank goodness the Gov't is trying to standardize fuel.
Instead of 50 boutique blends, we would have just a few.
Lower costs and better performance.
Instead of 50 boutique blends, we would have just a few.
Lower costs and better performance.
Today I filled up with E85 at a gas station in South Charlotte. Next to the E85 pump was a very clearly marked E10 pump that was different from all of the regular gas pumps. It was 89 octane.
I filled up my truck from 1/4 of a tank for only $39 BTW. E85 was $3.19 a gallon, about $0.20 less per gallon than regular I think.
I filled up my truck from 1/4 of a tank for only $39 BTW. E85 was $3.19 a gallon, about $0.20 less per gallon than regular I think.
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Today I filled up with E85 at a gas station in South Charlotte. Next to the E85 pump was a very clearly marked E10 pump that was different from all of the regular gas pumps. It was 89 octane.
I filled up my truck from 1/4 of a tank for only $39 BTW. E85 was $3.19 a gallon, about $0.20 less per gallon than regular I think.
That was no bargain. E85 does not provide nearly the fuel economy that gasoline does so you actual $ to mile cost is probably significantly higher.
Today I filled up with E85 at a gas station in South Charlotte. Next to the E85 pump was a very clearly marked E10 pump that was different from all of the regular gas pumps. It was 89 octane.
I filled up my truck from 1/4 of a tank for only $39 BTW. E85 was $3.19 a gallon, about $0.20 less per gallon than regular I think.
That was no bargain. E85 does not provide nearly the fuel economy that gasoline does so you actual $ to mile cost is probably significantly higher.
See my first post in this thread. I know the economics of E85 don't work out, I just like the way the truck runs with it. It still pulls off 19 MPG or so with E85 in mixed driving, which isn't much worse than it does with 87.
In Virginia, federal rules that kick in when pollution is a problem in urban areas have meant that part of the state must use oxygenated gasoline, while the more rural remainder does not need to. Of course, the oxygenate is now 10% ethanol, where it had been MTBE before the revelations about that chemical polluting water tables.
The gasoline-ethanol blend is required in the Richmond-Petersburg area and north, and in the Hampton Roads (Norfolk/Hampton/Virginia Beach) area including the city of Suffolk. I live in Southampton county, the next jurisdiction west, where the blend is not required. But over the last six months or so I have noticed the "10% ethanol" stickers on more and more pumps here and in neighboring rural counties.
Some stations don't have the stickers but I suspect that most are running the blend. For example, one Sunoco station near Courtland has the stickers, while the Sunoco station in Courtland, three miles from the other one, does not. I can't believe one Sunoco would have gasohol and the other so close would not.
And my '98 Taurus really dislikes gasohol. My mileage drops 2 mpg with it, and the car definitely does not run as smoothly.
To be assured of getting straight gasoline without ethanol, I must go into North Carolina (Roanoke Rapids/Northampton county area)—but even there I'm beginning to see the ethanol stickers on many pumps. When I can fill up at a "safe" pump there, my mileage immediately returns to the old, higher level. However, it generally isn't worth going 20 miles out of the way to get straight gasoline. Catch-22.
The gasoline-ethanol blend is required in the Richmond-Petersburg area and north, and in the Hampton Roads (Norfolk/Hampton/Virginia Beach) area including the city of Suffolk. I live in Southampton county, the next jurisdiction west, where the blend is not required. But over the last six months or so I have noticed the "10% ethanol" stickers on more and more pumps here and in neighboring rural counties.
Some stations don't have the stickers but I suspect that most are running the blend. For example, one Sunoco station near Courtland has the stickers, while the Sunoco station in Courtland, three miles from the other one, does not. I can't believe one Sunoco would have gasohol and the other so close would not.
And my '98 Taurus really dislikes gasohol. My mileage drops 2 mpg with it, and the car definitely does not run as smoothly.
To be assured of getting straight gasoline without ethanol, I must go into North Carolina (Roanoke Rapids/Northampton county area)—but even there I'm beginning to see the ethanol stickers on many pumps. When I can fill up at a "safe" pump there, my mileage immediately returns to the old, higher level. However, it generally isn't worth going 20 miles out of the way to get straight gasoline. Catch-22.
Does anybody have a link to a list or map of those states which require ethanol?
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Does anybody have a link to a list or map of those states which require ethanol?
http://www.exxon.com/USA-English/GFM/Files/US_Gasoline_Map.pdf
Does anybody have a link to a list or map of those states which require ethanol?
http://www.exxon.com/USA-English/GFM/Files/US_Gasoline_Map.pdf
I'm beginning to like E10 -
Solvency keeps fuel system clean (apparently)
Made from sugar cane here (mostly) - support the local cane farmers
Supports green power - at the sugar mill cane biomass is burnt for energy production now instead of in the field.
It's not the cheapest but I'd prefer giving my $ to the local farming industry than to some sheik.
Solvency keeps fuel system clean (apparently)
Made from sugar cane here (mostly) - support the local cane farmers
Supports green power - at the sugar mill cane biomass is burnt for energy production now instead of in the field.
It's not the cheapest but I'd prefer giving my $ to the local farming industry than to some sheik.
Originally Posted By: crinkles
I'm beginning to like E10 -
Solvency keeps fuel system clean (apparently)
Made from sugar cane here (mostly) - support the local cane farmers
Supports green power - at the sugar mill cane biomass is burnt for energy production now instead of in the field.
It's not the cheapest but I'd prefer giving my $ to the local farming industry than to some sheik.
If you're going to do ethanol, sugarcane is the way to go. It gives 150% more energy out then the energy required to make it. This compares to only 30% more energy when using corn like here in the states.
I'm beginning to like E10 -
Solvency keeps fuel system clean (apparently)
Made from sugar cane here (mostly) - support the local cane farmers
Supports green power - at the sugar mill cane biomass is burnt for energy production now instead of in the field.
It's not the cheapest but I'd prefer giving my $ to the local farming industry than to some sheik.
If you're going to do ethanol, sugarcane is the way to go. It gives 150% more energy out then the energy required to make it. This compares to only 30% more energy when using corn like here in the states.
Yeah, sugar cane is by far the best way to make it. In Brazil ethanol has been a huge success because they have so much sugar cane.
The US could do it too, but I can't say more than that without bringing up the "P" word.
The US could do it too, but I can't say more than that without bringing up the "P" word.
Originally Posted By: Minou
Allright, now any company still selling 100% regular gas in the US?..............
Visit Montana:
"All gasoline sold in the state must contain 10 percent ethanol, with the exception of 91 octane gasoline (premium unleaded).
Allright, now any company still selling 100% regular gas in the US?..............
Visit Montana:
"All gasoline sold in the state must contain 10 percent ethanol, with the exception of 91 octane gasoline (premium unleaded).
In western ND on the midgrade is e-10. In eastern ND both low and midgrade are e-10.
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