ETHANOL

I quit using ethanol gas about three months ago. Since then I have noticed my truck has more power and it has increased my gas mileage close to 10%. Pulling the boat my gas mileage is about 15% better. It cost a little more but I more than make up for it in increased gas mileage. One of the stations without ethanol is within a quarter mile of where I launch in Olympia so I always make sure the boat is full of real gas before I launch. There are two other stations within 20 miles of me that primarily service farmers and logger so they have non-ethanol gas. I have a lot of power equipment with small gas engines and until I located the stations without ethanol in their gas it was a constant fight to keep them properly tuned and running.

This next election I hope we elect some sensible representatives in congress and a president that will eliminate this E-10 and E-15 requirement.

Dave dlt.gif
www.tolandmarine.com
 
I don't think it is a question of sensible, I think it is a question of getting the big ag lobby money out of the process. Not sure that will ever happen, unfortunately.

Warren
 
Charlie,

After having bragged in the past on site about still having the choice of unleaded or ethanol here in Kansas, I came to a rude awakening at breakfast the other day.

One of the fuel truck drivers mentioned that, when he pulls into the stations that have two pumps, some for same price, some less for the ethanol "labeled" pumps, that he puts the SAME FUEL IN BOTH THE UNLEADED REGULAR AND ETHANOL storage tanks.

Only at the CO-OPs in Kansas can you be certain of getting non-alcohol gas.

I could not believe they can put Ethanol in an Unleaded Regular supply tank and pump! But that's what they are doing here now.

John
 
drjohn71a":2sg6qsao said:
One of the fuel truck drivers mentioned that, when he pulls into the stations that have two pumps, some for same price, some less for the ethanol "labeled" pumps, that he puts the SAME FUEL IN BOTH THE UNLEADED REGULAR AND ETHANOL storage tanks.

I could not believe they can put Ethanol in an Unleaded Regular supply tank and pump! But that's what they are doing here now.
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Wow, talk about dishonest. I wonder if that's even "legal". :evil:

FWIW: http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=WA You can look up your state. Of course, I can't vouch for it's accuracy. But finding non-E gas here is like like looking for one specific grain of sand in a beach. There's a farm co-op about 7 miles away. I'm told they have it along w/ farm diesel and bio-diesel. We'll see.
 
I agree with Dave that small engines used seasonally make it hard to live with the ethanol. I have 9 carburated small engines to maintain and it can be a battle to keep the fuel flowing and engines starting well. Last year I started using a generous dose of marine stabil in all of my gas cans and can safely say it has helped and things are running without help so far this spring. I just don't want to bother with tracing down special fuel and with the boat in the water all the time, it doesn't always make sense to fuel up out of the way. Our home dock serves E10 and I just keep it filled up and dosed with stabil. We don't let the boat sit for more than about 3weeks without use at any time during the year so that helps too. The twins always start reliably with some choking just like good carburated engines should.
 
Do the same here. Lawnmower, power washer, gen set, VW's etc all get generous doses prior to winter storage. I run them for about 10 minutes w/ the dosed fuel, turn off the fuel supply and run until the carbs empty. So far, so good. We'll see about the boat. It has started w/ no issues in the driveway this winter, but the hull has not seen water (outside of the eternal rains :roll: ) since late Nov.
 
Of late I found non ethanol gas in Florida at all the marinas I saw. and our Yamaha likes it a lot better then the ethanol laced crap I usually am forced to buy. Last weekend while going to Allentown I ran across a gas station selling non ethanol gas who was doing a brisk business I might add. I filled my trusty Honda Civic up and found much better thottle response and went longer before needing a fillup than usual. I'm going to try and be more vocal in my disent about ethanol. I would guess the more we alll speak up the more likely something will get done. How about a bumper sticker. Still working on the T shirts
I Hate Ethanol and I Vote.

D.D.
 
we just run our small engines dry unless we plan on using them in less than two or three weeks. Weed whackers, chain saws, blowers,snow blowers,rototillers, lawn mowers, tractors, generators. We also treat both the two stroke mixes and regular gas extra gas we have on hand with marine stabil. Anything else begs for trouble IMHO

D.D.
 
oldgrowth":2d5l6gc4 said:
This next election I hope we elect some sensible representatives in congress and a president that will eliminate this E-10 and E-15 requirement.
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Doryman":2d5l6gc4 said:
I don't think it is a question of sensible, I think it is a question of getting the big ag lobby money out of the process. Not sure that will ever happen, unfortunately.
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You elect A to represent you in congress. B gives A money asking that we use ethanol our gas. You say it is not A’s fault we have E-10 gas; it is B’s fault so you re-elect A as your representative. This is the problem in our country. We too often blame big business for our problems. Big business does not elect your representatives, it is the people and if they, the people are not informed and keep electing the same old crooks, we will never solve our countries problems.

