Ethanol

[The_Logans]

Well, just got back from Florida, and discovered some interesting thins about ethanol in the fuel. I ran through 3 states where they were selling ethanol free fuel, and gas seemed to be cheaper without ethanol, and beter yet, I got 2.2 MPG increase in my milage without ethanol.

Good grief, why do they put that stuff in the fuel if it costs more, and kills your milage? :@

[maillemaker]

In Alabama, virtually all of the gas stations have stickers on the pump that say, "Contains at least 10% ethanol". I have seen a few gas stations, usually run-down mom-and-pop affairs, never chains, that advertise "100% Gasoline!". Personally, I don't worry about it.

However, I have discovered that absolutely my 1990 7.5L FI Ford engine runs much better using 89 octane instead of 87. No pinging under load. So we always fuel up with mid grade.

Steve

[DiskDoctr]

I HATE ethanol in gas!!!

It wreaks havoc on small engines like chainsaws, ATVs, log splitters, water pumps, motorcycles, lawnmowers, etc.

Competing food and fuel results in higher prices for both.

Wish we had pure gas around here.

[valhalla360]

My guess is the primary difference is conditions unrelated to the ethonal:
- Head wind vs tail wind can easily create that big of a difference.
- How hilly is each state (and what state did the gas actually come from)?
- What is the altitude?
- Did the engine have issues with clogged injectors or other issues from light duty use that got blown out by several days of hard use.
- Was there congestion or stop & go driving conditions?

There are issues with ethonal but the facts don't support that kind of an improvement in gas mileage just based on ethonal.

[fla-gypsy]

The number of stations offering non alcohol gas have been increasing in N Florida but the price will knock your head off. Different states require different seasonal blends as well for emission reasons and that may also affect mileage.

[TyroneandGladys]

And for those of us that are old school and have carbureted engines the ethanol fuel is more prone to vapor lock.

[VoodooMedicineM]

Don't use food for fuel.

[The_Logans]

We found the non-ethanol fuel in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida (and in marinas and airports). We went from 3.90 a gallon here in West Virginia, down to 3.29 a gallon in Georgia.

I noticed that Murphy and Patriot stations seemed to have a good bit of the "pure fuel". It seemed that going up hill under full load that the rig "felt better" with pure fuel.

Some interisting facts about the loss of MPG and HP with ethanol here:

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/006608.html

[Big_Katuna]

I'll rephrase. Which states don't have ethanol?
Florida has stations that offer non ethanol but they are few and far between. and the price is usually a buck higher which I attribute to supply and demand.

If you pull into a gas station, they will not have non-ethanol fuel.

[KD4UPL]

Big Katuna wrote:
What states had non ethanol gas? I might move there.

As far as I know they all do. Check out puregas.org, it shows over 8,000 stations selling pure gas in the country, nearly 500 in Florida.
I agree, it's nothing but a gift to the corn farmers.
I only use non-ethanol in my boat, antique truck, and small engines. It run the ethanol mix in the wife's Corolla.

[larry_barnhart]

mike-uswest wrote:
Here in my town, it is $1 a gallon higher for the non ethanol gas over the ethanol. There are only a couple of stations in town that sell the non ethanol gas. I use it for boat motors, saws, lawn mowers, or any small motor.

Mike

same story in wenatchee, 3 stations that I know of and also use gas for small motors.

chevman

[mike-uswest]

Here in my town, it is $1 a gallon higher for the non ethanol gas over the ethanol. There are only a couple of stations in town that sell the non ethanol gas. I use it for boat motors, saws, lawn mowers, or any small motor.

Mike

[PSW]

We have a lot of stations in Oklahoma that sell pure gasoline and ethanol/gasoline, usually 10% corn. Usually, the ethanol product is about 8-10% cheaper per gallon compared to the lowest grade of regular gas. Where I buy most of my gasoline, the ethanol mix is 89% octane, the full gasoline is 87, 89 or 90.

So, do I buy 10% ethanol, 89 octane, this morning for $3.29 or do I buy 87 octane pure gasoline for $3.49 or 89 octane pure gasoline for 3.69??

Complicated, ain't it 😄

I decided on the motorhome it is better to just buy the pure stuff and not worry about it. Yes, I think the Ford V10 runs better on the pure juice. Mileage? I have heard that argued and a lot of math for a lot years. On my Jeep GC, I usually use the ethanol and it runs fine.

By the way, my first experience with an ethanol refinery was in Kansas thirty years ago. The farm states politically keep it in place. Here in Oklahoma, we don't grow much corn. But we grow a lot of oil!

PSW

[tpi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_gallon_equivalent

Comparison of energy equivalents of fuels. Seasonal or vendor differences could make a minor difference.

Maybe someone here got a tank of mislabeled E85.

[Big_Katuna]

What states had non ethanol gas? I might move there.