Ethanol in small engines

martipr wrote:
I am not taking up for ethanol and I fully believe that mpg goes down when using it, after all ethanol has much less energy content than gasoline. Just Google it for links.
What I question is if it actually causes damage. This thread is full of reports about tests or experiences but I don't see many links to an actual published report. About the only one is a Honda link and they say that 10% is OK.
Can anyone give a link to the reports from Mercury or any other or do we just take the poster's word for it.
This is a wonderful forum but it would be so much more so if posters provided documentation or at least said that it was only their opinion.

Just a simple search can show you a major reason that e10 can be a problem.

Storage is one...




Quote from a study "OSU"..... Select the ethanol fuel small engines. It's a pdf.

You have to either type the url into your address bar or copy and paste this address:

www.agmachinery.okstate.edu/engines/fuel


This one will not work for some reason:

http://www.agmachinery.okstate.edu/engines/fuel



Therefore, E10 blends are generally considered non- corrosive and should not accelerate wear for newer engines (1995 and later). Examinations of manufacturer’s statements indicate that ethanol blends up to 10 percent (E10) are ac- cep table (5). Older engines may run a slight risk of degrada- tion of rubber, cork gaskets, and exposed magnesium and aluminum surfaces in the fuel system when using alcohol blends or highly aromatic modern fuels. Older engines may have other susceptibilities as well.

Don't you guys like a study like this and the bottom line says, " Older engines may run a slight risk of degrada- tion of rubber, cork gaskets, and exposed magnesium and aluminum surfaces in the fuel system when using alcohol blends or highly aromatic modern fuels. Older engines may have other susceptibilities as well."

It's like from the EPA down, not one will state the true facts.

I remember the day when the EPA and all the the Kings Horses said, " MTBE will not reduce the performance of your engine". HAWWWWWWW!

They did the same with E10.... So hell, do you think those folks will offer any facts that will upset their apple cart?

Global Warming included.

Jim