Posted on 06/13/2011 7:26:47 AM PDT by bgill
“6 Driving Tactics to Save Gas This Summer”
Get a horse!
Trouble is there are often no signs telling which gas contains the ethanol. Even always picking the 87 octane fuel in hope that it doesn't contain ethanol (10% ethanol blends are typically 88 or 89 octane) isn't reliable as in some states all gasoline is required to have an oxygenating additive which is now mainly ethanol because of environmental concerns about MTBE. It becomes very apparent when I inadvertently fill up with ethanol laced gasoline and I see a drop in mileage.
Unless you guys finally got self-service fuel pumps, it seems like the pump jockey would get the fine, not the motorist. ;-)
Seriously, the new law requires pump identification that mentions vehicle model years? I knew the law was loosened up a bit from the previous "non-road use only" language, but I never checked it out for the new details.
and little 2 stroke scooters.
mine only runs on non-oxygenated gas.
I do pump my own gas in Oregon, though most don’t. The pump sticker mentions off-road vehicles, small engines like lawnmowers, antique cars and (i think) aircraft as appropriate uses.
I may have ended up with a tank-full once and my mileage could have gone up by about 2mpg for that tank.
I suspect that has more to do with the station's old, non-computer-linked fuel pumps than it does with keeping track of us anti-ethanol hardcases. Every few months when I pass through Tyler, Texas, I stop at a station there and fill up with the "good stuff". They don't "register" me, they just take my cash and hand back the change.
For Oregon. A gas station can put ethanol free premium gas in your car if you can find it. You can put ethanol free regular gas in your tank but you must buy it in a container other than your vehicle gas tank.
Check pure-gas.org for loacations of stations.
I thought I recently read where our overlords want to raise the ethanol content even more. I guess they feel that engines last too long.
They want to raise the ethanol from 10 up to 15 %, but the problem is all the gas pumps they tested it on were breaking down. So they would have to replace all the gas station pumps across the US to bring it up to 15%.
Actually, here’s a more current article on the 15%:
http://sugarinds.blogspot.com/2011/06/e15-gas-pump-labels-approved-by-white.html
“A major concern when choosing to sell a new fuel is the cost of compatibility, Miller said, adding that all related fueling equipment must be listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) as compatible. He explained that because UL will not recertify any existing equipment, even equipment that is technically compatible with the new fuel, a retailer’s only legal option is to replace dispensers, at a cost of roughly $20,000 per unit. In addition, underground storage equipment must be replaced if it is not UL certified.
“Once I crack open concrete, my costs could easily exceed $100,000 per location, which now gets us up to about $200,000 in pump and tank costs. So offering E15 could become very expensive,” Miller said.”
The Australian V8 Supercar racing series decided to go “green” a couple of years ago and switch from normal racing gasoline to E85 blend fuel (85% ethanol/15% gasoline). Their fuel economy dropped so drastically that the cars now can’t complete a 200 km (~125 mile) sprint race without refueling, where before they could comfortably. They were able to retune the engines to keep the 650 or so horsepower they put out, but their fuel economy dropped around 15-20% in doing so.
Ethanol is a lousy motor fuel compared to gasoline. It works, but it’s nowhere near optimum, and that’s not even talking about the effects on the food supply.
}:-)4
Ethanol is a excellent fuel from an Octane number perspective. That is, it runs very well in a high compression engine making it a more efficient power producer. A lot of race cars run it or Methanol for that reason. But the other side of the coin is that it has a much lower heat content per gallon than does gasoline, so it takes a lot more of it per unit of time going through your engine to develop its rated power.
1. Don’t drive to the beach
2. Don’t drive to amusement parks
3. Don’t drive to professional sporting events
4. Don’t drive to outlet malls
5. Don’t drive to resorts
6. Don’t drive to concerts
Write all of the above and tell them “Obama’s Fault!”
Revolutions don’t necessarily mean fuel use. Most modern computer-controlled engines actually cut off the fuel delivery completely on deceleration so you aren’t using any fuel in that mode. If your car has a mileage computer look at the “instant fuel economy” when you are decelerating. The one on my truck goes to 99 mpg ( and that’s because the display is only two significant digits). The other thing that coasting with the car in neutral or with the clutch in does is wear out your brakes, and if you have an automatic transmission, you risk it not being lubricated properly because the transmission’s lubricant pump is driven by the input shaft.
I suck.
My question, on the pure-gas link, is that in New England there are very few stations that offer ethanol-free gas....
So who’s providing it? Where is the rest going? There seem to be different gas companies so it can’t be just one truck driving around New England fueling these stations, right?
Is it going to Marine fuel stations - the Military? Seems like a very small percentage without Ethanol-added available so how can it be cost effective to produce and deliver?
E85 would be great if it upped the octane, instead they use cheaper gas and the ethanol brings it up to what it used to be. You could use that ultra high-octane E85 in very high-performance engines where regular gas would cause detonation. Ethanol has less energy, but it can be used much more efficiently than gas if done right.
Every week there's something else we're having to give our name to the government - OTC cold meds, had to give my finger print for the first time for my driver's licenese renewal and another first last month to cash a check at a bank, cell phones and internet use is monitored, and cameras everywhere. Next, Big Brother will be making us register for Charmin.
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