Posted on 04/03/2012 5:03:01 AM PDT by thackney
The federal government announced Monday it has taken a step toward wide distribution of gasoline mixed with 15 percent ethanol by allowing manufacturers to register as suppliers.
While the EPA is moving the process forward by allowing the registration, E15 still must clear another set of federal tests and become a registered fuel in individual states. Ethanol makers then must convince petroleum marketers to sell it at gas stations.
Most ethanol fuel sold for passenger cars and pickups today is 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gas. The new blend that boosts ethanol to 15 percent would only be sold for use in 2001 and newer vehicles.
(Excerpt) Read more at fuelfix.com ...
We should be trying to rid ourselves of the crap. Hopefully we will be able to join with NH in going back to real gasoline.
Does this mean that I can sue the EPA ....for damage to my car’s internal combustion system?
New Hampshire still sells gasoline with ethanol.
I don’t know if their house bill passed the senate, but even if it does, it won’t take affect until two other states pass a similar bill.
http://www.salemnews.com/region/x579807975/NH-House-Ban-ethanol-in-gasoline
Yech!
$hit dont burn.
The New Hampshire bill is still in committee in their senate.
Ethanol at 10% has ruined all my small engines on my yard equipment. The engines surge constantly and eventually lose power and quit. I’ve had to change carburetors every 2 to 5 years. At that age, the carbs and surrounding areas are always wet with gas caused by the rubber deterioration. The ethanol also has an affinity for water and I’ve seen rust in the bowls of the carbs that were replaced. The shop I go to now sells two stroke engine fuel (gas + oil premixed) without ethanol plus some inhibitors in quart-size sealed metal cans for $22/gallon! (sic) I’m actually trying it on my string trimmer. Next step is to go to the nearby marina and buy marine gas which apparently does not have ethanol in it.
The equipment shops are besieged with complaints about engine problems and life these days.
This is the biggest boondoggle ever and does nothing for the air, for fuel economy, for equipment maintenance costs and diverts precious arable land to growing fuel crops. It is pure insanity. If only we had politicians with the balls to stop this crap.
I forgot, ethanol is a good idea ... because...???
>> Ethanol at 10% has ruined all my small engines on my yard equipment &etc
Wow. I feel like you’ve been looking over my shoulder or something. This has been my small engine experience as well, right down to the eight dollar a quart “moto-mix”! Thanks for the marine fuel tip though. I wonder if aviation gas is similarly free of ethanol.
>> It is pure insanity.
Yep. At least my truck and farm equipment are all diesel; even so, I’ve been seeing “10% bio-diesel” stickers on some fuel pumps, Wal-Mart’s for example, so that damned green revolution even infecting diesel. Biodiesel is hard on certain rubber components too. At least biodiesel’s lubricity is better than the typical ultra-low-sulfur diesel you buy at the pump, so you get *some* benefit from it.
>> I forgot, ethanol is a good idea ... because...???
Well, Archer Daniel Midland’s *shareholders* like it. :-)
Oh, and pols from corn states are pretty happy about it too.
Hey Obama, tell me again about these "unelected" bureaucrats ruining all our lives again? You hypocritical SOB.
You have my sympathy on the small engine problems with your yard gear. So far, I've had no problems with my 2 year to 6 month old engines and hope that holds up.
I will say though that it is BS on the engine manufacturer's part that they have apparently not done the small specification changes (mainly materials used for elastomers, fuel lines and such). Whoever is working on your engines should be up on the exact materials needed and just switch out his replacement parts inventory, unless he is just trying to assure a greater amount of repeat business. 10 or 15 years ago when ethanol in gasoline was phasing in, I can understand the tangled up mess of fuel system materials and incompatibilities, no excuse now though.
If you have a drag strip or airport close by, it would be lots cheaper to get some racing grade fuel or aviation gas than that outrageous $22/gallon stuff. Robbery!
Some reservations sell EtOH-free gas.
I paid $3.789/gal on 3/27.
Goodie.
Something 50% worse than
the 100% worse we got before.
And we’re doin’ this why????
Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn;
The sheep’s in the meadow and
EPA’s in our corn!
I bought a new lawn mower last year and I've had to replace the spark plug and take the carb out and clean it.
I put the additive into the gas to keep it from doing a vapor lock but this ethanol really destroys these engines that are only used on occasions.
My snow blower coughs and sputters and it is because of the ethanol.
This will make a bad situation worse. Do you think prices will be lowered when 15% ethanol is added instead of 10%? I don’t. So now, by summer, we’ll have $5 per gallon “gasoline” that gives fewer miles to the gallon than the “gasoline” at $1.82 did when Obama was immaculated.
Agreed. Ethanol has been around for enough years that the small engine makers have no excuse for not adapting.
I buy 100ll avgas for my yard equipment and my R/C plane engines. I get it at the local airport. They have a 5 gal. minimum purchase which is no big deal for me.
I’d love to know the true cost per gallon of this ethanol crap, adjusted for lost milage, when compared with undiluted gasoline.
Mine is 2003...and says 10 and no more.
Just buy a Volt. You must be one of those people who Obama referred to as "driving an old beater." Isn't it funny how the ministry of propaganda never focused on Obama's derisive comment about people who don't or can't buy a new car? I wonder what that same ministry of propaganda would have done had Romney, or any pubbie, said the same thing?
Mark
the Feds must be hurtin’ on the decline of the Federal gas tax receipts...
Since Ethanol adds sticky varnish to the fuel system of internal combustion engines, should Ethanol be banned by Congress?
