Pure Gas ( No Ethanol ) experiment

Yes it would, but don't expect to see a huge mileage increase from this fuel.

Before I park my Miata for the winter, the last two tanks of fuel are non-ethanol, specifically to remove ethanol from the system to prolong the life of the fuel. The first tank of non-ethano goes to empty, then is refilled with non-ethanol. Then, when it's time to park it, if the tank isn't showing full on the gauge it gets topped off with pure gas.

 

I have found through comparison over long periods driving the same route (different car), that the difference of about 4% max means that at the $2.50/gallon point that if the non-ethanol gas is more than 10 cents more expensive per gallon, it saves no money.

I only run pure gas in my lawn equipment, because I have found that the ethanot eats the hoses on my weed eater chipper. Lawnmower seems to be more tolerant, but I only want one can of fuel for the 4 cycle equipment, so the lawnmower gets 91 octane pure gasoline as well.

 

I have a different strategy based on different driving habits. I generally will go 2-3 months with almost exclusively EV, then a long trip where I burn several tanks of fuel. I will check the price difference on non-ethanol, and it is just a bit, my last fill when I get home could be non-ethanol. Then that tank can simmer for a few months until I burn it fairly quickly on a trip.

 

All modern engines have knock sensors. Running ignition timing at the cusp of knocking is how everybody helps their fuel economy ratings.

Emission regulations, including evaporitive, are much stricter for cars than lawn equipment. As a result, car fuel system are much better sealed. Much of what makes gasoline go bad in lawn equipment and those plastic gas cans is that fractions can evaporate and drift away.

 

+1

If you want to put E0 in a car manufactured after 2000, then go ahead.
It will not hurt anything, as long as you realize that you're using the automotive equivalent of Nursery Water....which when I became a grandparent I found was curiously sold in the same plasticky jugs that they sell big people water in.
Things that make you go....Hmmmmm.

Anyway, if you wanna buy an eco-box and then spend more on gas?
As long as it makes you feel better then I'd say keep going it!!

I just bought $10 worth last Sunday, but I use it in an old, Gold 1980's Craftsman lawn Mower that I rescued from an abandoned store-room last summer with a metal gas tank and all-original carb bits.

YMMV.

 

Last time I was running our old corded electric mower around the front lawn, our next door neighbor happened to be doing the same with his gas mower. Man that thing was running rich; I could barely breath.

Same thing on the road: most modern cars are pretty clean, then one diesel pick up rolls by, and the neighborhood's blanketed in fumes.

 

Yeah.
That old Craftsman runs rich, but I swear that thing is a TANK!
I use it on our country property to cut ditches and other such things as are not easy to get to with a riding mower.....and besides...it's GREAT exercise!

Interestingly enough....I just inherited a 20" corded lawnmower that I'm tinkering with.
Interesting machine!!!
I got a 100' 12/3 cord and I'm going to see this summer how much I can use it on 5 acres.

Sorry for the lane change!
Blinker on.
Mirror check.....

back on topic.

 

don't forget this stuff for long term storage.

 

My preference has always been to drain/run dry any small engines, and put fogging oil into both the air intake and spark plug hole. That leaves a film of protective coating on the internal metal surfaces and removes any fuel that could break down and result in gum or varnish deposits. If there is any gas left in the can for the 4 cycle machines at the end of the year, I put that in a car where it is burned shortly. Then, in the spring I go out an buy fresh fuel and start the cycle again with the lawn equipment.

For the car I store for 5 months, I fill the tank with fresh fuel (pure gasoline) and have not found the need for Sta-bil. This is in a closed garage that doesn't get below 30F. I do have friends who use Stabil in their summer toys though. Just be sure to use a fresh bottle of Stabil as well, it has a limited shelf life.

 

MMDV... I dont want to spend more on gas, as I said in my previous post, I never use gas since I can get to work and back on strictly electricity, I'm concerned about gas going bad in the tank since I dont use it. Non-ethanol gas lasts twice as long (6-12mos vs. 3-6mos). I wont mind dropping an extra $1 every three months (since I only fill up 1 gal every 3 months). Thats not really eating into my cost of ownership... what would eat into cost of ownership is if I needed to get new fuel filters/pumps/injectors from pushing 6mo old stale ethanol (which is hydroscopic) through the engine.

I've had the car about 1 month and just cant seem to burn the fuel the way I drive. I considered Leaf's and Model S's before I settled on the Prime. I want an electric with the ability to take a long trip every once in a while, I just dont want to be forced to burn gas that much. The Prime made the most long term sense (although I was SOOOO close to getting a Model S --- reliability and my annual 1000mi drive pushed me to the Prius in the end).

 

I now run 93 E0 gasoline, and will continue for the time being.


Rob43

 

93 octane because that's the only E0 available? Or, do you want to unleash the screaming power of the mighty 1.8 liter Atkinson cycle beast under the hood?

 

For the most part, yes.

Edit: Lol, I'm trying to release the beast...



Rob43

 

I would not worry about gas in the car's tank from going bad. It is sealed off from the environment much better than the plastic can for lawn equipment, and every PHEV released to date has a maintenance mode that will burn it off before it gets too old.

 

2505?

Uh....
Yeah.
OK.

I don't know who decided that E10 lasts half as long as E0 (maybe the American Petroleum Institute) but I'm suspicious of those values and their sources.
I might have been wrong before about E0 not hurting your car.
If you derive a false sense of security because somebody told you that E0 lasts twice as long as E10, then you'll want to close that loop carefully before you proceed.

Since the original intent of this post was an experiment about fuel economy and we seem to have run well off that road......I'm gonna leave it there for now and see if the OP gets a return off of the initial cost ($1!!! ) of the prohibition inspired gas.

Fun Fact:
Henry Ford's first car, the quadracycle, ran on Ethanol.
Many "internet scholars" take that and bend and twist it to laud the fact that Henry Ford's Model-T was a flex-fuel vehicle. Even hemp-heads are getting into the act by hailing Ford's bio-mass tinkering as 'pro-hemp.' However (comma!) while it is absolutely true that Henry, a farm boy, WAS pro alky, his first PRODUCTION car was a gas burner.
The Model T was produced from 1908 to 1927 and it was designed to use a wide range of gasoline blends since Big oil wasn't quite so big back then and they were struggling to meet demand.....sometimes by blending gas with kerosene, but the Tin Lizzie was never intended to burn alky.

 

Here are some fun videos on "How to remove Ethanol from E10 gasoline", just add water. By adding water to the E10 gasoline, the ethanol bonds to the water and sinks to the bottom of the reservoir, then the ethanol can easily be removed. The only down side to this technique is when you remove the ethanol from your gasoline, you are also removing part the the gasoline's octane content. There are many videos on this subject, here's a quick one.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfZgDkRwAUk


Rob43

 

As per Trollbait, I do not think we have any info from Toyota, any PHEV maker, or oil industry, that E0 is better for PHEV vs. E10.
That would imply E0 had to be supplied in all areas of the country. In reformulated gasoline areas, which is probably >50% PHEV owners, we are not allowed to even say the word E0. We cannot get it...it is essentially banned by EPA. Also everyone in Ethanol lobby would die of a heart attack if Congress allowed E0 to be sold nationwide.

What I try to do is go with TopTier Gas. If I was using E0 that was not on TopTierGas.com, that would tell me I am buying smaller company E0 and I would be concerned about the quality in long term storage.

If I could get 93 Octane E0, I would use it because it might have more energy content, more MPG. But energy content varies, so there would not be a guarantee of more energy content or stability.