August 01, 2008
According to some small engine mechanics, ethanol has a destructive effect on the engines of lawn maintenance tools. Most gasoline blends sold in the U.S. contain ethanol, so it's hard to avoid using it in a lawn mower or weed trimmer. I tried to find out via Google if premium gasolines are 100% gasoline, but none of the oil companies will state outright what is in their gasoline. Shell V-Power is rumored to contain 100% gasoline, but I couldn't find any information on their website to prove that to be true.
Some car-aficionado websites mention that ethanol is bad for car engines as well, but I don't really buy that. I am sure, however, that ethanol lowers gas mileage because it has a lower Btu content than gasoline. Thus, your car would probably get more miles on a tank of 100% gasoline than a 90% gas/10% ethanol blend.
I'm generally not a fan of ethanol since it takes so much energy to produce. Thus, what is the purpose? We're paying more for ethanol but have to use it because it is government mandated. If we want to reduce our dependency on oil, how about some conservation measures.
If you know any gas company that sells 100% gasoline, post it here. I'll probably fill up my gas canister next time with premium. It takes so long for me to go through two gallons (a year probably) that I don't mind the small extra expense.
Posted by megabeth at August 1, 2008 02:33 PM
Agreed! I was just thinking this. I buy premium and it irritates me if it is not gasoline. I agree ethanol is a waste of resources! I vote we use our farmland to grow FOOD and reduce our dependence on foreign produce. Then we use our brains to control ourselves a little bit and conserve at least 10% on petroleum consumption!
Posted by: A at August 1, 2008 05:29 PM
If you lose 10% of the MPG for a blend of ethanol, wouldn't it take more to go the same distance? Meaning you are polluting more for that same distance? And doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of using ethanol to lower pollution?
Posted by: Outlaw3 at August 4, 2008 08:24 AM
I don't know if ethanol has a lower amount of emissions than petroleum based gasoline. I think the premise is that we reduce our dependency on foreign fossil fuels by producing ethanol. I'm also not sure how much less mileage you get on ethanol, if it's 10% less than petro based gas, then a 90 gas/10 ethanol mix would be 1% less efficient than 100% gas at the same octane level.
Posted by: megabeth at August 4, 2008 08:27 AM
I thought for sure ethanol was lower emissions? It does lower range of the vehicle and mileage per gallon. Ethanol also may (jury is still out) may require more energy to produce than you get by using in place of oil products. Per gallon has about 80% energy of gasoline. Just some wondering about it: http://www.nesea.org/greencarclub/03_afvs_fuels.pdf
Posted by: Outlaw3 at August 4, 2008 10:29 AM
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