Y'all are wrong about ethanol (with photos)

[GPSMan]

My father-in-law moved from a home to an apartment. We mowed his grass one last time, then he gave me the lawn mower. I didn't need it right away so I put it in storage. Before I put it in storage, I drained the fuel tank.

Regular, 87 pump gas.
This was Fall of 2020.

I put about 3/4 of a gallon of regular gas in this plastic jug. Left the cap loose, purposefully cross threaded so vapors could escape, but keep rain water out. Then put it in a sunny area of my backyard. The yard is fenced and I have no kids so save the lecture for someone else. As expected, it evaporated quickly at first, then more slowly as the volatiles ran out. Today I had about 12-16 oz of heavy oil left that was no longer evaporative. It smelled sweet, not entirely unpleasant, but you knew it was petroleum or turpentine. I put all but a tiny bit of this this with my used oil to take to reclamation.

Started with this much fuel (red line). Ended with a tablespoon of thick, heavy, tar, molasses like slow moving in the bottom of the jug.

I had some 80% corn ethanol in my medicine cabinet I purchased in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic. I didn't use but a trivial amount of it until today. I opened the container in 2020. Note how crystal clear it was today.

I poured this much into my jug of regular gas residue. A few ounces

After 10 minutes:

After 15 minutes:

Ethanol DOES NOT add gum, junk, varnish, or sludge to your fuel system.

IT REMOVES IT. 100%. AND IN SHORT ORDER.

IF YOU START with an old, dirty, gummed up engine and/or fuel system, ethanol will clean it so fast and so well, it may clog your filters or injectors. But the "headache" stems from the gasoline, not the ethanol.

Use ethanol, at least in part, in a new engine and it will keep it clean(er).

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[Johnkn]

My father-in-law moved from a home to an apartment. We mowed his grass one last time, then he gave me the lawn mower. I didn't need it right away so I put it in storage. Before I put it in storage, I drained the fuel tank.

Regular, 87 pump gas.
This was Fall of 2020.

I put about 3/4 of a gallon of regular gas in this plastic jug. Left the cap loose, purposefully cross threaded so vapors could escape, but keep rain water out. Then put it in a sunny area of my backyard. The yard is fenced and I have no kids so save the lecture for someone else. As expected, it evaporated quickly at first, then more slowly as the volatiles ran out. Today I had about 12-16 oz of heavy oil left that was no longer evaporative. It smelled sweet, not entirely unpleasant, but you knew it was petroleum or turpentine. I put all but a tiny bit of this this with my used oil to take to reclamation.

Started with this much fuel (red line). Ended with a tablespoon of thick, heavy, tar, molasses like slow moving in the bottom of the jug.

I had some 80% corn ethanol in my medicine cabinet I purchased in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic. I didn't use but a trivial amount of it until today. I opened the container in 2020. Note how crystal clear it was today.

I poured this much into my jug of regular gas residue. A few ounces

After 10 minutes:

After 15 minutes:

Ethanol DOES NOT add gum, junk, varnish, or sludge to your fuel system.

IT REMOVES IT. 100%. AND IN SHORT ORDER.

IF YOU START with an old, dirty, gummed up engine and/or fuel system, ethanol will clean it so fast and so well, it may clog your filters or injectors. But the "headache" stems from the gasoline, not the ethanol.

Use ethanol, at least in part, in a new engine and it will keep it clean(er).

LOL, no one was ‘wrong’ about ethanol and not sure what your ‘experiment’ is supposed to prove. Who exactly said it creates varnish and gum?

The downside of ethanol is moisture attraction, soft seal attack and less energy per pound of fuel when compared to gasoline. Those are the basic downsides... there are multiple upsides.

Ethanol did not "remove' the bad stuff in your container, it diluted and suspended it as evident by your follow-on comment "ethanol will clean it so fast and so well, it may clog your filters or injectors'. The crap is still present.

Gasoline has gummed up and turned to a nasty varnish liquid since it was invented, there's nothing new there with the exception of some OEM additives may delay the process (a little).


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[GPSMan]

How "dirty" gasoline is.

There's a surprising amount (to some people) of junk in just a gallon, or in this case, 3/4 of a gallon.

It is just "dissolved / suspended".

 

[Johnkn]

How "dirty" gasoline is.

There's a surprising amount (to some people) of junk in just a gallon, or in this case, 3/4 of a gallon.