BTW, should Congress also abolish the EPA?
Meanwhile, after watching station after station drop their ethanol-free gas for the last few years, it is slowly creeping back in. With the end of the subsidy, at least one chain around here has hinted that they may bring back E-0.
Intended to turn your car into a clunker. So we can run another Cash for Clunkers program.
Some Missouri stations (outside St. L) advertise premium as straight gasoline. It’s $.20-$.22/gallon over regular gas.
Try Startron fuel treatment. This is a blue liquid that you should be able to buy at your local Stihl small engine dealer. The only other one that works is the Marine Grade of Stabil fuel treatment. These two I have found to be the best products to eliminate the ethanol problems.
However, the only foolproof cure is to empty all the fuel out of your small engines IF they are going to sit for more than 2-3 weeks. Never leave fuel in a machine ,even with stablizer for more than a month. I dump the fuel back into the can and run them dry. In the case of a snowblower/lawn tractor make sure you drain the bowl on the carburator and then run them dry. You may have to prime them to get them going again but it will elimate rebuilding of carburators and dissolving of fuel lines.
My 2 Cents from years of experience and mutual frustrations.
Lastly, Zama and Walburton carbs are so cheap now, it is usually cheaper to replace them than try rebuilding them.
I may give that a try, thanks for sharing.
There's a station within 2 miles of me that sells non ethanol at 5¢ higher than ethanol. (Central Illinois)
Since I discovered it, I'm thinking of going back to gasoline operated leaf blower and weed eater. When I had them before, they would last one season and the second season they would wear my arm out trying to crank them so I switched to electric. Dragging that extension cord around is a pain but they do start every time.
Are you sure that is what you are getting, or just the rumor?
In areas that require reformulated gasoline for smog, it is either going to still be MTBE (outlawed in some states) or ethanol.
>> avgas for my yard equipment
Good idea! Thanks for sharing it.
That’s interesting. Looks like it depends on how big the nanny state is that you live in. I’m in NE, so you’d think it would be mandatory here with the farm lobby, but the Republicans here haven’t completely lost their minds yet (although they’re on their way). I use to live close to Oregon (across the river). They’re completely nuts there. I just hope I don’t live too long, because this country is tanking fast.
Sorry, I posted an out of date map.
Here is the current version in pdf form. More states and areas now require ethanol.
http://www.exxon.com/USA-English/GFM/Files/US_Gasoline_Map.pdf
I pay my kids $10 for each no-ethanol gas station they spot near home or if we’re traveling and I need gas and $5 for each one when we’re traveling.
They are trying to destroy our ability to travel freely, in case you haven’t noticed.
I’ve seen some no-ethanol stations in southern Missouri, too. They’re tagged on my GPS.
Why would I EVER buy a Volt?
Electricity rates are due to *skyrocket.*
The dang car costs too much.
General aviation/local airport
I beg to differ. My 2006 Mazda and my wife's 2011 Ford Escape hybrid both clearly state in the owners manual that no more than 10% ethanol blends can be used. On my wife's Ford there is even a warning on the gasoline filler that says not add more than 10% ethanol blends. The only vehicles where it might be safe to use a 15% ethanol blend are those with flex-fuel designation. If this 15% ethanol crap is foisted on the public who will pay for the damages caused to engines and fuel systems or the warranties voided by its use?
I think this is about generating more taxes.
Since my vehicle will get less miles per gallon, then I will need to buy more gallons of gas and which means I pay more taxes on every additional gallon of engine damaging ethanol blend gas they push.
In some area, MTBE is still used.
I’m not a fan of this government mandate crap, but to some extent you have it wrong... small amounts of ethanol in moderation help keep intake and exhaust valves clean, and in carbureted engines allow you to run advanced timing with less risk of detonation. the numbers they’re talking about scare me though, and still a no go for small engines like mowers...
Obama’s a jerk. Even when he wasn’t in politics he never had to live in the real world like you or i because he had everything handed to him on a silver platter pretty much his whole life, all the while being force fed, and later force feeding others, socialism and environmentalism.
Why yes, Mr. President, I do drive an “old beater.” Two actually. Thanks to your recession and your policies and gas prices being what they are, I let the wife have the nice car (a pre-bailout 06 Lucerne), while I alternate between my papaw’s old 86 Caprice and my hot rod Olds Cutlass. Yeah can’t afford a 2012/2013 car like the limo liberal set.. AND IF YOUR 15% ETHANOL GAS BLOWS ANY OF MY ENGINES UP, I WILL SUE THE CRAP OUT OF THE EPA... Have a nice day Mr. President...
Yeah, I don't think so. This is Maine, just like WA, when it isn't raining...it's foggy. The alcohol draws water out of the humid air which goes into the underground tanks at gas stations as you pump out the gas. They don't have driers on the tank vents.
small amounts of ethanol in moderation help keep intake and exhaust valves clean, and in carbureted engines allow you to run advanced timing with less risk of detonation.
So does water...and it's free.
the numbers theyre talking about scare me though
10 and 15% is no small amount, in a wet climate. Plus it noticably lowers your mileage, and at 4 bucks a gallon...that sucks.
and still a no go for small engines like mowers...
That's the least of our problems...I haven't had a bit of trouble with small engines or running problems on any equipment. It doesn't hurt to run a little diesel in the gas.
Avgas is 120 octane leaded gasoline without alcohol.
It's not legal for them to sell it to you in a can, only pumped into your aircraft tank.
If you know someone with an airplane you might be able to get them to drain some out for you!
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