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Ethanol free gas stations


godzilla

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I believe the US gov said you can put in 10% Eth and not report it.

 

This is part of my problem, the other part is, who is regulating it? Are they really testing this regularly? Even with 10% ethanol our cars are suffering.

 

Here is a simple test, I might do this at a few regular places I go (UDF off hamilton/161, Giant eagle New Albany) and see what % of alcohol im really getting. Nothing scientific about my findings but I drive the same way I always do and sometimes get 20MPG and sometimes 33. Thats a big difference!

 

 

***********************************************

get a syringe that reads 12cc min.

 

draw in 3cc water

 

draw in 8cc fuel from suspected tank.

 

vigorusly shake fluids (mix) together for several seconds.

 

let stand for 1 min.

 

if alcohol is present in fuel it will mix with water and settle to bottom of syringe.

 

look at dividing line between two fluids and read what scale says on side of syringe.

 

9.0cc = 0% alcohol

8.6cc = 5%

8.1cc = 10%

7.7cc = 15%

7.2cc = 20%

6.8cc = 25

6.3cc = 30

5.9cc = 35

5.4cc = 40

5.0cc = 45

4.5cc = 55%

4.1cc = 60%

3.6cc =65%

3.2cc = 70%

2.7cc = 75%

2.3cc = 80

1.8cc = 85

1.4cc = 90%

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With the push for E15, I wonder if there is any out there we dont know about yet. I agree 13mpg is pretty drastic and I can surely attribute some of it to driving conditions, but the obvious trend is that my mileage is significantly less. Mileage is also pretty low on my list of concerns. Engines dont like it, period. It does not run as well as a 100% gas fuel would.
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I guess that's debatable. Yes, mileage is going to decrease as there is less energy in ethanol compared to gasoline. I get roughly 40mph on gasoline and 25 - 28 on 85% ethanol. However, there is nothing my engine doesn't like about it. It's my mileage that doesn't like it.
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im just thinking of the separation of alcohol and water (combined) clogging fuel filters and causing build up. Id say -most- daily drivers dont suffer from it in the short term, but it doesnt seem to be surviving the test of time. Who knows really. Ethanol is not the answer. Algae oil would probably be our best bio fuel bet, if we could figure out how to reduce the power needed to make it.

But I digress...

 

I just want some plain old gas in columbus!! Ill find some :)

 

edited for clarity

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When you guys are saying station 'x' is ethanol-free, are you saying that because the place has it posted that they are ethanol free, or because there is no sign stating the fuel has 10%?

 

Ohio does not mandate that stations post the ethanol percentage.

 

And, (I am still searching for this), I thought it was law in Ohio to contain 10%.

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Just stay away from BP.. :thumbup:

 

God, I wish I would have taken pictures of the dozens of engine top ends I had apart from customers that always ran BP fuel. Spotless.

 

 

The best urban legend I used to hear was that BP fuel turned the inside of your intake runners green. :eek:

 

That, and "the water dripping out the exhaust tips PROVES BP waters down their gas!!!!!!!" Forget trying to reason with people about condensation and/or chemical properties involved in water mixing with gasoline.

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The Kroger on Sancus and Polaris is now serving up E85, as well as the usual suspects.

 

Also, Ohio gas stations do not have to report whether or not they add ethanol to the fuel, stupid laws. Also, snurkvinny, since you seem to have some knowledge of the BP gas, how does it compare to say speedway, UDF, etc. Does it in fact keep the engines cleaner, and if so are there any tradeoffs?

 

Thought folks might like to know, it's the first station I've seen jump to it near westerville.

 

-Rob

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I believe the US gov said you can put in 10% Eth and not report it.

 

I think it's state by state.

IIRC, ohio can have up to 15% booze and the station DOES NOT have to have stickers informing you. That means just because they dont have a sticker saying E10, then it doesn't mean it isn't

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snurkvinny, since you seem to have some knowledge of the BP gas, how does it compare to say speedway, UDF, etc. Does it in fact keep the engines cleaner, and if so are there any tradeoffs?

 

I was, at one time, extremely current on just about any gas topic out there. I have been out of that business (for the most part) for 10 years now. I keep meaning to sit down and find the studies again that were the most detailed brand-by-brand comparison, but...

 

To summarize, basically all of the "name brand", non discount chains scored much higher than the places that sell "cheap" gas. Your Amoco's(BP), Sunoco, Shell, etc all scored very well. The discount chains scored lower.

 

The best advice I can give is this - start with a clean system and chuck over the extra 2-3 cents to get name brand fuel from then on. There is also a fun little phenomenon that occurs when you use shit gas. Over time, the build-ups actually raise your compression ratio, eventually forcing you to run higher octane fuel to prevent pre-detonation.

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