Less Ethanol in Premium Gas?

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SR77

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Aug 21, 2003
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Central, NJ
Hello,
I have a few questions for you guys in regards to todays Ethanol fuels:

1) - Is there any truth to there being less % of Ethanol in Premium gas then there is in Regular?
I am having issues with my 2-stroke lawn equipment and classic car and while I was at my local lawn mower repair shop with my chainsaw and the guy there said they see a ton of gas related problems and said to start using premium gas as it doesn't have the same ethanol as regular? Is this true, on the pumps near me it just says E10, nothing about regular and premuim having different concentrations. I am in located in NJ.

2) - If E10 (maybe E15 soon) is the same across the board, would there be any benefit to using aviation fuel instead in my equipment? I pass an small airport (Princeton, NJ Airport) on my way to work so I could call to see it they would sell fuel to people in 5 gallon containers if it would be better to use.

Other then that the only other thing I can think of is using an additive like Stabil Marine, FP60 or StarTron if I have to continue to use E10.

thanks for all the help
 
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I don't know specifically with scientific evidence, but the dealer I bought my Toro snowblower and my Echo weedwhacker (which does require 89 octane) swears up and down that the higher octane fuels have less ethanol. Because of the weedwhacker, I never buy less than 89 and usually by premium for the 2 gallons of fuel mix I use a year. Doesn't make any real cost difference anyhow and I haven't had any fuel issues since making the switch.
 
By law they have to post an ethanol warning at the pump.

In southern california none of the regular kind use ethanol. Only 76 , Shell and I believe Mobil use them only ... All would be considered top tier gas compared to USA gas, ARCO , and others.

You can always walk in and ask them when in doubt, I doubt most of them know anything beside pointing you at pamphlet.
 
Originally Posted By: Voltmaster
By law they have to post an ethanol warning at the pump.

In southern california none of the regular kind use ethanol. Only 76 , Shell and I believe Mobil use them only ... All would be considered top tier gas compared to USA gas, ARCO , and others.

You can always walk in and ask them when in doubt, I doubt most of them know anything beside pointing you at pamphlet.
huh? All gas sold from a pump in socal contains 10% regardless of brand
 
With respect to your first question:

1) at the pump, there will be a sticker that reads "may contain up to x% of ethanol". It is not so much the kind of ethanol that is contained in premium, but how much -- that would be the primary concern.

One suggestion you may want to consider is to go to the website for that brand and see what info they have regarding this. Voltmaster is right -- if you ask the gas attendant, chances are he/she wouldn't have a clue.
 
Right, attendants at the station don't know or care about ethanol content.

And the 10% isn't fixed, it is "up to" as written above.

I suspect that premium may contain more ethanol to boost octane, because in my limited experience, when premium is not required by the engine tuning, using premium often lowers mpg.
 
In my fuel testing in my are, yes, premium gas (3%)had less ethanol than regular gas (7%). The ethanol labels on the pump are not to be taken literally. I saw saw both labels that say the gas contains "up to 10%" and also "CONTAINS 10%" and the most I saw was 7%.
 
I believe there is no ethanol contamination in premium gas in Canada, so maybe that is where you heard that? The pure gas website lists just a few stations in NJ that sell E0 and they are marinas and if it is like the pricing in PA, you will pay 40 cents more per gallon.

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=NJ
 
Originally Posted By: Voltmaster
By law they have to post an ethanol warning at the pump.

In southern california none of the regular kind use ethanol. Only 76 , Shell and I believe Mobil use them only ... All would be considered top tier gas compared to USA gas, ARCO , and others.

You can always walk in and ask them when in doubt, I doubt most of them know anything beside pointing you at pamphlet.


Maybe in Calif, but not in all states. Google it and you will find a list of states. Regardless of a sticker, most gas is E10. The gas in the winter does need an oxidizer for pollution requirements and alcohol is the current additive, although it could be argued if its the best.
 
I had tried the gas attendant route and not one has been able to help. They just point to the sticker on the pumps that say contains 10% Ethanol. The pumps here in NJ atleast just have stickers on them that say "Contains 10% Ethanol". There is no mention of different concentrations for the different octanes so I assumed all octane levels are the same %. I am not sure where this lawn mower repair shop tech got his information from. If it is true that Premium is less I will start using it, but I don't want to spend the extra money each time on Premium if there is no difference. I will save that extra money to spend on a ethanol additive to use.

