Y'all are wrong about ethanol (with photos)

[Bill Quattlebaum]

Running 15 percent ethanol in a small mower will result in having it repaired on a frequent basis. The smaller the engine the more problems you will have.

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[realshelby]

Maybe "Y'all" are not wrong after all.
Ethanol problems are NOT about varnish.
ETHANOL PROBLEMS STEM FROM CORROSION AND DEGRADATION OF MATERIALS in the fuel system.
Put your corn alcohol into a fiberglass container ( just what many boats had back in the day for fuel tanks). Put some in an untreated aluminum container. Put some in a container lined with standard rubber like was used in fuel systems for years.

Then tell us again we are wrong about ethanol!

 

[haycraftzack622]

Ethanol attracts moisture and that tends to be an issue when a large amount of moisture starts screwing with the fuel system and makes your vehicle not start

 

[Shay]

Now we can finally go about solving the TWA flight 800 mystery.

 

[Dudley]

I use non-ethanol gas in my mower and trimmer.

 

[jewc75]

Ethanol creates moisture, period. Moisture is what causes the problems.

 

[TheWizziard]

Let's not put food in out trucks.

 

[Deleted member 7089]

You have strange hobbies

As long as he's not sniffing it.

 

[SLINGSHOT]

Go ahead, put ethanol in your mower, weed eater, outboard. Not mine. I don't care. Go ahead.

 

[Bbisis13]

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.

I use ethanol free gas in all my small engine equipment and my motorcycle. It was a disaster in the boating world. Having to change fuel hose that the the ethanol dissolved. As well as fiberglass fuel tanks

 

[GPSMan]

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

No. Depending on individual variables, 22,500 to 28,000 btu of fossil fuel is used to make 1 gallon of 76,000 btu ethanol in a modern (post 1995) facility.

 

[jsus]

Now we can finally go about solving the TWA flight 800 mystery.

Nah, first we'll find MH370.

 

[GPSMan]

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.

Actually the reverse.
Ethanol is harmful OLD and ANTIQUE equipment. This is due to ethanol will dissolve natural cork, natural rubber, fiberglass and slowly, lead. Lead may have been used to solder fuel tanks or fuel lines in the old days.

How much lead, cork, or natural rubber do you think your Maverick contains?

The reason small simple non computerized engine have trouble is they are not sophisticated enough to automatically change the air/fuel ratio needed with different blends.

 

[realshelby]

There is a lot to figure in when figuring how much energy is consumed to make ethanol. For instance the fertilize it takes to crown the corn or sugar cane ( made from natural gas). There are obvious points like fuel to heat the feedstocks, or for farm equipment to farm the land feedstocks are raised on. Then the transportation of feedstocks to refineries. Certain lobbies will even tell you ethanol makes gasoline cheaper. Except they compare gallon to gallon where ethanol requires 1.3 gallons to match the energy in one gallon of gasoline.
If ethanol were very efficient......it would be used to MAKE ethanol. But it is not. Cheaper energy is used for that.

 

[GPSMan]

Ethanol attracts moisture and that tends to be an issue when a large amount of moisture starts screwing with the fuel system and makes your vehicle not start

Yes. When your tank has 20% or 40% water it's going to create issues. No doubt. But in poor regions they can burn 160 proof (20% water) in stock engines.

How big of a buffoon do you have to be to get more than 20% water by volume in your gas tank?

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