Dave dlt.gif
www.tolandmarine.com
 
I like Dave's explanation but I will put it a different way.
if you ask your wife to love, cherish, obey and be true, why would you get made at the guy sleeping with her?? all he did was ask, she is the one that betrayed.

we need leaders that can say no and keep their legs crossed.
 
oldgrowth":3fkaxmtd said:
You elect A to represent you in congress. B gives A money asking that we use ethanol our gas. You say it is not A’s fault we have E-10 gas; it is B’s fault so you re-elect A as your representative. This is the problem in our country. We too often blame big business for our problems. Big business does not elect your representatives, it is the people and if they, the people are not informed and keep electing the same old crooks, we will never solve our countries problems.
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Dave and Tom: I agree. But if we elect C instead of A and C takes B's money just like A did in order to keep getting re-elected, then we have not solved the problem. Can we elect a D that will not take B's money? Highly desirable but also highly unlikely that we will find anyone who will be able to get elected without a large campaign budget that is financed by corporate money. I would love to be proved wrong; If and when you find such a Diogenes, let me know.

Warren
 
Will-C":37540jid said:
I just got back from a trip down to the Florida keys and almost every marina that I looked at had signs proclaiming no ethanol in their gas.
I think that boaters need to be more vocal to the on water sources for gas about wanting/demanding non ethanol fuel something positive might happen. I'm going to start asking why if they can do it Florida why can't it happen here? Maybe states have different laws. My problem I live in Pa. and boat in other states as Pa. is a little short on saltwater coastline. In May we are cruising around in the Chesapeake Bay for a week or so it will be interesting to see how they deal with the ethanol situation. If one marina switches I would think they would do more business as someone would have to be living under a rock not to know of the evils of ethanol laced gasoline. I think in tough times and the budget being what it is putting pressure on law makers to kill the funding subsidies might be easier now that money is getting tight. I know it kind of like a Don Quixote deal, I'm going to look into getting some t shirts made up. Maybe something like Ethanol is a bad idea for your gasoline then on the other side says SPEAK UP Ban Ethanol in gasoline.
D.D.
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I thought you might be pleased to know that we at least agree on this topic. As I've stated before, ethanol in gas is driven primarily by the AG/farm lobby and not by good science. The "gain" in energy of turning corn in ethanol is pretty minimal and it drives up food costs for everyone. This is particularly a problem for the very poor. Also, as some have noted, their engines perform less well on ethanol supplemented gas. Ethanol has a lower energy density than gasoline so it's no surprise that one's engine will perform better on 100% gasoline than it does on ethanol supplemented gasoline (that's also why you'll get slightly better MPG on the non-ethanol gasoline). If you're going to make up T-shirts or bumper stickers, I'd go with "Keep ethanol out of my fuel tank and in my glass where it belongs".
 
Wish they made a very simple chemical test, like "litmus paper" where you could test a small sample for the presence of ethanol. I suspect we'd find out that many of those "no ethanol" signs were incorrect.

Charlie
 
"Government knows best"
If given a choice at the pump no ethanol blend or 100%, which would you purchase?
How many of you folks have had to replace, fix or add to land fill small engines like lawn mowers, chain saws, pressure washers, tillers, weed eaters or any thing else that might sit around awhile unused? Not to mention mold and mildew growing on the outside of your 5 gallon containers and around your filler cap on your boat.
This has been created as a partial solution to our energy crisis and a greener environment. BS. How many gallons of the stuff have you dumped out along your driveway, burnt or disposed of somehow and consider the affect to land fills. At $4 a gallon for 10-15% water not a bad deal. At $8.00 a pop fuel stabilizer is a good idea too. Lets see I think 16 oz. of one is good for 16 gallons.
I haven't talked to 1 person that thinks this stuff is a good idea with some knowledge of the manufacturing process and associated cost. OK I admit to not talking to farmers*(only deserving group), special interest groups, or well placed lobbyists, 1 particulary comes to mind affiliated with ADM. I won't mention names.
OK folks sorry for my rant but the fox once again guarding the hen house. My 2 cents worth.
 
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