Question: Ethanol gas and mileage.......

[NashTIDE]

It seems that since ethanol has been added to gas, my mileage per gallon has gone down. Any of you noticed the same??

 

[bamanut_aj]

yes.

My truck is E85 capable, but the driver's manual says explicity: decrease in gas mileage, harder on your engine, harder especially in the winter, hard on starting, and you shouldn't between 'regular' gas and E85 or you'll tear your engine up even faster.

 

[Bama Reb]

There aren't any stations nearby that don't use ethanol, so I have no way of comparing mileage (with vs without). I know of one station that doesn't sell ethanol-enhanced gasoline, but it's over an hour's drive away.

 

[Bamaro]

Ethanol has less energy by volume so you will loose some MPG.

 

[jthomas666]

per the internet, 10% ethanol costs you 2-3 mpg, while 15% costs you 7-8 mpg.

Yet one more reason that the order of presidential primaries/caucuses should be randomized every cycle; Iowa's made them selves quite the gravy train...or should that be "high fructose corn syrup train"?

 

[JTH]

It has decreased my MPG by about 9-10%

 

[bamacon]

It also attracts water. It really does a number on boat motors and equipment that uses two cycle. Just another regulation that needs to go pronto.

 

[It's On A Slab]

It also attracts water. It really does a number on boat motors and equipment that uses two cycle. Just another regulation that needs to go pronto.

That's what my Snapper dealer told me. Never use gas that has ethanol in it. Thing is, the ethanol blend is usually 10-15 cents cheaper due to the ethanol subsidy.

I keep waiting on the mower to die, and it's been going strong for 10+ years now with the ethanol 15% blend.

 

[Bamaro]

Its also harsh on older cars because of its corrosiveness on certain plastic/rubber parts.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Gasoline with Ethanol is horrible. For your lawn equipment you can buy fuel "Stabilizer" at Home Depot or Lowes.

 

[bamacon]

That's what my Snapper dealer told me. Never use gas that has ethanol in it. Thing is, the ethanol blend is usually 10-15 cents cheaper due to the ethanol subsidy.

I keep waiting on the mower to die, and it's been going strong for 10+ years now with the ethanol 15% blend.

I use mine commercially and it has killed them in about 3 years where it used to take 5. It shreds the engines.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

It "gums up" in the carburetor and that is normally where lawn equipment gets put to death. I've had it happen to my last two push mowers and I finally had a guy tell to buy "Stabilizer" and I haven't had a problem since.

 

[bamacon]

It "gums up" in the carburetor

Too say the least. I have never seen them get that bad. It just finished off one of my backpack blowers yesterday.

 

[rizolltizide]

It also attracts water. It really does a number on boat motors and equipment that uses two cycle. Just another regulation that needs to go pronto.

Not just two strokes. It's awful to let gas with that crap sit in fuel tanks period. I go out of my way to go to marinas that have ethanol free fuel. If that fuel sits, it condensates, and then you start to get all kinds of problems. No thanks. Last thing I need is water in 200+ gallons of fuel and problems 30 miles out.

 

[bamaman08]

I also use non-ethanol gas for all of my small engines. Here's a website to find a station with non-ethanol gas near you.

http://pure-gas.org/

 

[Clubfitter]

Also my Dodge Cummins Diesel truck, since the advent of low sulfur diesel fuel, has gone from 21 mpg on the highway (no load) to 18 mpg on the highway (no load).

 

[bamanut_aj]

Also my Dodge Cummins Diesel truck, since the advent of low sulfur diesel fuel, has gone from 21 mpg on the highway (no load) to 18 mpg on the highway (no load).

This reminds me of an 'over achiever' I used to work with back in that day. He was the first out of the truck to get a tool and start working, even if he wasn't sure what we were doing....you know, that guy.

We pulled into the gas station, as was our morning routine, 3 of us in an F450 gas burner. He hops out and immediately starts putting fuel in the tank. A minute or two passes, and he says "you know, this ol' truck sure doesn't sound like a diesel' to which the driver responded, wide-eyed "IT AIN'T!!"

Man, his heart just fell right to the ground. He'd only put a few gallons in and we didn't tell him that he didn't put enough in to do any damage. In fact he didn't know at all that the little he put in wouldn't really hurt. But after an hour or so of talking about it and talking about it and apologizing and fretting over getting fired and talking about it and basically driving us insane, the driver finally told him that it wasn't going to hurt.

But it fixed him of his 'over achiever' habit.....