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In my area some gas stations advertise no ethanol in their gas. What is the difference if any with using 10% ethanol or non ethanol gas?
10% Ethanol vs Straight Gas
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If you have a choice, stay away from the 10%. Most GM's are ok to run up to 10% (unless your vehicle is a "Flex-Fuel") Ethanol / Alcohol actually runs cooler. The ethanol does reduce fuel milage (but not enough that you wil really notice) Ethanol / Alcohol can be damaging to your fuel system (o-rings, rubber hoses) if your vehicle is not made for it.
10% is fine. I run it because it's all they offer in this area but I wouldnt if I had a choice.
10% is fine. I run it because it's all they offer in this area but I wouldnt if I had a choice.
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You will get worse mileage out of the E10 blend than you will straight gasoline. Ethanol does not have as much energy per molecule as gasoline so you end up with worse mileage. I work at an oil refinery and we just finished installing the ethanol blending system on our truck rack. And I got to be the lucky Project Engineer over the project putting it in!! Have you ever had to do something that you really didn't want to do because it was your job??? I don't want it running in my truck but I had to put the system in because of our wonderful government was making us buy credits since we weren't blending 10% ethanol with our gas. All it did was cost us a bunch of money!!
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What I learned from a fuels class I took is that ethanol attracts water which is bad for everything. The water and ethanol is harder for smaller carbs like 2 strokes have to use, so they plug up or run really badly. Ethanol runs colder and has less power than gas so you will see a mileage decrease. And ethanol will eat up rubber over a long period of time if the fuel sysem isn't deignede for it, so look for leaks periodically if you do run it.
Around here we dont have a choice, they blend anywhere from 5% to 18% in our Cali gas depending on the gas company.
Personally I wouldn't run it if I could.
Around here we dont have a choice, they blend anywhere from 5% to 18% in our Cali gas depending on the gas company.
Personally I wouldn't run it if I could.
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That is true...they are already talking about making everyone blend 15%, but they haven't completed the testing.
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All gasoline has a certain amount of water in it. But with straight gas, a lot of it will settle out to the bottom of the tanks at the stations and won't make it to your tank. However, ethanol is very hydroscopic and will suck up any moisture it gets close to and it will not settle out. We had to install desiccant air dryers on the tank we are storing the ethanol in to keep the tank from breathing in moist air. When we send it out it can have a maximum of 1.2% water in it, but once it gets to the gas stations, if they have water in their tanks then it is going to increase the water content in your gas.
:roflmao:
Run it and stop worrying about it. People sensationalize the claims of it wrecking engines and causing poor economy for no reason whatsoever. Just FYI, unless you live on the west coast or a few midwestern states your fuel isn't 10% ethanol. Usually it's 3% to 8%. I've never seen over 10% in the south.
As for the stations advertising no ethanol, most likely they're BSing everyone and laughing all the way to the bank. You CAN get oxygenate-free fuel, but it's not legal for road use. Ethanol is just one of several additives used in reformulated fuels. Even running higher than 10%, it's not going to hurt your fuel system unless you drive an all original 1967 Plymouth. Reformulated fuels improve the air for EVERYONE, and are better for engines. I see no problems? Stop complaining. Would you rather use ethanol that supports industry in this country, or have reformulated fuels burning chemicals known to cause all manner of developmental disorders and health problems? (lead and MTBE come to mind) OR you could run straight gasoline that barely meets 87-octane spec. Buy PEMEX fuel if you want to know what that's like.
Run it and stop worrying about it. People sensationalize the claims of it wrecking engines and causing poor economy for no reason whatsoever. Just FYI, unless you live on the west coast or a few midwestern states your fuel isn't 10% ethanol. Usually it's 3% to 8%. I've never seen over 10% in the south.
