Seeing as how there's almost no place to buy gas here without 10% ethanol and understanding what damage can happen to our fuel pumps, gas lines and carbs, is there anything we can do such as an additive to prevent anything from being damaged?
Never had a problem with it on any car...old or new. My Hemi is going to run on E85...110 octane and 40 cents per gallon cheaper.
it's been up to 10% ethanol in gas here for at least the last 15 years. if you're just worrying about it now you're a little late.
10% here for many years too. i have never had any problems,but i still don't like it. they are talking about 20% now
it's a newer thing around here. It's been at some pumps for a while but now there's only about 2 stores that don't have it. Does it hurt anything as mentioned in my first post?
Nope...should work fine. I try to use E20 but I only drive by that station on occasion...sems to work OK in my '87 Chevy and '95 Lincoln and I save about 15 cents per gallon.
It will clean out any crud you might have in your fuel tank. Fuel filters will need to be changed at some point. Also it will soften any rubber parts and that can cause problems. Fuel systems built within the last 20 or so years should be ok since they were made with ethanol in mind. On the positive side it keeps your fuel system clean and there is no need for using antifreeze additives in your gas in cold climates since it absorbs water. That's my view. Tom
Yes ethanol does absorbes water. It cannott be moved in pipelines for this reason it must be trucked orshipped by rail. Pipelines use a cushion of water between the different oils to keep them seperate. Now heres a potential problem the tanks at your local station will get water in them from condensation or some other source. With ordinary gas the water settles to the bottom of the tank below the intake port where it is drained off or pumped out every so often. Now with ethanol it dont settle out and you buy it with your fuel. A dishonest retailer might even put some extra water in it nobody could prove it. Also if it is so great why are FOSSIl FUELS-not ethanol-used to grow and process it. I think hydrogen fuel will be the solution.Randall
Yea, I went and filled my tank up with hydrogen this morning. Works great, NOT. In the mean time we are stuck with what they give us. Right now ethanol is the only working option until someone comes out with a full electric car. Even the Volt due out in 2010 you need has to run the tiny engine that will charge the battery.
You ever buy Sohio fuel with "ice guard" or Shell with "fuel injector cleaner? Yeah, same stuff. If you have a problem, then worry about it, otherwise, just drive.
It's a 55 Chev. mild build 1980 HO 305. cam , tunnelram, big tube headers. ya know, the usual . Just from what I've heard it's not a good thing for guys like me or us
ha, a load of gas we got at work has 30%..............the ford trucks keep popping codes for running lean, hmmmm odd isnt it .
I think he might be confused, it is Methanol that screws up the works, not ethanol. I will be running E85 in mine as soon as it is more widely available around here. Any dry gas product you put in is basically ethanol, or Isoproponyl alcohol and they don't hurt much either.
Ran 89 Octane10% Ethanol for 10 years in a stock 283 '62 Impala SS, never had a bit of fuel system trouble and I had a Holley carb on it. Have run it in everything I own for at least 15 years including my 1970 Wheel Horse lawn tractor and never had trouble with valve seats or water in the gas and the carbs didn't varnish up like they did with "regular" gas. Willy301 is right, it's Methanol that screws everything up.
Methanol is the alcohol that eats up rubber parts and seals and aluminum and all that other stuff. Methanol can be made from petroleum. Ethanol is "moonshine" and is distilled from cellulose products like corn, and it just makes 'ya stupid if 'ya drink too much. The ethanol in gasoline is denatured and usually delivered 97-98% pure and is dangerous to drink. (just thought I'd throw that in )
When I was teaching science I explained to the little perverts --I mean scholars -- that "methanol is mean, ethanol is edible"
if you have a race track or airport nearby you can buy 100 octane unleaded fuel its a little pricy ( 5.00 to 7.00 a gallon here ) but it dont contane ethanol in it they run it in the create motor classes
Yeah but that eye burning, nose searing smell of something really screaming on methanol has to be my favorite smell in the world!
Ethanol: A Tragedy in 3 Acts <!--/HEADLINE--> <!--DECK--> Amid the current panic about gas prices many people are embracing ethanol. But that's not such a good idea http://www.businessweek.com/autos/c...htm?chan=autos_autos%20index page_insight
Ethanol, as currently produced, is certainly not the solution to our oil addiction. it's kinda like methadone... Just as expensive with just as many negatives - but at least it's not Heroine!
I had some expirence running E85 when I was on the SAE Formula race team at Iowa State University (http://www.sae.stuorg.iastate.edu/formula/). Cooler exhaust temperatures, more oxygen content in the fuel itself (a big plus becuase we have to run air restrictors), and 100+ octane all make E85 an ideal choice for race fuel. Apparently, the Indy Car Series thinks so too (http://www.indycar.com/tech/ethanol.php). Running 10% blend, as others have already stated, should not be a problem for you. I would be a little more apprehensive about putting E85 in your tank without making sure your engine can handle the boost in octane. Ethanol also seems to be more corrosive than traditional gasoline, so making sure your components that come in contact with E85 can handle it is also a must. Here's another website that has some information about racing applications: http://www.drivingethanol.org/motorsports/motorsports.aspx
E85 is great from a technical standpoint. The only problem with it is the same problem that gasoline has. Avaliability. Right now there is no really cost effective way to produce ethanol for use as fuel. It's the same with all of the other "alternative" fuels like Hydrogen, Methane, propane, etc. One of the main reasons we ended up using gasoline is because it was so cheap to produce back in the day. (And still is, relatively) Eventually gasoline will become expensive/rare enough that making Ethanol or some other alternative fuel will finally make sense. Ethanol right now is making some inroads into that situation, but it is questionable as to whether or not it is for real or just subsidy / government intervention. I really wish I could get E85 where I am - I could run way more boost!
We're starting to get the 10% around here a lot now. My 89 Camry wagon parts chaser gets 32mpg with regular gas, and that drops to about 26 with 10%. Yeah, real great, burn MORE fuel, create MORE pollution, while the goddamned cocksucker oil barons have to use LESS of their precious fossil fuels per gallon and get to buy up this ethanol shit cheap, and we're stuck with shitty gas for a fortune. Not to mention higher prices for food since farmers are now receiving government subsidies for growing corn to be made into ethanol. Those motherfuckers really know how to work the system to fuck the common man.
don't run the low lead av gas if you have any kind of 02 sensor. or converter. the "low lead" is twice the lead content of premium gas when gas was real gas. aircraft need the lead to protect their valve seats. it also can combine with automotive type oils and cause problems,as they were never formulated for lead. probably fine for older cars though.
In the 70's and 80's there was problems with alcohol additives eating the outside coating on the black styrafoam floats in the carbs. We were replacing them all the time in the spring because everyone was using gas line antifreeze in the winter. If you do run it I can suggest a brass float for the solution. Since everthing new if EFI that problem has been eliminated.
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