General Category > Energy
Ethanol industry, small-engine manufacturers clash over damage from fuel
IsailedawayfromFR:
--- Quote ---Manufacturers of lawn mowers, snowblowers, chainsaws, and other small-engine equipment continue fueling a debate over the supposed dangers of ethanol, but the ethanol industry argues that they are merely looking for a scapegoat to mask operator error.
Gasoline blended with ethanol has become commonplace for American drivers, especially since Congress enacted the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard and began mandating increasing amounts of the fuel at gas pumps across the country. Critics argue that while such blends — including the most common, E10, which combines 10 percent ethanol with regular gasoline — pose no problems for automobiles, they can often wreak havoc on small engines.
Those problems become even worse, they say, with higher ethanol blends such as E15.
“You’re putting alcohol into the fuel. They’re different atoms. They don’t like to stay married,” said Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, the leading trade group for power equipment and utility vehicle manufacturers. “This is a big deal, and everybody wants to downplay it. But we’re pretty sensitive to it.”
One of the key issues, Mr. Kiser and others argue, is how rarely much of the small-engine equipment is used. While automobiles run through tanks of gas relatively quickly, lawnmowers and other small machinery often contain the same gasoline for weeks or months.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/9/ethanol-industry-small-engine-manufacturers-clash-/
--- End quote ---
collusion by the oil industry to blame ethanol unfairly?
Really far fetched.
I believe we are witnessing a dying industry that has been propped up and never made any sense, like Amtrak.
thackney:
I finally found an E15 pump at a gasoline station. It dispenses the standard three octane grades of gasoline, separate hose for diesel colored green, separate hose for E15 colored yellow.
IsailedawayfromFR:
--- Quote from: thackney on April 10, 2017, 01:07:20 pm ---I finally found an E15 pump at a gasoline station. It dispenses the standard three octane grades of gasoline, separate hose for diesel colored green, separate hose for E15 colored yellow.
--- End quote ---
have a car and truck that could use it, but am reluctant to put the poison into the tank.
I grew up when high octane = good.
thackney:
--- Quote from: IsailedawayfromFR on April 10, 2017, 01:16:00 pm ---have a car and truck that could use it, but am reluctant to put the poison into the tank.
I grew up when high octane = good.
--- End quote ---
I considered it since my F250 is "FlexFuel" rated. I may try it later. It was only a 6¢ discount for 15% ethanol mix, over the "up to 10%" regular. It was a single octane point higher than regular, 87 vs 88.
Smokin Joe:
I have been running 91 octane no ethanol gas in the fleet. I get about 15% better gas mileage and have only had one fuel pump go out (at 130k miles). Considering the cost of replacing fuel system components, and that one of the vehicles turned 30 this year, I don't mind paying extra. All the small engines run on no ethanol fuel, too, now, after I replaced a couple of carburetors.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version