Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I've already shown you that several auto makers and the EPA say that the loss is 3 to 4%. At that rate it is .2 to .3 MPG! That is a POINT 2 to POINT 3 MPG loss. Now if .2 or .3 MPG make that much difference in economics of driving your motor home maybe RVing is not for you? Maybe it's time to get out of the game?
All you have to do is search this forum to see that people are actually losing 10% to 20% since the introduction of Ethanol in gasoline. Manufacturers claims are at very least, suspect, I for one would be VERY happy if any of my autos got the mileage the maker claims it will get.
I'd appreciate your opinion of how you can remove 10% of the potential energy in a gallon of gasoline and NOT see a 10% increase in consumption.
A typical automobile engine has a thermal efficiency of 25% or 30%, that means 70% to 75% of the gasoline burned is turned into nothing but waste heat and does no work.
If you are saying you're reducing the number of BTU's by 10% and only seeing a loss of 3% or 4% that means the engine has suddenly become almost 25% more efficient. That's not possible.
BTW, none of this addresses the fact that it takes the equivalent of 1.3 gallons of gasoline (in pollution equivalent) to make 1 gallon of Ethanol which even then is only the equivalent to 0.66 gallons of gasoline.
So, in the end, it takes the equivalent of 2 gallons of gasoline to replace 1 gallon of gasoline. Hmmmmm.
Aaaaaaaaaaa let me take a stab at this one more time. The idea and goal is to reduce smog causing gases and chemicals. Let me give you an example of how I can burn many, many, many gallons of gas and be super clean with almost no smog and air pollution and you can burn less than a pint of gas and cause waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more smog pollution.
Yes the goal is REDUCE smog and pollution, but in more than just a few big cities. It takes 2 gallons of gasoline to replace 1 gallon of gasoline with corn-based Ethanol. So it means you're actually INCREASING the pollution, but in somebody else's backyard not yours.
