I hate ethanol fuel!

[LessThenStellar]

Every vehicle made since the early 90's has been designed to run on fuels with ratios of ethanol much much higher than 10%. INCLUDING THE GMT400!!!

When the ethanol blends where first proposed decades ago, different ratios from 10-50% were proposed. The auto manufacturer hedged their bets and made sure all vehicles would be ethanol safe.

I know a guy who runs a 1940 Indian motorcycle off of E85, it's silly to think it would grossly affect a modern vehicle.

 

[thunderstruck]

You guys are missing one big issue here: moisture absorption. Alcohol attracts moisture far more readily than pure gasoline, leading to corrosion and ultimately phase separation. Even under the most ideal conditions, this means reduced shelf life at the very least. This is a problem you'll deal with regardless if you're using it in a old 2-stroke chainsaw or a brand new automobile.

I think ethanol is a good alternative for racing fuel but we should have a choice if we want it at the pump.

This. The lack of choice is probably the biggest issue I have with ethanol.

We are still capitalists right?

 

[aarolar]

So I guess y'all think ethanol is a wonderful idea in boats as well huh?

 

[LessThenStellar]

American ethanol is a joke, if it was subsidized by the federal govt it would fail horribly.

That being said, it runs fine in my vehicles! I wish I could get straight gas for my boat and 2 stroke landscaping equipment.

 

[Ruger_556]

Run's fine in my truck and 80's era Stihl 032... I'm not one that stores gas in anything though. Regular gasoline goes to hell just fine on it's own without any help from ethanol.

 

[GMRedline]

You guys are missing one big issue here: moisture absorption. Alcohol attracts moisture far more readily than pure gasoline, leading to corrosion and ultimately phase separation. Even under the most ideal conditions, this means reduced shelf life at the very least. This is a problem you'll deal with regardless if you're using it in a old 2-stroke chainsaw or a brand new automobile.

Yes but think of it this way. In a gas tank, Ethanol is not going to suck moisture from outside the tank into the fuel. Ethanol does attract moisture where it does not exist. Let's say you buy 100% gasoline from a small time gas station and you get some gas and water in your gas tank. The water and 100% gas are going to separate from each other. Gas on top, water on the bottom. Depending on the design of the gas tank it's possible the pick up tube will only get water and that meas big trouble for your engine.

If you have some ethanol in the fuel it will absorb the water and help it (more safely) pass through your fuel system. Water in any fuel system is a bad thing but ethanol doesn't create water out of thin air.

So I guess y'all think ethanol is a wonderful idea in boats as well huh?

Not in my boat. But I don't see the problem being the ethanol. The problem is my boat's fuel system is extremely primitive.
1. There is an actual quark float in the tank to measure the fuel level. Ethanol eats away at the quark and it show up in my fuel filter.
2. There are some rubber hoses in my fuel system.
3. My boat (like most others) is carberated. It is not smart enough to know the difference in fuel blends.

But I would love to make it E85 compatible. It would run cooler and I would be able to tune it for more HP.

 

[SkyHighColorado]

I like corn oil. I am switching to e85 this summer.

 

[thunderstruck]

Yes but think of it this way. In a gas tank, Ethanol is not going to suck moisture from outside the tank into the fuel. Ethanol does attract moisture where it does not exist. Let's say you buy 100% gasoline from a small time gas station and you get some gas and water in your gas tank. The water and 100% gas are going to separate from each other. Gas on top, water on the bottom. Depending on the design of the gas tank it's possible the pick up tube will only get water and that meas big trouble for your engine.

If you have some ethanol in the fuel it will absorb the water and help it (more safely) pass through your fuel system. Water in any fuel system is a bad thing but ethanol doesn't create water out of thin air.

I don't recall saying anything like that, I'm aware of the laws of physics.

You make a point, in a semi-modern vehicle with a properly functioning EVAP system, moisture is probably a non-issue. But there are many people, like me, who use lots of equipment that are just not setup for E10 and vent directly to the atmosphere. That equipment can be portable containers, older vehicles, and small engines. In my case, my worst problem is with my Yamaha ATV. It is carbureted, has a fixed timing curve, and the tank is vented to the atmosphere. I've already installed bigger jets in the carb (mainly due to other mods though), but that does nothing for moisture finding it's way through the tank vent. It's not that uncommon for a tank of fuel in my ATV to last around a month when the weather is bad. Doesn't help that the humidity is usually high around here.

My Avalanche gets along with E85 fine and my GMT400 has no issue with E10, but I'm f'king disgusted that I'm basically being forced to use it in my small engines.

 

[aarolar]

My Avalanche gets along with E85 fine and my GMT400 has no issue with E10, but I'm f'king disgusted that I'm basically being forced to use it in my small engines.

This is my problem as well, I have resorted to getting my friend who is a pilot to get me 100LL AV fuel to run in my saws but at 6$ a gallon its a little bit expensive to run in the boat.

And my boat is a '06 fuel injected four stroke it has no problems running E-10 at all as line as its fresh the problem is it phase separating and collecting water from its environment. No matter how you slice it ethanol is a $hitty choice for a marine environment.

 

[1998K1500]

We really shouldn't be forced to choose what gasoline we want to use - whether it's for our smaller engines or our vehicles. All of our freedom of choice has gone out the window and the oil industry's freedom to produce what they want (what sells best) has also gone out the window and we are now all forced to comply with something that isn't even beneficial in any way. It gives on average worse fuel economy and unless it's the highest quality ethanol out there, it pollutes just as much as regular gasoline.

Also, regardless of whether it actually has a negative effect on our vehicles, it cannot be argued that it is beneficial to our vehicles.