Gas Question - Ethanol

Fort Henry Custom Knives

Fort Henry Custom Knives

Joined
Nov 17, 1999
Messages
3,061
Hey Gang, There is a Gas station here in town that sells Gas and lists it on the sign as having "No Ethanol Added". They charge on average about $.09 cents more per gallon than all the other places.

I have a '08 Nissan Titan and I have run Flex Fuel before but was appalled at the Gas mileage I got on it.

My questions are; Based on your experience is the increased price per gallon worth it (in Gas mileage or is it better on the vehicle) to use non Ethanol Gas?

Also, is there really any way to know that the Station is telling the truth about the Gas?

Thanks
 
Save the ethanol for drinking, it doesn't burn like gas or diesel in an engine. Want the best mileage get a diesel.
 
ethanol based gas RUINED 2 of my chainsaws. You have to really increase the carb settings (more fuel) to avoid piston burnout. There is a good discussion on this in the chainsaw section of Arborist Site
 
I believe flex fuel is 85% ethanol, so yes you'd get sucky mileage. But gas with 10-15% ethanol should not matter. If you're choice is only flex or straight I'd pay more, otherwise I'd buy just regular (some small percentage ethanol added) gas.
 
You lose power and mileage with ethanol, and I believe it is not good for your engine. 100% gasoline for me.
 
Thanks guys. Guess I will burn this tank and watch the mileage closely and then switch to the No Ethanol added versio to see if I can tell a difference.

bushman - good point. I need to burn out what I have in my Saw and then upgrade.
 
If the station advertises non -eth gas, you can be sure they have it.
If they get tested by the state and the non-eth isn't in the tank, they can get a huge fine. The same goes for those of us that haul and deliver fuel. The only product we can put in a tank is what is marked on it...

If we delivered Unleaded E10 and knowingly put it into a tank marked clear non oxy super, we would be in just as much trouble. So we are very careful about it
 
Hillbillenigma said:
Hey Gang, There is a Gas station here in town that sells Gas and lists it on the sign as having "No Ethanol Added".
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Can you pick up 500 gallons and mail it to me? My milage went down about 30% when they imposed ethanol here in Oregon. So, the stuff I'm burning is 15% less gasoline, but I'm using 30% more of it. As a result, I'm actually burning more gasoline which doesn't exactly help reduce our dependance on foreign oil. Furthermore, I just renewed my plates which means getting a smog check. I compared it with the results from last time (pre Ethanol) and my carbon emissions -- while still well below the limit -- are higher. So, a lot of good this E85 is doing, eh?
 
338375 - thanks for posting that, helps to clear up some concerns!

Gollnick - very good personal experience info, just what I was looking for. I appreciate your view as I feel the same.
 
Yep while I'd get lynched here in Iowa if I ever said anything bad about ethanol.... well..... the whole argument that it is a great alternative to gasoline isn't all that great.

for instance per the EPA-

Average Energy Content (btu per gallon)
Gasoline (Summer) - 114,500

Ethanol- 76,100


That's why your mileage isn't as good.

Any questions??? If Iowa didn't do a reverse tax to make mid grade with ethanol 10cents a gallon cheaper I'd never buy it.
 
bio diesel or vegi oil, more power, better fuel economy, and your car smells like a restaurant.
 
Chuck, the stuff we are getting in our states is E10, 10% Ethanol.

I have yet to see an E85 pump here in Washington.

Costco here was one of the last holdouts, and they just switched to E10 from 100% gasoline.
 
fudo said:
You lose power and mileage with ethanol, and I believe it is not good for your engine. 100% gasoline for me.
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not completely true, ethanol is the highest octane fuel on the market readily availible and works well under boost (turbo and blowers)...you burn more but extract more HP so yes your mileage will go down but you will significantly gain power if your vehicle is tuned for ethanol, I'm working on a 1500hp blown 440ci for my hotrod utilising E85 and i'm hoping an E100 will be released for commercial pump sale.

I am also working on a "produce as you go" hydrogen fuel cell project with some people i know to run pure hydrogen which will cost me nothing but water and catylst to run, once we get it running right we intend to make the blueprints public domain and free for distribution (and any vehicle can be converted to it). :)
 
oh and for years it was common practice to get up to 10% ethanol in your fuel (at least here they did, it was considered acceptable), when fuel sits its octane lowers slightly and to increase it ethanol was frequently used...the disclaimer could be found on the side of most pumps, so realistically they went from saying you had 100% gas to now providing 10% ethanol.
 
Mike G said:
Chuck, the stuff we are getting in our states is E10, 10% Ethanol.

I have yet to see an E85 pump here in Washington.

Costco here was one of the last holdouts, and they just switched to E10 from 100% gasoline.
Click to expand...

Yep. E10... We have a large gas station here in Bend that is one of our accounts. They just finished installing a tank for E85. A couple of the big major brand tank farms in Portland are now getting setup for E85 as well. So its not to far off.

Recently Oregon went to all B2 diesel. Diesel with a 2 % mix of biodiesel. I hate the crap. When ever I haul it, it smells like french fries, and the damn flies and buzzards swarm the truck

Here in Oregon, we do still have clear super (non-eth) available. However its not supposed to be put in to modern cars.
They advertise it as being for boats, off road toys, chainsaws etc
 
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We drive a diesel turbo (jetta), and see a predictable mileage decrease in winter as the blend switches over. Still get nearly 40 mpg though.

I'd love to try some B20 diesel, not easy to find bio diesel around here.
 
Bushman5 said:
ethanol based gas RUINED 2 of my chainsaws. You have to really increase the carb settings (more fuel) to avoid piston burnout. There is a good discussion on this in the chainsaw section of Arborist Site
Click to expand...

Get a Link? I own and run 5 saws. :)
 
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