re: Ethanol in gasoline. When does it end?

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If Trump wants a big win, he’d cut ethanol in gas with an EO.

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Ain’t ever gonna happen.

It should, but it won’t.

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simply, the ethanol mixed gas absorbs water from air. overtime this water separates from the fuel, resulting in damage to the plastics and rubber parts, reduced fuel efficiency, and leaves residue which clogs fuel systems.

does that answer suffice Dad? Make sure to take the time to explain to why I’m wrong since you seem to want to argue

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In the 1970s, GM engineers developed an engine that runs on water.

Your theory is hereby thoroughly deeee-bunked.

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simply, the ethanol mixed gas absorbs water from air. overtime this water separates from the fuel, resulting in damage to the plastics and rubber parts, reduced fuel efficiency, and leaves residue which clogs fuel systems.

does that answer suffice Dad? Make sure to take the time to explain to why I’m wrong since you seem to want to argue

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That is a reasonable and pretty good answer, I really was just wondering.

Now, at the risk of sounding like I want to argue (I know ), the absorption of water is not as significant in a 10% ethanol mixture, or if you use the gasoline fairly quickly. Ethanol does have an affinity for alcohol, but it does not release it readily either. E85 may be worse but I know few people who have E85 vehicles. In a boat where you may have your fuel sitting for a while, some separation may happen.

In older engines, the rubbers and soft parts were not designed for alcohol, but now it's not a significant problem. That was what the gunk and sludge issues were about. Modern engines, including modern outboards and such, now use rubbers designed for gasoline and alcohol. Two-stroke outboards did lag on that a bit, though. But I still use non-alcohol gasoline in any outboards I have, I won't take a chance.

Pure alcohol burns significantly hotter, but when it is 10% alcohol/90% gasoline, it burns slightly cooler than gasoline. Alcohol has a lower BTU content than alcohol, so by definition, any ethanol mixture will deliver lower energy per gallon. Alcohol does burn cleaner, but it takes more of it to power you along, so I would guess it's a wash.

FTR, I would prefer if we went back to pure gasoline.

If Iowa wasn't one of the first primaries/caucuses the corn welfare would have ended long ago.

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Klark is 100% correct, I remember walking into the massive boat repair shop in Destin area in the warehouse with the whales painted on it by the bridge. The mechanic I was talking too told me you know what 90% of these boats are in here for? I said no clue.

He said Ethanol related problems, its an outboard motor killer

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Ethanol is a much bigger problem for boats than cars, for several reasons:
- Less usage means fuel doesn’t get turned over as quickly.
- Marine fuel systems are much more susceptible to water ingress than cars, mostly because of how they’re vented (but also because of the simple fact that they’re on the water).
- Carburetors in boat engines are more susceptible to both gumming and corrosion than fuel injection systems.

These are real problems for boats but the reality is that automobiles built within the last ~20 years handle ethanol just fine. There are even some upsides to ethanol in fuel.

However, I don’t think the benefits outweigh the reduced fuel efficiency, the added cost per BTU, or the rather annoying need to be picky about gas for small engines.

well you picked the wrong baw to question on the topic. sounds like you know more on the subject than I do, won’t question that.

But I do own 2 Stihl blowers, 1 husqvarna weed eater, troybilt a push mower, and 2 generators. And i do the fuel mixing for the blowers and weed eater.

And the nearest gas station where I can obtain ethanol free gasoline is ~14 miles from my house in North Houston. (which makes absolutely no sense considering I live in Texas)

It is a painful process to keep my engines running clean, but worth it IMO.

I appreciate when folks have an idea of what they are talking about.

e-free is the way to be

seriously it makes a big difference - highly recommend - there's a website with maps of e-free g-stats

Something is wrong about turning food into fuel.