Ethanol Fuel Treatment ~ No Longer a Believer

[MickD]

I only buy fuel from what I think are high volume stations thinking that they will be less likely to have water in the fuel than a little mom and pop store.  I think if you can avoid the water you'll be avoiding the problems.  

[slonezp]

I have to put fuel with ethanol in my boat. No other option. I have a plastic tank and ethanol rated fuel lines. While I agree 100% that ethanol treated fuel is bad for an outboard, the experiment in the video is biased. No one stores their equipment for 9 months, and if they do, they should rethink their priorities. Secondly, the treated fuel is being stored in my tank during a "winterization" There will be little fuel, or none at all, soaking the injectors/carbs etc. The fuel will be in the tank and possibly the lines before the injectors/carbs. All plastic/or whatever it's made of...and treated for ethanol.

 

If you all can get ethanol free gas, more power to you. I can't.

[gim]

Ethanol free gasoline is available near my residence. It costs more but as long as it’s available, I’m going to use it in my outboard, lawn mower, and snow blower. The truck can have some ethanol as that engine gets used regularly all year long.

[boostr]

Non Ethanol snobs up in here...

[Russ E]

21 minutes ago, boostr said:

Non Ethanol snobs up in here...

I am not trying to start an argument, but the benefits of ethanol are not all they appear.

I grew up in eastern Iowa, Corn and alcohol production dominates the area I lived in.

The Iowa river was 4 miles from my house. It is one of the most polluted rivers in the state from farm runoff.

 

It is still debatable whether the the amount of fossil fuel it takes to produce the corn and alcohol is less than what the alcohol can produce.

I hope we can find a viable alternate fuel. Personally I don't think we are there yet.

 

here is one study from Cornell on the subject.

 

According to Cornell University professor of agriculture David Pimentel, producing ethanol actually creates a net energy loss. According to his calculations, producing corn and processing it into 1 gallon (3.7 liters) of ethanol requires 131,000 BTUs of energy; but 1 gallon of ethanol contains only 77,000 BTUs [source: Health and Energy]. And since farmers are using fossil-fuel-powered equipment to plant, maintain and harvest the corn and are using fossil-fuel-powered machinery to process that corn into ethanol and then, in almost all cases, to ship the product to collection points via fuel-powered transport, the ethanol industry is actually burning large amounts of gasoline to produce this alternative fuel. That ethanol could end up containing less energy than the gasoline consumed to produce it.

 

 

 

[boostr]

32 minutes ago, Russ E said:

I am not trying to start an argument, but the benefits of ethanol are not all they appear.

I grew up in eastern Iowa, Corn and alcohol production dominates the area I lived in.

The Iowa river was 4 miles from my house. It is one of the most polluted rivers in the state from farm runoff.

 

It is still debatable whether the the amount of fossil fuel it takes to produce the corn and alcohol is less than what the alcohol can produce.

I hope we can find a viable alternate fuel. Personally I don't think we are there yet.

 

here is one study from Cornell on the subject.

 

According to Cornell University professor of agriculture David Pimentel, producing ethanol actually creates a net energy loss. According to his calculations, producing corn and processing it into 1 gallon (3.7 liters) of ethanol requires 131,000 BTUs of energy; but 1 gallon of ethanol contains only 77,000 BTUs [source: Health and Energy]. And since farmers are using fossil-fuel-powered equipment to plant, maintain and harvest the corn and are using fossil-fuel-powered machinery to process that corn into ethanol and then, in almost all cases, to ship the product to collection points via fuel-powered transport, the ethanol industry is actually burning large amounts of gasoline to produce this alternative fuel. That ethanol could end up containing less energy than the gasoline consumed to produce it.

 

 

 

That was sarcasm. I know Ethanol isn't great. I'm in the same boat as @slonezp. If I had a local gas station that sold non ethanol gas I would use it, but I don't. 

[TnRiver46]

People in East Tennessee been making their own ethanol from corn for a long time.......... “corn won’t grow at all on rocky top, dirt’s too rocky by far. That’s why all the folks on rocky top get their corn from a jar” 

[VolFan]

Once I knew a girl on Rocky Top...

[Bird]

I did not read through the above posts except the OP.

 

As a small engine repair tech " now retired " never use corn fuel in 2cycl engines that sit for lengthy periods. 

 

Ethanol invites moisture and will destroy carburetors with pitting while engine's sit for duration.