E15 gas warning

[WaTaGuMp]

Got an email about this, it would affect me, so figured I would pass this link along.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ceW9Nc1hVHU?feature=player_detailpage

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Good to know OP, never heard of E15 gas down here in Texas....

 

[cubby1223]

I had a 2012 model year vehicle and it was printed right on the gas-cap to not use E15.

Fox News is just on the subject because it's "government regulations over free market decisions." The only thing the government is changing is allowing gas stations to carry E15 fuel in addition to other blends if they want to. The ethanol percentage is already displayed on the pumps, and most gasoline currently is E10, I believe.

It's good info to know about, but the Fox News coverage is always overblown to the point of ridiculousness.


This situation boils down to, would you expect your warranty to hold up in you put diesel fuel in your gasoline engine and the engine breaks down?

 

[michal1980]

I had a 2012 model year vehicle and it was printed right on the gas-cap to not use E15.

Fox News is just on the subject because it's "government regulations over free market decisions." The only thing the government is changing is allowing gas stations to carry E15 fuel in addition to other blends if they want to. The ethanol percentage is already displayed on the pumps, and most gasoline currently is E10, I believe.

It's good info to know about, but the Fox News coverage is always overblown to the point of ridiculousness.


This situation boils down to, would you expect your warranty to hold up in you put diesel fuel in your gasoline engine and the engine breaks down?

The gas companies on their own decided to sell E10? LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

 

[Bitek]

Needs to go away. E10 is bad enough for many engines.

Put this in your small motors to their ruin

 

[waggy]

I had a 2012 model year vehicle and it was printed right on the gas-cap to not use E15.

Fox News is just on the subject because it's "government regulations over free market decisions." The only thing the government is changing is allowing gas stations to carry E15 fuel in addition to other blends if they want to. The ethanol percentage is already displayed on the pumps, and most gasoline currently is E10, I believe.

It's good info to know about, but the Fox News coverage is always overblown to the point of ridiculousness.


This situation boils down to, would you expect your warranty to hold up in you put diesel fuel in your gasoline engine and the engine breaks down?

lol


I haven't heard of e15. just the 10% and E85 around here.

 

[xBiffx]

Just check you filler labels and/or manuals people. No need to blow this out of proportion.

E15 is a terrible idea but then again, E>0 is a terrible idea. This is coming from someone who works in the corn industry.

 

[sportage]

E85 saves me a hell of a lot of $$$ on my 2014 automobile.
E85 is currently @ $1.99.
But no, should be common knowledge not to use ethanol in cars not made for ethanol.
And there are different grades of gas containing ethanol, some cars can use none of them, some cars most of them, and some cars all of them.
Oh. And never put ethanol in a lawn mower. Naturally.

 

[dphantom]

E15 ruins engines. There are some engines that can run E15 but the energy output is much lower than regular gasoline. Mileage is usually less with any ethanol added fuel. Need to do away with all ethanol (at least food crop based) anyway. Growing corn to burn in cars is beyond stupid.

 

[cubby1223]

E85 saves me a hell of a lot of $$$ on my 2014 automobile.

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=fuel&subject=fuelAlt&story=e85

E85 produces 27 percent less energy per gallon than gasoline
...E85 must be priced roughly 28 percent less than gas just to break even.

 

[sourceninja]

...

 

[overst33r]

I've never understood why of all the things we could use to make ethanol we picked corn. Why not something like switch grass?

A simple google says that it costs more to produce from grass.

 

[ControlD]

I've never understood why of all the things we could use to make ethanol we picked corn. Why not something like switch grass?

I am guessing the switch grass lobbying group is considerably smaller than the corn lobbying group.

 

[Genx87]

I've never understood why of all the things we could use to make ethanol we picked corn. Why not something like switch grass?

Big Agriculture like Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill ect. Corn is a major crop in this country. So they lobbied for govt mandates\subsidies for corn ethanol.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

My work truck is a 96 B2300 and my other car is a 98 Lumina, so I have never heard of E15 until I got the email.

 

[dainthomas]

Ethanol is such a giant scam in multiple ways:

1. Takes perfectly good farmland out of food production. Raises prices and harms poor/hungry people.
2. Growing of corn on the scale is extremely fossil fuel intensive, the net "benefit" of using less fossil fuels is very small.
3. Ethanol is terrible for engines. Results in worse mileage and higher maintenance costs.

I would vote for nearly anyone who absolutely swore they'd get rid of this requirement.

 

[michal1980]

E15 ruins engines. There are some engines that can run E15 but the energy output is much lower than regular gasoline. Mileage is usually less with any ethanol added fuel. Need to do away with all ethanol (at least food crop based) anyway. Growing corn to burn in cars is beyond stupid.

e10 kills small engines. The stuff is terrible.

 

[xBiffx]

1. Takes perfectly good farmland out of food production. Raises prices and harms poor/hungry people.
2. Growing of corn on the scale is extremely fossil fuel intensive, the net "benefit" of using less fossil fuels is very small.
3. Ethanol is terrible for engines. Results in worse mileage and higher maintenance costs.

