Posted on 12/18/2010 9:02:47 AM PST by upchuck
There has been a debate going on for some time over efforts by supporters of ethanol based fuel to get a waiver from the EPA which would allow gasoline to be blended with 15% ethanol (E-15) rather than the current limit of 10%. As recently as last December the EPA has held off on such a decision at the request of groups such as the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Their chief concern was that more time was needed to do long term testing of cars currently in the fleet to ensure that the higher rated mixture would not adversely affect emissions or cause damage to older vehicles not designed for such fuel over the life of the car.
But now they may have a hard time even finishing the requested testing. The reason? The 15% mixture fuel is causing widespread failures in the gas pumps you’ll need to get the fuel into your car in the first place. The following release is from the American Petroleum Institute. (API)
In comments filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), API today revealed that a Department of Energy (DOE)-funded study shows the vast majority of existing gasoline pumps will fail if used to dispense E15.
E15 is a fuel blend consisting of 85 percent gasoline and 15 percent ethanol. EPA has approved E15 for use in 2007 and newer model vehicles.
The study, which was conducted by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), shows that 40 percent of new dispensing equipment designed for use with E10 (today’s gasoline) failed tests, and 70 percent of previously used E10 equipment failed tests.
There also is a strong similarity between the materials used in aboveground equipment and underground storage tank systems, leading API to conclude that there is a high risk associated with using E15 in E10-designed underground equipment. API says there are serious safety concerns with any equipment not specifically designed to pump E15.
This has been a vexing and long running battle inside the beltway for years now. The usual list of suspects has pushed for faster and faster adoption of ethanol and used a key voting block to get their way. But as the API report above from Energy Tomorrow shows, a slower, more careful approach is required if we are to take our fleet of automobiles in this direction.
But when you put politics ahead of science and engineering, you’ll all too often wind up in a ditch. If the pumping equipment itself is failing under the flow of E-15 what is it going to do to older engines, particularly during hard economic times when more and more consumers are hanging on to their vehicles longer? We should at least give the experts sufficient time to finish their long term testing before approving such a move.
This could result in stimulus! Just think of all the new, Chinese made, gas pumps that will have to be installed!
The crap burns at a higher temperature than gasoline which eventually destroys some components such as gaskets and seals.
Drill, baby, drill.
unlikely dead. more like working as intended.
screw up the pumps and you literally cripple the US economy
that sounds to close to what every socialist/commie/progressive scumbag would want to be a coincidence
With NASCAR going to this crap in their effort to become more politically correct, I’m not looking forward to the upcoming season. I’ve got a feeling we’ll be seeing lots of broken engines.
No problem.
Gas Station owners will just pass the added cost on to US!
Good. Maybe it will wreck the pumps before it wrecks my cars.
We had to replace the fuel pumps in both our cars. Mechanics said the ethanol was to blame.
I have a terrible time with small engines: outboards, chain saws, fuel pumps. My snow blower is dead.
I have to buy premium gas, and unless I get rid of the gas/oil mix after a week or two, it really goes bad and destroys small engines.
Ethanol in the tank means water in the tank, among other things. They used to drop this cr*p in the winter, when it would make extra trouble, but now they don’t even do that.
Plus, of course, it saves NO FUEL and is destructive to the environment.
And it raises the price of basic foods and starves people in the third world.
But never mind, it produces great kick-backs for farm-state politicians and their buddies.
First they ruin our dishwashing soap, mugs have rings inside all the time now. Next they want to ruin our cars.
Eliminate the epa.
And when they do fail, the EPA will come up with a reason not to replace them. If they can't halt the use of gasoline one way, they'll halt it another. When very few places can actually pump gas the Feds will naturally have to step in and make sure everyone is getting a "fair" chance to fill their vehicle. They can then pass out gas stamps valid on specific days, at specific places. Too bad for you if you can't be at the right place at the right time or need to fill up more often that the Feds think is "fair".
Regards
In the 70s the state of Texas in all its wisdom decreed that state vehicles will be run with an ethanol mixture, this is NOTHING NEW. Vehicles started developing problems exactly where one FReeper said, gastkets and seals due to higher temps. Dumb butt liberals do this stuff time and again and seem to never have their hand called on it.
What did we have as a governor? Why a Democrat of course and then there was the “dual fuel” fiasco required by these idiots. LP/gasoline dual systems, ANOTHER disaster with huge cost overruns. I experienced these things first hand much to my dismay.
Ethanol is an unmitigated disaster. Its cost in ground water alone is exorbitant. I don’t want to buy it. I don’t want it trashing my engine.
Ethanol Fraud BTTT
It’s wrecking snowblowers too they just had a report on the local news last night about it.
“Its cost in ground water alone is exorbitant. “
What cost does it have with groundwater?
Not to mention the smelly laundry soap that doesn't clean anything...
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