Real Gasoline, not Ethanol

pure-gas.org now lists ~ 10,090 E0 sources. Those people propagandizing for the "ethanol in gasoline industry" keep saying ethanol only loses 2.5% mpg due to energy loss. However, ethanol efficiency only occurs with ethanol engines. Further ethanol performance collapse (beyond the energy lack) occurs in low compression ratio gasoline engines. The following are true. Ethanol engine engineers know how to design ethanol engines to gain ethanol's maximum efficiency. Gasoline engine engineers know how to design gasoline engines to gain 100% gasoline's maximum efficiency. Mixing ethanol & gasoline can NOT gain both fuels maximum efficiency in a gasoline engine.

 

what product comes with an ethanol engine?

 

Do you guys know that you can remove ethanol from gas with water? Water will absorb the alcohol quickly and can then be drained from the gas. Not very convenient for use in the car but I do it for all my small engines because they do start easier and run much better, not to mention they can sit unused for up to a year without issues. I never have to use a fuel stabilizer in them either. I put one quart of distilled water into a five gallon can then fill it up with 91 octane or higher gas. Ethanol increases octane so 91 octane will end up to be about 88 to 89. Since water is heavier than gas, I turn the can over and clamp it onto my workmate so the water and alcohol can be drained off. I use a clear tube with a ball valve on the end that I got from Lowes and clamp it to the can's fill spout to make it simple. It's very easy to see where the water/ethanol ends and the gas begins (last pic) so you know when to stop draining.

 

Interesting. Which side of the line is the gas? Above?

 

Yes, the gas is above the water. It's kind of hard to see in the pic but the water is cloudy and the gas is more clear. Also forgot to mention that it doesn't take long for the water to settle to the bottom, just a few seconds and the draining can start.

 

Very industrious Priusgo. Yes I am aware of this, for a while I was removing the ethanol with water in small batches to check the % ethanol. I was also measuring the weight per gallon of the gasoline to estimate energy content.

Couple of concerns...foremost is safety. Gasoline is a very hazardous flammable and smelly, messy material, folks really need to know what they are doing to be safe. Obviously, the petroleum industry and US gov't are not expecting people to be exposed to gasoline vapors any more than we already are. Fortunately gasoline is safer now due to EPA mandates, but still has benzene though at reduced levels. And you now have a contaminated-ethanol disposal problem.

As far as car operation goes...I don't know if there are other possible issues (additive package dissolving etc).

 

We've realized approx 10 MPG improvement having switched to No Ethanol fuel in our 2006. I run it in my Land Cruiser and my daughters Rav4 too. (And my Vespa...!)

 

The issues I had with the small engines and ethanol was the fuel tubing and some rubber parts in the carburetors were turning brittle or dissolving in just one season of use. Once I started to remove the ethanol, I noticed an immediate improvement in my lawn equipment. The engines start easier, run stronger, idle more consistently and the exhaust fumes aren't as obnoxious. The best thing is that I haven't had to replace any fuel system parts in several years. As for the hazmat issue with contaminated ethanol, I drain it into an oil catch pan and let it sit on the side of the house for a few days and let it evaporate.

 

I am not a fan of ethanol either. Like one of the biggest non-fans. But Congress has stepped in and mandated it, basically to create jobs (although that is not the stated reason).

 

This is miles per imperial gallon? Still, a 10 mpg improvement would be easily greater than 10% improvement. If the ethanol content in the gas is at most 10%, something is wrong with this picture: it's saying not only is ethanol making no contribution to the car's propulsion, it's detrimental.

Just as an example, assuming you're making around 55 mpg (imp) with ethanol laced fuel, and 65 mpg with ethanol free fuel, that's an 18% improvement:



Maybe it's up to 10 mpg better?

 

I can see up to 10% improvement just on energy content improvement (3% ethanol and 7% variation in the gasoline portion). After that I do not really see any usual explanation that is well documented. Note that neither the EPA nor Consumers Reports tests vehicles on E0 vs. E10, so if you want to say they are under-estimating the negative impact of ethanol, (due to political correctness) I am OK with that, because could be some truth in it.

 

I buy Costco gas that has 10% ethanol and my mpgs are the same...

 

What I would say is you have relatively low energy content gaso (reformulated gaso) in CA. Of course I have it too ( I estimate at least 50% of Prius owners live in reformulated gaso areas). So if you get out of CA, to someplace where they are allowed to have some E0 pumps, you might get a "double whammy". The E0 gives you more energy content 3%, and the base gaso could (but not guaranteed) have more energy content than the E10 reformulated gaso many of us are forced to use.

 

This is very true. A few years ago when I was still suffering, I mean living, in Socal, I would consistantly get 22-23 MPG with my Tacoma pickup using reformulated E10. Every year when I drove up to Wyoming for vacation, my truck would jump to 27-28 MPG on the first fillup in Utah and stay there until I got home or if I had to fill up in Nevada on the way home. That's a 20% increase.

 

The only non ethanol gas available locally is 93 octane, which I'm loathe to buy.. Would 89 octane ethanol blend be a decent compromise?


iPhone ?

 

Of course, that would cut ethanol to 5% which is about 1.5% MPG increase in theory.

Aside from ethanol, the energy content of the base gasoline is allowed to vary (it's not a spec), so it is hard to say without some analysis of your fuels. I guess Syracuse might be outside of the Northeast corridor reformulated gasoline region. Therefore it is possible the 93 E0 Octane could have better energy content, but the Regular could have better energy content too.

Some Prius owners like to set personal records for miles per tank. In that case you'd probably want to fill-up with the E0 hoping for the most energy content.

What I was doing is filling a red gaso container with exactly 1.5-gal as measured by the pump. Then I would get the exact net weight grams of the gasoline at home on a 10-lb Oxo kitchen scale. The energy content will relate to the weight/density of the fuel. The other approach is to try the fuel in your car and measure MPG, but it's hard to get good MPG data.

Also if you have BP brand gaso check to see if they market the BP Silver E0 (mid grade E0).

 

Fuel energy content was not the only contributor to this increase. High altitude was also a major factor. The thinner air up there produces significantly lower air drag. It also reduces the engine's pumping loss, a much bigger deal on traditional Otto-cycle gasoline engines than on Prius's Atkinson-cycle engine.

Even before E10, my old traditional ICE cars would get at least 10% better fuel economy in that UT-WY-MT-CO region than down here at sea level. A week spent in the Yellowstone National Park / Beartooth Pass region was even better, something around a 30% improvement. That week the car was on roads mostly in the 6000 to 8500 foot range, with a couple excursions to 11000 feet, and speed limits of 45 mph or less.

 

Oh Syracuse is still on that reformulated region, we get winter blended fuel every winter. I might try a tank of 89 or two. As I've noticed a bit of knocking.


iPhone ?

 

I don't think you have reformulated gaso, but we all get winter blend. E0 tends to not be allowed in RFG regions, so that's another clue (see map)

 

Updating this post: We have now had 5 low 87 octane, low compression ratio(9:1 to 11:1) gasoline engines. Each show mpg collapses by only adding 10% ethanol to E0(E10), of 8%, 8%, 7%-8%, 7%, & 5%, as compared to E0. E10 indicates that energy considerations account for only 2.5% to 3% mpg differences. The rest of the percentage differences are accounted by high 114 octane, high compression ratio(16:1) ethanol engines needed to efficiently extract energy from ethanol. As used(not burned efficiently) in low 87 octane, low compression ratio gasoline engines, ethanol mpg collapses. With these mpg collapses, coupled with the great quantities of oil needed to produce each gallon of ethanol, it is clear that ethanol uses more oil than it ever can save.