It is just "dissolved / suspended".

.Yep, it deteriorates to turns to a varnish-like substance


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[GPSMan]

LOL, no one was ‘wrong’ about ethanol and not sure what your ‘experiment’ is supposed to prove. Who exactly said it creates varnish and gum?

Lots of people, actually.
People (odd balls, I know, not you) think it has corn syrup or other corn bits in it or whatever. Makes no sense to the well educated why people think that.

 

[jsus]

Ya'll are wrong about ethanol (with photos)

You're wrong about the spelling of the word "y'all".

And about the audience you think you're correcting.

Neither Maverick powertrain is rated beyond E10-E15, thus few on here give ethanol much thought...

y'all | yôl | contraction US dialect you-all: I hope y'all are doing okay | I'm telling y'all, I'm so happy for that guy. you-all | ˈyo͞oˌôl, yôl | (also y'all) pronoun US dialect (in the southern US) you (used to refer to more than one person): how are you-all?

 

[Old Ford Guy]

LOL, no one was ‘wrong’ about ethanol and not sure what your ‘experiment’ is supposed to prove. Who exactly said it creates varnish and gum?

The downside of ethanol is moisture attraction, soft seal attack and less energy per pound of fuel when compared to gasoline. Those are the basic downsides... there are multiple upsides.

Ethanol did not "remove' the bad stuff in your container, it diluted and suspended it as evident by your follow-on comment "ethanol will clean it so fast and so well, it may clog your filters or injectors'. The crap is still present.

Gasoline has gummed up and turned to a nasty varnish liquid since it was invented, there's nothing new there with the exception of some OEM additives may delay the process (a little).


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its your 2nd paragraph that really captures the 'cons' to ethanol in gasoline. i confess i find these far outweigh the few 'pros'. the pro's seem to be lower cost and less actual petrochemiclas burned. not a very compelling argument for ethanol for me. but, i dont grow corn for a living so there is that going for team ethanol

 

[megapixle]

You have strange hobbies

 

[GPSMan]

It took very little effort.
And really wasn't intentional.
It was just happenstance.


Just saying: however you think ethanol harms your engine, gasoline harms it worse.

The MPG is not debatable. The energies of the two substances are not equal. If the cost were one-third less because the energy is one-third less, it would be on par with gasoline.

But it usually isn't. So there's no incentive for most folks in most locations. Back in the build-boom years 2005-2012 I could often buy E-85 for 85 cents a gallon even when gas was $3.

 

[fossil]

there are plenty of substances that are stable on their own but react when combined

 

[B2000]

Ethanol is only used because of the corn lobby in Congress. Does it still require more energy to produce than the final product delivers?

Motorcycles with carburetors that use fuel with ethanol require really steady use or regular carb rebuilds.

 

[matmondro]

With fuels that have ethanol, I think a big factor is how long you let it sit. From my experience running dirt bikes, snowmobiles, jet skis, and various small engine tools (all carbureted too, none EFI), running fuel with ethanol (just pump gas that's E10 or E15) is fine as long as you run it through quickly. If you know it's going to sit for a while, then putting rec gas in is a much better alternative.

As your experiment showed, the gas that sat for a while ended up leaving a sludge that looks similar to high fructose corn syrup. You'll get the equivalent result by filling up your vehicle (or any of the things mentioned above), then letting it sit for months without ever running it.

 

[No5s]

I ride and restore antique motorcycles. The main tool I use to get them running is a bread bag tie. Thirty days sitting and the pilot jets plug up. The stripped bread tie run up thru the pilot and all is well. Doesn’t happen with non ethanol. If I run ethanol gas, I shut the petcocks off a good distance from home and let it run until it quits, problem solved.

 

[RedRider]

A ethanol/gasoline mixture higher than about 10% ethanol is corrosive to many common metals used in vehicle fuel systems. The longer that they are in contact, the more damage is caused. That's why you should not use ethanol fuels in lawn mowers for example. Your experiment is not reasonable, as people drive and do not sit their vehicle for years and never add fuel.

 

[TheWizziard]

Your experiment is flawed. It doesn't represent the problem.
The problem is not with the ethanol it is with the ethanol gasoline blend.

The ethanol in the blend absorbs water. Now you have an ethanol, gasoline, and water blend.

This is what causes the sludge.

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