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Is oxygenated gasoline really worth it?
I've been debating whether to switch from conventional gasoline to ethanol-blended oxygenated fuels (10% ethanol 90% gasoline).
I've been reading a lot about the advantages of ethanol .. its characteristic to keep the fuel system clean, reduced emissions, a natural gas-line antifreeze in winter etc.
The only downsides I came across were the fact that ethanol is corrosive and since it only has about 97% of the caloric energy of conventional gasoline, fuel economy is reduced by 2-3%.
I was wondering if the pros of ethanol blended gas outweigh its cons for me to make a switch.
Any input would be welcome
I've been reading a lot about the advantages of ethanol .. its characteristic to keep the fuel system clean, reduced emissions, a natural gas-line antifreeze in winter etc.
The only downsides I came across were the fact that ethanol is corrosive and since it only has about 97% of the caloric energy of conventional gasoline, fuel economy is reduced by 2-3%.
I was wondering if the pros of ethanol blended gas outweigh its cons for me to make a switch.
Any input would be welcome
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Any modern car that uses an Oxygen sensor to evaluate the exhaust will simply compensate for the added oxygen by adding more fuel to the mixture.
So it might help some older carburated cars. But again there are probably as many running rich as are running lean, so as I think and type, it will probably do as much harm as good in the older cars too.
TB
I live in the center of the county, but any trip that we take out of the area, we fill up with standard fuel.
re. it being hard on fuel filters, i read that ethanol has a tendency to clean up the fuel system. So if one were to use it in a car which has a dirty fuel system, it cleans up the dirt and grime that has already accumulated - and hence clogs up the fuel filter.
one article i read said that such a problem was only limited to pre-1989 vehicles that ran on leaded fuel (leaded fuel leaves more residue and gummy deposits in the fuel tank).
my fuel filter is due for a change in 3 months ... i guess one option would be to switch to ethanol-blended gasoline 2 tanks prior to changing the fuel filter so that whatever dirt currently exists gets accumulated.
with current gasolines containing detergents and cleaning agents, i wonder whether my fuel system has any deposits or not.
This with the CA. required upgraded tanks the gas stations had to install.
It is true that oxygen in fuels costs money and reduces range while producing nothing in lowered emissions in 99% of the cars now on the road.
It is rumored that ethanol costs more in energy input than one obtains from it.
Methanol, when wet, also has problems with forming an insoluble lower layer in gasoline.
I think that the ether from glycol and isobutylene (call it ethylene di-t-butyl ether) would be a good one for octane boosting with fewer problems than MTBE.
At present, oxygenated gasoline is NOT worth it in my opinion.
in addition, overall sulpur content is also reduced since etthanol displaces 10% of gasoline.
maybe in california, sulphur content doesnt make much of a difference since average sulphur content in gasoline is 30ppm.
but over here in toronto - canada we have among the highest sulphur levels in gasoline.
federal regulations currently limit sulphur content to 1000 ppm, to be reduced to 30 ppm by 2005 with an interim reduction to 150ppm by july 2002.
current average levels of sulphur in gasoline in ontario canada are around 340ppm (still relatively high) and it just so happens that the gasoline provider that supplies gas with the lowest sulphur content (180ppm) also happens to be the one that supplies ethanol-blended gasoline.
the 3 main conventional gasoline providers have a sulphur content of 700ppm, 550ppm and 500ppm, which are still way above 180ppm.
TB
Having said that, I don't use ethanol in either of my cars; the Volvo's owner's manual specifically recommends against it, and I notice a definite loss of fuel mileage with the Honda, on the order of four or five mpg.
And yes, I do understand local political climates in third world nations are largely to blame.
I just think it sends the world the wrong message. "We would rather turn corn into fuel than send it to starving people."
Of course, I think Sam Kinneson(sp?) was on to something when he said instead of sending food, send U-Hauls, since you can't grow food in the desert. 8^)
TB
I wonder how much difference it would be if the ethanol was run year around. When I go winter camping it takes a lot longer, and consumes more fuel to boil water than it does in the summer. Perhaps some of the woes are caused by temp as well. At least for those of us who get it only in the Winter.