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Wonderful. /s My car's owner's manual specifically says not to use fuel with greater than 10% ethanol. I don't want to play Russian Roulette with my fuel syste

Wonderful. /s My car's owner's manual specifically says not to use fuel with greater than 10% ethanol. I don't want to play Russian Roulette with my fuel system.

SkyPuncher 8y ago
I'm not an expert, but my understanding is most modern (non-carburetor) cars can run 100% ethanol without issue. The problems arise, not from the combustion process, but from the increased acidity causing increased wear on non-metal components like seals and gaskets. Most consumer gasoline already has ethanol mixed in, I doubt a modest increase will be an issue. ----- Also, most consumer stations have 10% (unleaded), 85% (e85), or 100% (racing). I'm not aware of any stations that consistently offer anything between 10% and 85%. I suspect your car's warning it warning against e85 and racing fuel.
- esaym 8y ago
  Beyond 10% you run in the acid issues as well as needing a higher fuel to air mixture.
  - maxerickson 8y ago
    Ethanol is corrosive to lots of materials but it isn't acidic.
- bluGill 8y ago
  Most computers don't know how to adjust the air-fuel ratio for higher levels of ethanol. It isn't impossible to do that but it is additional effort to put in those mappings. There are a lot of stations in Iowa that offer E15. Few other states even have one. Even in Iowa a lot of stations have said they won't sell it because of the legal issues.
  - lutorm 8y ago
    There are also cold-starting issues when running very high ethanol fractions.
- ams6110 8y ago
  > most modern (non-carburetor) cars can run 100% ethanol without issue Unless you buy a car specifically built for E85 or higher fuel this is not true. It may vary regionally, but E85 is not widely available where I live (middle of corn country, midwest USA) compared to regular gasoline or diesel.
esaym 8y ago
You can actually separate the ethanol and be left with the gasoline (google it). But the irony is that the gasoline that is mixed with ethanol is absolutely the lowest quality. The octane will be much lower than 87 and the gasoline base also appears to corrode metals as well as eat rubber. People complain that the alcohol is what destroys, but in this case, it is the pure alcohol that is actually making the low quality gasoline stable enough to be put into a normal car.
- acct1771 8y ago
  Yes, but then why am I buying gas with ethanol in it in the first place?
teilo 8y ago
Read the article. This is not requiring all gasoline to have 15% ethanol. E15 is a kind of gas that is commonly offered. Most of the stations here in MN offer it. This bill only allows it to be sold year round. E10 will still be the most common type of gas sold.

Wonderful. /s My car's owner's manual specifically says not to use fuel with greater than 10% ethanol. I don't want to play Russian Roulette with my fuel system.

SkyPuncher 8y ago

I'm not an expert, but my understanding is most modern (non-carburetor) cars can run 100% ethanol without issue. The problems arise, not from the combustion process, but from the increased acidity causing increased wear on non-metal components like seals and gaskets. Most consumer gasoline already has ethanol mixed in, I doubt a modest increase will be an issue. ----- Also, most consumer stations have 10% (unleaded), 85% (e85), or 100% (racing). I'm not aware of any stations that consistently offer anything between 10% and 85%. I suspect your car's warning it warning against e85 and racing fuel.

esaym 8y ago
Beyond 10% you run in the acid issues as well as needing a higher fuel to air mixture.
- maxerickson 8y ago
  Ethanol is corrosive to lots of materials but it isn't acidic.
bluGill 8y ago
Most computers don't know how to adjust the air-fuel ratio for higher levels of ethanol. It isn't impossible to do that but it is additional effort to put in those mappings. There are a lot of stations in Iowa that offer E15. Few other states even have one. Even in Iowa a lot of stations have said they won't sell it because of the legal issues.
- lutorm 8y ago
  There are also cold-starting issues when running very high ethanol fractions.
ams6110 8y ago
> most modern (non-carburetor) cars can run 100% ethanol without issue Unless you buy a car specifically built for E85 or higher fuel this is not true. It may vary regionally, but E85 is not widely available where I live (middle of corn country, midwest USA) compared to regular gasoline or diesel.

esaym 8y ago

You can actually separate the ethanol and be left with the gasoline (google it). But the irony is that the gasoline that is mixed with ethanol is absolutely the lowest quality. The octane will be much lower than 87 and the gasoline base also appears to corrode metals as well as eat rubber. People complain that the alcohol is what destroys, but in this case, it is the pure alcohol that is actually making the low quality gasoline stable enough to be put into a normal car.

acct1771 8y ago
Yes, but then why am I buying gas with ethanol in it in the first place?

teilo 8y ago

Read the article. This is not requiring all gasoline to have 15% ethanol. E15 is a kind of gas that is commonly offered. Most of the stations here in MN offer it. This bill only allows it to be sold year round. E10 will still be the most common type of gas sold.