1. Not necessarily true. There are plenty of fields that aren't even planted so growing corn for ethanol isn't doing anything to the food supply. This is especially true now that the price of corn is way, way down.

2. Also not necessarily true. Much of the equipment is able to use the ethanol or bio-diesel. Farming doesn't rely that heavily on fossil fuels.

3. This one you hit the nail right on the head.

 

[waggy]

1. Not necessarily true. There are plenty of fields that aren't even planted so growing corn for ethanol isn't doing anything to the food supply. This is especially true now that the price of corn is way, way down.

2. Also not necessarily true. Much of the equipment is able to use the ethanol or bio-diesel. Farming doesn't rely that heavily on fossil fuels.

3. This one you hit the nail right on the head.

still far higher then then it was 10 years ago before they started mandating ethanol be put in gas (2006).

it reached a peak in 2013. When everybody i knew was only planting corn. So last year we had a ton on the market. so yeah it has fallen (from 7 to 3 bucks a bushel) for comparison 10 years ago it was hovering right around $2.

 

[werepossum]

I am guessing the switch grass lobbying group is considerably smaller than the corn lobbying group.

Spot on. Although it's worth pointing out that corn has a hell of a lot more potential energy than does switch grass.

still far higher then then it was 10 years ago before they started mandating ethanol be put in gas (2006).

it reached a peak in 2013. When everybody i knew was only planting corn. So last year we had a ton on the market. so yeah it has fallen (from 7 to 3 bucks a bushel) for comparison 10 years ago it was hovering right around $2.

Mexico and South American were hit hard a few years back by the sudden spike in corn prices. When corn is a staple of your diet and food represents half or more of your income, a doubling in corn prices is catastrophic.

 

[xBiffx]

still far higher then then it was 10 years ago before they started mandating ethanol be put in gas (2006).

it reached a peak in 2013. When everybody i knew was only planting corn. So last year we had a ton on the market. so yeah it has fallen (from 7 to 3 bucks a bushel) for comparison 10 years ago it was hovering right around $2.

Farmers still went with fields unplanted or with other crops that entire time. Point being, ethanol has never been an issue for the food supply. It might have caused a slight increase in the cost of corn, but corn prices aren't driven by ethanol.

 

[WackyDan]

e10 kills small engines. The stuff is terrible.

No it doesn't... Here is what happens...

- It has a tendency to absorb moisture more so than non-ethanol gas. This happens partly in the 1 gallon or 2.5 gallon can that people use to store their mower gas. This also means it gums things up faster over time then non-ethanol gas.

- In combination with the above, it tends to wreak havoc on the fuel delivery system of the small engine. In my case, a small B&S 3.5 mower fuel pump. That membrane is adversely affected by ethanol infused gas.

So... How do we deal with this?

- Treat your gas with a gas treatment formulated for ethanol fuels. It does help with what the fuel does to various gaskets and such, but at least you reduce part of the gumming issue.
- With the above, only buy enough gas for one month of mowing.... Not the whole freakin season's worth.
- Properly winterize your lawn equipment as you should be doing anyway.
- Perhaps Briggs and Stratton can sell some carb parts that aren't bothered by ethanol? Is that too freaking much to ask of them? Ethanol has only been around for eons now.

What I do?
I just buy my mower gas from a station that has a non-ethanol pump/supply. Haven't had carb issues in a few years now. With ethanol I was pulling the carb on my small mower once a year.

 

[xBiffx]

Although it's worth pointing out that corn has a hell of a lot more potential energy than does switch grass.

Sugar beats can produce 2.5 times the ethanol per acre than corn can. The problem is that sugar beats are considerably more difficult to cultivate. That coupled with the fact that corn farmers who harvested for feed/food already are equipped to harvest for ethanol which makes it hard for other crops to become viable.

 

[TheSlamma]

What I do?
I just buy my mower gas from a station that has a non-ethanol pump/supply. Haven't had carb issues in a few years now. With ethanol I was pulling the carb on my small mower once a year.

I wish I could do that here, I haven't found a single station in Denver like this.

Now starting in the fall I put the smallest amount of gas in the tank every time and just run it till it's dry or like you said, every spring I was pulling the carb.

 

[chucky2]

Long story short, I ended up on a chainsaw forum doing some troubleshooting and a chainsaw freak there had like 40-50 chainsaws. He found that even saws he'd put new gas line on that should have tolerated E10 were turning soft after a couple of years. Investigating, he bought an ethanol test kit and it turns out that while most of the gas was right around the E10 level, some of the gas that was marketed as having 'up to E10 content' actually had well over E10, talking E15 or higher.

Not a fan of the ethanol mandate, so obviously not a fan of E10. But the Gov pushing E15 - and that's exactly what it will be, it won't be a suggestion, they'll effectively get their E15 way in areas that already have had E10 - is going to lead to circumstances where people are going to get well over the soon to be worse E15. Ahh Big Gov...