As for the stations advertising no ethanol, most likely they're BSing everyone and laughing all the way to the bank. You CAN get oxygenate-free fuel, but it's not legal for road use. Ethanol is just one of several additives used in reformulated fuels. Even running higher than 10%, it's not going to hurt your fuel system unless you drive an all original 1967 Plymouth. Reformulated fuels improve the air for EVERYONE, and are better for engines. I see no problems? Stop complaining. Would you rather use ethanol that supports industry in this country, or have reformulated fuels burning chemicals known to cause all manner of developmental disorders and health problems? (lead and MTBE come to mind) OR you could run straight gasoline that barely meets 87-octane spec. Buy PEMEX fuel if you want to know what that's like.
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The 10% is not going to wrech a car engine, but will cause problems in 2-stroke engines that are not oil injected. On 2-strokes that are not oil injected and you have to premix the gas and oil, the oil emulsifies the oil out of the gas and you don't get the proper lubrication needed, resulting in the motor eventually burning up.
As I said earlier I work at an oil refinery in south Arkansas and I was the Project Engineer over the recent project to install an ethanol blending system on our local truck rack. I have seen the loading programs and the lab test on the blends and it is at the lowest 9.5% and highest 11% on every truck we have tested. Our terminals in Memphis and Nashville have been blending 10% for about a year now so yes there has been 10% in the south for some time now.
Yes the vehicle may produce lower emissions running 10% ethanol, but there are also thousands of gallons of diesel burnt in the tractors harvesting the corn, large emissions put off by the ethanol plants, and emissions put off by the 18 wheelers hauling it from the ethanol plants to the trucking terminals. I will agree with your statement that it provides more jobs, but it also causes food prices to rise.
It is a government mandate that we blend 10%. If the percentage of ethanol in the samples we pull from the trucks is too low or high then we don't get credit for the blending gallons. If you don't blend a certain number of gallons per year you have to buy credits, and if you blend more than the required you can sell the credits. So it is at that advantage of the terminals to make sure it meets the 10% requirement or they are loosing money. So there is no reason for it to only be 3-8%.
As I said earlier I work at an oil refinery in south Arkansas and I was the Project Engineer over the recent project to install an ethanol blending system on our local truck rack. I have seen the loading programs and the lab test on the blends and it is at the lowest 9.5% and highest 11% on every truck we have tested. Our terminals in Memphis and Nashville have been blending 10% for about a year now so yes there has been 10% in the south for some time now.
Yes the vehicle may produce lower emissions running 10% ethanol, but there are also thousands of gallons of diesel burnt in the tractors harvesting the corn, large emissions put off by the ethanol plants, and emissions put off by the 18 wheelers hauling it from the ethanol plants to the trucking terminals. I will agree with your statement that it provides more jobs, but it also causes food prices to rise.
It is a government mandate that we blend 10%. If the percentage of ethanol in the samples we pull from the trucks is too low or high then we don't get credit for the blending gallons. If you don't blend a certain number of gallons per year you have to buy credits, and if you blend more than the required you can sell the credits. So it is at that advantage of the terminals to make sure it meets the 10% requirement or they are loosing money. So there is no reason for it to only be 3-8%.
Interesting. I randomly test fuel samples across the southeast, so that's where my numbers come from. I agree the use of corn is not the best for sustainability, but for now its the best we have until other means are available.
Our fuel here is mostly imported and blended on site, so I wouldn't be too shocked if there are minor differences in usage vs fuels refined in the us.
Sent from my ERIS-GSBv3.3 using Tapatalk
Our fuel here is mostly imported and blended on site, so I wouldn't be too shocked if there are minor differences in usage vs fuels refined in the us.
Sent from my ERIS-GSBv3.3 using Tapatalk
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A station near me sells 100% gasoline.. Im considering trying it. whats the worst it could do? Figure it might burn out any contaminants left behind from running E10
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i ran non ethanol last week and did notice a slight mpg increase just sayin. and could have just been me but seemed like muh trok ran a lil better too
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Maybe in modern vehicles, but my tbi gets 2 mpg better on straight gas.
Also do your grandparents have health problems from growing up with leaded gas or something? That is overblown imo.
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I get better mileage with the 100% gas. On my last few trips down to Texas, I drove 80 mph most of the way and got an average of 15.5 mpg. I usually get 14.5 going that fast. One of these days I'll try going the speed limit to see what I can really get.
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