New Fuel Additives

Since I have used over 200 gallons of ethanol in my Prius (that's over 2,000 gallons of E10), the answer is a very definite YES!

Minnesota has had a mandate in place requiring all gas to be a 10% blend since the late 90's. And by 2013, the it will be a 20% blend. So hearing about other states considering it now triggers an "it's about time" reply from me.

By the way, the Little Falls ethanol plant here will soon begin using waste sawdust as their power source. So the any documentation about production should be questioned, because it is likely not reflected new energy saving measures such as that.

And yes, there is an efficiency penalty. On my Prius it's about 1.7 MPG. But with my lifetime average currently at 48.9 MPG anyway, I don't consider it a big deal.

 

I always gas up at Mohawk gas bars or Husky truck stops, more to support the "made in Canada" thing. They've used ethanol for a long time, and the only vehicle I've ever owned that didn't like it was my 1984 Ford F-150, which has a carb. Quite a few hot start problems, so I run cheap regular gas in that thing. No emissions controls to worry about, it never came with any.

The Mohawk and Husky ethanol gas is 10% blended, so far no problems, and good fuel economy.

 

go out of my way to avoid using E10, get better mileage using regular gas at the same price. Burning sawdust to make something that ultimatly reduces your mileage and pollutes the air, your better off with plain gasoline. It won't harm the car just your pocket book.

 

Ethanol is not taxed as much as gas in some places. So the price/efficiency concern is a non-issue there. In other places, I understand the negative feelings.

As for "pollutes the air", please explain what you are referring to.

The point is to find a cleaner substitute/blend to dino-oil, while we wait for renewable clean electricity used in plug-in hybrids.

 

I live in the metro Milwaukee area of WI. As a part of the clean air act, the SE counties must use a 10% ethanol blend. Now my state is trying mandate this crappy fuel throughout.

Ethanol blended fuels release more VOCs into the air than regular gas. Plus, the plants that produce ethanol produce carbon monoxide, methanol and some carcinogens at levels "many times greater" than they promised. This blend actually polutes the air more than regular gas! And it cuts mileage by 3-10% in many cars. So it polutes even further than normal and saves only a small amount of oil derived gas. (e.g if it takes 10.5 gals of E10 to go the same distance as 10 gals of regular, we have not saved 10%)

It came out when I had a Jetta. I immediately saw a 2 mile per gallon reduction, from 34 to 32 MPG and I couldn't figure out what happened. Ethanol happened.

Another concern has been this fuels impact on fuel injectors of early fuel injected engines. And one of my concerns, it's use in 2-cycle engines. The oil separates from the gas quickly, which could cause 2-cyl engines to lose lubrication and lead to premature death. I have been traveling about 20 miles each way to get real gas for my string trimmer and leaf blower, as well as my boat motor. If this mandate passes, I'm sure I'll be buying trimmers every few years or spending twice as much for a 4 cyl model.

 

Where's your data ...and how old is it? Hearsay doesn't cut it. We need facts, especially if a SULEV (or better) system cleanses the E10 enough to invalidate claims.

Remember, gas is low-sulfur nationwide as of very recently. That means new formulas are now being used. So everything needs to be questioned again.

 

Hi John,
I cut and pasted that info directly from a news report from the AP. This report also stated that there is group of home owners in Minn that is suing a plant near St. Paul for the excessive polution being generated.