Non-ethanol (E10) gas

I usually always fill with non-ethanol as it is a choice we have. It does cost an extra 10 cents a gallon. You will get 3-5% better mileage with it for sure.

 

Nonethanol gas is desired by motor boaters that might not use their boat on a regular basis and/or have an older boat that has fuel lines that will be corroded by ethanol.

That's the only reason I can see for searching out a non-ethanol station.

If you aren't letting your car sit for more than three months, go with the cheapest gasoline you can find.

 

E10 cleans the engine and reduces emissions. Use it and be happy.

 

Of course South Florida has the highest prices around but because of all the trailer boating there are lots of stations with non ethanol gas in the upper keys which I drive through regularly. Unfortunately, they charge a premium of almost a dollar per gallon, which makes no sense at all.

 

Yeah, I started a thread a couple of weeks ago about this. I've filled up with non-ethanol gas 4 times this summer. Normally I get about 50 mpg on E10, but I'm getting 56-58 on the non-ethanol gas every time (calculated, not HSI). It doesn't make sense to get 15% better mileage on E0 unless the Prius software is optimized for E0 and thus doesn't run as well as it should on E10.

I'm paying $2.91 for E0 versus $2.75 for E10 at the station in NH that sells the E0.

 

Absotively. Fortunately, my closest local station has ethanol-free gasoline, and I've been using it the past several tanks (since I found out about them.) I've been averaging about 5-10 % better than the laced swill I was using before. That's around 15-30 cents per gallon savings and easily recoups the ten cent or so premium...

Gasoline has more energy than ethanol. Ethanol damages fuel system components.
Slam dunk.

 

I thought it was a federal law in the US for 10%? How are they getting around it?

 

It's not federal law.

There are two ways ethanol is "encouraged":

1. Ethanol producers get 51c/gallon from Uncle Sam when they make ethanol.

2. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires certain amounts of ethanol (or other biofuel) to be sold/blended, increasing each year. Other biofuels count, but ethanol is really the only one we have lots of today.

Right now, the mandated amount (if averaged over all the gas sold in the US) would be less than 10%...so some gallons can be 10 (or 85), and others zero. Some states require E10, but it's not federal.

With the amount going up each year by law, and gasoline sales down (with the economy), we'll hit the "blend wall" (10%) probably in 2011.

You'll see all those non-ethanol stations selling E10 soon as the price differential goes up and people quit being willing to pay extra.

There's also lots of talk and pressure to go to E15 to meet the EPA requirements. Automakers are resisting.

There's a collision approaching, and noone knows what'll shake out.

 

Surely cheapest in terms of cost per mile will usually be non-ethanol?

I'm not sure what the break point is, but I guess that ethanol gas would need to be 10 percent cheaper at the pump to compete in terms of cost per mile.

 

Ok so it is state mandated. Interesting. I could have sworn I have seen stickers on pumps that reference "federal regulations". There is no where in 100mi radius of me that sells non-ethanol gas that I am aware of. I wonder if there is a database somewhere of stations nationwide that are ethanol free?

 

Here's one.
Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

 

But that's very very incomplete

 

Oooooook then you find a more complete list.

 

I'd like to try non-ethanol gas, unfortunately in my area, it is non-existent. I can't find a station that offers "pure gas" they all have an ethanol blend.

 

Almost all the stations in Florida that offer it are actually marinas which are great for boats, but my Prius doesn't float very well. Besides, marinas almost always have a huge markup since it isn't like you can go down the block and find another marina nearby very often. It requires planning and I just don't plan that far ahead when I am boating.

 

It's a voluntary list. It's up to everyone interested to add stations to it that you are aware of.

 

Here's a list of the ethanol gas pump labeling laws for each state. Ethanol Labeling Laws - State by State Guide. They're all different.