Posted on 09/28/2009 7:41:23 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Excess ethanol blamed in breakdown of police cars
Baltimore expects to be able to recover expenses
By Justin Fenton | The Baltimore Sun
September 23, 2009
City officials say an unusually high concentration of ethanol in the city's gasoline supply contributed to the breakdown of more than 70 police cars over the weekend, most of which had been repaired and returned to service Tuesday.
More than 200 police cars fueled up at a 24-hour, city-run gas pump by the Fallsway before cars started showing problems, and nearly one-third of the Police Department's patrol contingent was sidelined with engine trouble.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
Alcohol poisoning.
Ping!
So it’s not a myth that cop cars drink too much?
Drinking and driving ?
Alcohol abuse.
Yep, insane Maryland
Some people will continue to claim that there’s no problem with ethanol after stories like this and thousands of boat owners having their equipment destroyed.
Tens of thousands of engines or fuel systems destroyed annually by crappy ethanol gas.
I’ve contributed three..
I wonder how many catalytic converters Baltimore had to replace? Those things aren’t cheap.
could it be that Baltimore has some unionized city workers who are stupid enough to put E85 into squad cars?
The irony.
Actually, even the 10% legally required ethanol mix is bad for your car. It leads to water in the gas tank, rust, spastic combustion when the engine is cold, and poorer mileage.
I have to use the damned stuff in my chainsaw and weedwhacker, and if you keep it in the gas can for more than a couple of weeeks it will start to go bad and put them out of commission, so you need to take them apart and clean out the carbs.
Plus it uses up animal feed and makes meat more expensive, starves poor people in the third world, impoverishes the soil with too much corn crops, and increases stuff like algae growing in lakes and ponds, not to mention the huge dead spot off the Mississipi delta.
All of this in the name of “Green.” Al Gore approves.
But the real purpose is to buy farm votes and factory farm political contributions. Hopefully those who want to save the environment are starting to see through this scam.
At my Fire Department had problems with our gas powered
Jaws-of-Life power unit. Had manufacturer service it - turn
out that the alcohol in gasolene was atracting water
and corroding the carbuerator. Had to get it replaced
Bought special blend called “tool fuel” to run our Jaws
Anyone know where to find a list of gasoline brands and the ethanol content (in CA)?
To boost the ethanol boondoggle further, some farm groups are advocating a mandatory blending up to 15% ethanol in gasoline. Ironically, there are no tractors, combines or other farm machinery that will run on high ethanol blends. Farmers must have learned from Congress to make mandates that don’t apply to them.
Too bad for the tax payers in Maryland then. I'm sure those responsible won't suffer and consequences.
I'm not a proponent. No clue how something that has less BTUs per gallon than gasoline, could be touted as "better".
So they "repaired" 70 cars in one day?
Either the "damage" was minor or that's one hell of a car shop.
Little trick..
Get a test tube or some small glass vessel. Put two lines on it about an inch apart. Fill to line one with gasoline. Fill to line 2 with water. Put a lid on an shake.
If the gas has alcohol in it, the amount of water will “increase” and the amount of gas will “decrease.” You can use a test tube with a gauge on the side and determine the percent of alcohol.
Ideally, if you have 2-cycle yard tools, boat motors, motorcycles, etc., you should run straight gas (plus lube oil.) The alcohol diminishes the lubricating properties of the oil. If you cannot find straight gas, the best alternative I have found is to dose your fuel with Sta-Bil.
Mythanol is like all of the other so called green alternatives to a better world via expensive and unproved solutions.
Those of us in California with a functioning memory still remember the addition of MTBE a known carcinogen and water polluter to our gasoline. It took years to get that removed from our expensive Californiacator gasolines. MTBE will remain in our lakes, rivers and soils for decades thanks to the evironazis.
from the article
"We had folks working literally 24 hours at all stations,"
Multiple repair shops.
Methanol (wood alcohol) ate through seals, and is probably the cause for this rumor. Growing up in Iowa, working as a mechanic for a few years at a gas station, and running ethanol (10%) through pretty much every type of engine, I've seen none of the alleged negative effects.
I'm not a proponent. No clue how something that has less BTUs per gallon than gasoline, could be touted as "better".
You have to also consider the percentage of BTUs that are released by the combustion process. It is not important how many are in there, but how many you actually get out.
Of course, that's assuming that there is any validity to the "per gallon" issue, which there isn't IMO. If, for example, we're discussing only the pollution issue, you would want to consider total pollution PER MILE DRIVEN.