How about Aviation fuel, is that an option to use for lawn equipment and less used machinery? I also have a classic car that I only get out 1 or 2 times a month.

I have tried using the Pure-Gas site, but in NJ there are currently only 3 stations listed, 2 down south that are too far and 1 that said they don't know why they are listed cause their gas has ethanol in it. This seems to be a subject that alot of gas attendants and even some owners don't know much about so asking them directly is not much help.

thanks for all the replys
 
Usually premium gas can contain more because ethanol is a cheap and effective octane booster.


if you need e0 try a marina gas station.
at least around here they usually sell e0 90octane.
 
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Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
Right, attendants at the station don't know or care about ethanol content.


Heck I asked an attendant what the price of diesel was because it was confusing the way they posted it with credit for cash.

He did not know the price of their product. Just runs a cash register.
 
Originally Posted By: SR77
I had tried the gas attendant route and not one has been able to help. They just point to the sticker on the pumps that say contains 10% Ethanol. The pumps here in NJ atleast just have stickers on them that say "Contains 10% Ethanol". There is no mention of different concentrations for the different octanes so I assumed all octane levels are the same %. I am not sure where this lawn mower repair shop tech got his information from. If it is true that Premium is less I will start using it, but I don't want to spend the extra money each time on Premium if there is no difference. I will save that extra money to spend on a ethanol additive to use.

How about Aviation fuel, is that an option to use for lawn equipment and less used machinery? I also have a classic car that I only get out 1 or 2 times a month.

I have tried using the Pure-Gas site, but in NJ there are currently only 3 stations listed, 2 down south that are too far and 1 that said they don't know why they are listed cause their gas has ethanol in it. This seems to be a subject that alot of gas attendants and even some owners don't know much about so asking them directly is not much help.

thanks for all the replys


Yes, GOOD LUCK in our state finding E0 in ANY grade/octane, especially the central/northern/eastern parts.
frown.gif


Just PRAY that they do not increase it to 15%+ ethanol in the future!!
mad.gif
 
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: SR77
I had tried the gas attendant route and not one has been able to help. They just point to the sticker on the pumps that say contains 10% Ethanol. The pumps here in NJ atleast just have stickers on them that say "Contains 10% Ethanol". There is no mention of different concentrations for the different octanes so I assumed all octane levels are the same %. I am not sure where this lawn mower repair shop tech got his information from. If it is true that Premium is less I will start using it, but I don't want to spend the extra money each time on Premium if there is no difference. I will save that extra money to spend on a ethanol additive to use.

How about Aviation fuel, is that an option to use for lawn equipment and less used machinery? I also have a classic car that I only get out 1 or 2 times a month.

I have tried using the Pure-Gas site, but in NJ there are currently only 3 stations listed, 2 down south that are too far and 1 that said they don't know why they are listed cause their gas has ethanol in it. This seems to be a subject that alot of gas attendants and even some owners don't know much about so asking them directly is not much help.

thanks for all the replys


Yes, GOOD LUCK in our state finding E0 in ANY grade/octane, especially the central/northern/eastern parts.
frown.gif


Just PRAY that they do not increase it to 15%+ ethanol in the future!!
mad.gif



Good luck finding gas in NJ period.
 
I'n guessing 93 has the same amount of eth as all others. I use eth free gas(91) for boat and all small engines. If I can't find any, I go with E10 93... no matter what I use, I still use seafoam and stabil...
The puregas site is good but can have old info... I'd start digging through the yellow pages and calling marinas that sell gas. They may be able to point you in the right direction. I keep 3 cans ready to go... got all the eth free stations marked, If I'm driving by, I fill up. has worked great for 2 years. My mercury outboard (150 Optimax) has run great with eth free, 93 and the seafoam/stabil cocktail.
Might not be a great time to look for special gas in NJ right now.
 
forget the eastern PA ethanol free listings in puregas as well. That info is old-none available in Allentown as listed.

Your AV-gas will have lead in it--may be low lead (LL) but it is still lead
 
There is a chain of gas stations in upstate NY called "Fastrac".
They advertise with stickers on the pump that say 93 octane contains no ethanol.
That is what I use in all my small engines and OPE, also in my 9N tractor.
Ethanol seems to cause issues for anything with a carburetor for me!
 
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