-> Old Fart.
e: nvm
Regarding the harm of ethanol.
There are studies that show that at best you can hope to break even when considering the oil used to produce ethanol compared to the oil not used because of ethanol. Even Al Gore admits that much in the article. The worst case scenario is that it actually uses more oil to produce than what it replaces. In that case instead of reducing our dependency on foreign oil, it actually increases it.
Ethanol has less energy than gas. To do the same thing, you have to use more. The power output is also affected, its physics not an opinion. I found out about the use of ethanol in our gas because I was doing some long term mpg testing of one of my cars.
All of a sudden there was a drop in gas mileage and a noticeable loss of power.
All cars are different, compare the mpg you get from pure gas and ethanol blend see how much more blended gas you have to buy vs the price of pure gas and you know what you want, with performance a bonus.
The ethanol production currently uses more than 40% of total corn production and will get worse. If anybody thinks it does not affect food prices, he needs to consider the uses of corn as food, livestock feed, corn syrup, fructose and many other uses. It is everywhere, and all are affected by the diversion of so much corn to be burned.
What is the upside?
Corporations and lobbyists getting richer off our tax dollars?
MHO.
There are studies that show that at best you can hope to break even when considering the oil used to produce ethanol compared to the oil not used because of ethanol. Even Al Gore admits that much in the article. The worst case scenario is that it actually uses more oil to produce than what it replaces. In that case instead of reducing our dependency on foreign oil, it actually increases it.
Ethanol has less energy than gas. To do the same thing, you have to use more. The power output is also affected, its physics not an opinion. I found out about the use of ethanol in our gas because I was doing some long term mpg testing of one of my cars.
All of a sudden there was a drop in gas mileage and a noticeable loss of power.
All cars are different, compare the mpg you get from pure gas and ethanol blend see how much more blended gas you have to buy vs the price of pure gas and you know what you want, with performance a bonus.
The ethanol production currently uses more than 40% of total corn production and will get worse. If anybody thinks it does not affect food prices, he needs to consider the uses of corn as food, livestock feed, corn syrup, fructose and many other uses. It is everywhere, and all are affected by the diversion of so much corn to be burned.
What is the upside?
Corporations and lobbyists getting richer off our tax dollars?
MHO.
Al Gore-Ethenol= fail
please link me these studies...
if you have a noticeable loss of power you have larger issues such as all that crap in your gas tank or fuel line that has been neglected, or your injectors that have 200k+ on them and never been serviced or checked, maybe that carbon build up in your motor, and the dirt in your intake manifold...
considering ethanol can be made from more than just corn
list of things that america needs to get away from in your list - corn syrup, fructose, etc.
corn, grain, sugarcane, and the other products that can be used to make ethanol are renewable
ethanol reduces carbon monoxide emissions and provides significant reductions in emissions of many harmful toxins, including benzene, a known human carcinogen.
higher ethanol content will reduce carbon fouling, without adding those lovely detergents and additional products that are in normal gas. when they decide to start adding them it will drop even more
also rather ineresting your argument when ethanol combusts more efficiently overall while running cooler than gasoline
but I guess ya know up to 10% of your gas having ethanol is to blame for your crappy performance immediately, noticeable loss of power and all issues with your car, not your lack of maintenance or buying gas at less than reputable stations.
While I enjoy the sound of "Al Gore is a moron", it seems to me the real morons here are the ones who let him (them) take us to the cleaners. We have become a bunch of wusses who let people like Al Gore lead us around by the upper lip.
Well Zombie, I'm not that interested in looking up studies, but I like to look at what happens when I buy new products.
For awhile, after I stopped living off M&D and had to buy things on my own, I didn't purchase ethanol loaded gasoline, but I did purchase brand new 2 cycle weed eaters and the like, as well as 4 cycle lawn mowers.
With my brand new motors and non-ethanol gas, my engines always started on the first startup cycle- prime it, full choke until it attempts to start, half choke until it runs, wait 10 seconds, and switch to run. Same thing with lawn mowers. Prime and pull, and they started right up.
Somewhere in the last 8 years, it changed to ethanol being present in most of the gas I bought. I had to buy all new equipment after all mine got seawater flood damaged in Norfolk, VA. Since then, I've been through 3 new 2 cycle weed eaters, fresh out of the box, that will run for, at most, 2 uses, then require He-Man or a master mechanic to make them run, and I'm not just talking cheap brands either. As well, I went through 1 4-cycle lawn mower that absolutely would not run.
I've since found a gas station that is ethanol free, and have very few problems whatsoever. Oddly enough, though, in the middle of the time that I had the most difficulty with 2-Cycle engines, 4-cycle versions started popping up for almost everything. Weed-eaters, chainsaws, you name it. For the modest price of $125+ more than 2 cycle.
Plus, you can't run away from it everywhere. Missouri has a minimum requirement of 10% ethanol in all gas. I would advise anyone boating in MO to buy 91+ octane, as there's a good amount of money being made by local boat engine shops to fix engines for the cheap gas buyers. My grandpa has about $750 sunk into a decently new motor, and they'll be happy to tell you about getting 91-octane to avoid the problem. After you paid them for the repairs, of course.
Someone is clearly making the money on this, and I highly doubt it's only your local small engine repair man. Or maybe i'm just that unlucky, and my hands have the Black and Blue Touch of Murphy.
For awhile, after I stopped living off M&D and had to buy things on my own, I didn't purchase ethanol loaded gasoline, but I did purchase brand new 2 cycle weed eaters and the like, as well as 4 cycle lawn mowers.
With my brand new motors and non-ethanol gas, my engines always started on the first startup cycle- prime it, full choke until it attempts to start, half choke until it runs, wait 10 seconds, and switch to run. Same thing with lawn mowers. Prime and pull, and they started right up.
Somewhere in the last 8 years, it changed to ethanol being present in most of the gas I bought. I had to buy all new equipment after all mine got seawater flood damaged in Norfolk, VA. Since then, I've been through 3 new 2 cycle weed eaters, fresh out of the box, that will run for, at most, 2 uses, then require He-Man or a master mechanic to make them run, and I'm not just talking cheap brands either. As well, I went through 1 4-cycle lawn mower that absolutely would not run.
I've since found a gas station that is ethanol free, and have very few problems whatsoever. Oddly enough, though, in the middle of the time that I had the most difficulty with 2-Cycle engines, 4-cycle versions started popping up for almost everything. Weed-eaters, chainsaws, you name it. For the modest price of $125+ more than 2 cycle.
Plus, you can't run away from it everywhere. Missouri has a minimum requirement of 10% ethanol in all gas. I would advise anyone boating in MO to buy 91+ octane, as there's a good amount of money being made by local boat engine shops to fix engines for the cheap gas buyers. My grandpa has about $750 sunk into a decently new motor, and they'll be happy to tell you about getting 91-octane to avoid the problem. After you paid them for the repairs, of course.
Someone is clearly making the money on this, and I highly doubt it's only your local small engine repair man. Or maybe i'm just that unlucky, and my hands have the Black and Blue Touch of Murphy.
A good ethanol article. Make sure and read both pages.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/ethanol-facts.htm
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/ethanol-facts.htm
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