I don't have any problem with ethanol blended gasoline, or even (almost) pure ethanol, being used as fuel. But mandating its usage, and subsidizing it (I don't know about the current status, but it was subsidized in IA for like 30 years before I started seeing it outside the midwest) is a bunch of crud (and, yet again, no where in the Constitution that I can find).
Etec is right on. Ending this story with "higher levels of ethanol can cause engine damage." cannot be justified by any data what-so-ever. Absolutlly NO engine damage can occur. Poor preformance due to incorrect tuning parameters can occur. Long term use MIGHT effect catalitic converters. A fact originated story that ends with an undocumented editorial opinion about ethanol occures far too often. How about a followup that explains exactly what 'repairs' were preformed. You do ethanol and the country a dis-service with this type of reporting. I use E30 in my legacy vehicles for years and get equal or better milage and better preformance. Give ethanol an accurate break! Forward_Thinking (09/25/2009, 11:03 AM )There is one statement that HAS to be a lie; specifically that he/she/it gets better gas mileage with E30 (and where do you get E30? - I've never seen it at the pump) getting better gas mileage with lower energy fuel in the same vehicle is a physical impossibility as determined by the first and second laws of thermodynamics. My guess is that the 1/2 wit tree hugger that wrote this totally fabricated the entire content of the comment.
The left would describe this as an unparalleled success! No emissions and unlimited MPG!
I can’t do beer and Tequlia. Unfortunately after drinking at bars (Tequila) I had been known to come home and continue the party with whatever’s in the fridge. That makes for a very bad morning. ;o) This is why I don’t drink anymore.
There are one or two stations who sell high test with out any ethanol down here in the keys
Otherwise the ethanol is just a killer
.
Thanks. I have an M2 Optimax jetboat engine I want to protect. I was thinking Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas would work but Sta-Bil souds better. I think Sea Foam would work as well but is pricier.
Mass DUI?
Billions of passenger-miles have been driven on the typical 10-percent ethanol blend without problems. If the blend was incorrect, I don’t see how anyone can blame the ethanol. Done correctly, it works fine, and has for 30 years now.
Still "hot" for that E-85?
Skunk pee might work better!
Regards,
GtG
Spot on timing, if 33 were true, there wouldn't be companies that have to sell product to cure the problems ethanol causes.
One more time for those in Reo Lynda, etc, et al E T H A N O L = C R A P !!
You made two statements one verifiable and one open to discussion. YES billions of miles have been dirven, but HOW can you say they were without problems? For one thing the fuel mileage was reduced for every one of those miles. There are plenty of older vehicles that are experiencing fuel system corrosion problems due to the ethanol in their fuel supply, and I suggest that you read the boaters' comments too.
>This looks like a plot of a bad Batman movie. Put bad gas in the Cos’s tanks and then rob a bank when all of the patrol cars are sitting in the shops.
With all the Jokers in Congress, Riddling politically away for legislation and ever-increasing the “public debt”, who’s to say that our Treasury ISN’T being robbed?
You are correct: the statement IS a lie. 1) Ethanol causes corrosion of fuel system components. 2) A much greater flow of ethanol is needed to burn at stoichiometric than gasoline. If this is not compenstated for, a lean mixture results. 3) There's much less energy in a pound of ethanol than a pound of gasoline.
I’ve used a 10% ethanol blend in every vehicle I’ve owned in the past 20 years and NEVER had maintenance issue above and beyond normal EVER attributed to fuel.
Plus, if you have an older car, it can eat through the fuel lines and cause a fire.
Call AA
Ethanol can also damage lawnmowers. It causes or promotes corrosion.
Bush’s fault. Literally. Ethanol was put in the nation’s gasoline supply during his administration.
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
Ethanol is hydrophilic, meaning it attracts water. It’s the reason why it cannot be run through pipelines, since water that accumulates naturally in the pipes would risk rendering the ethanol unusable.
IIRC, the ethanol in the gas eats the fiberglass lining of the boat’s fuel tank, breaking it down into a sort of sludge that fouls the engine.
That's not going to work. There's no guarantee the gas (which floats on water) will end up exactly between the two lines.
Put the water in first.
It’s almost $0.50 cheaper than gas in some places. I can’t blame them for trying it. But, had they asked me, I would have told them to not do it. It screwed my motorcycle up for a month, until I could burn off half and fill the tank with STP.
..you will....tick, tick, tick.....
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