I’m very interested in what you have to say about non-ethanol or ethanol free gas as related to this article.
I have 16 year old pontiact solstice…if you over fill…which is afrer rhe first click indicating full…you run the risk of having charcoal cannister which controls fumes spill.out from overflow…not certain if this occurs on other cars, but it is a common problem in this car. Symptoms…extemely slow time to fill.
1 Like
I use ethanol free fuel in all of my small engines, lawn tractor, mower, snowblower, leaf blower, etc. The cost is about $1 more per gallon but it will save in the long run on repairs…especially if you leave ethanol fuel in the tanks. It’s not that important to use it in cars and trucks.
1 Like
Yes! I was going to make this comment also. It’s even more critical to not fill beyond the first click on the newer vehicles. The fuel will overflow into the canister and destroy it. They are expensive to replace too. I learned this lesson on a 1996 Chevy Blazer.
1 Like
Can you explain further about why it is not important to use non-ethanol gas in cars and trucks?
I havent had the cannister replaced yet… takes 18 minutes to pump 12 gallonsnof gas!!
It’s not. For the last 40 years engines have been designed to run on fuel with 10% ethanol. So unless you have a classic car or really old small engines you can use fuel with ethanol. BUT if you want to spend an extra dollar per gallon on fuel without ethanol to use in small engines it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
Earl Butz… [WikiPedia]
He was featured in the documentary King Corn, recognized as the person who started the rise of corn production, large commercial farms, and the abundance of corn in American diets. In King Corn, Butz argued that the corn subsidy had dramatically reduced the cost of food for all Americans by improving the efficiency of farming techniques. By artificially increasing demand for food, food production became more efficient and drove down the cost of food for everyone.
Butz continued to serve on corporate boards and speak on agricultural policy. At an international conference in Geneva, Switzerland, sponsored by the Agri-Energy Roundtable (AER) on May 23, 1983, Butz warned his audience, concerning ethanol production and subsidies, “Those who ride the Tiger may find dismounting difficult”. A number of those present had represented their countries during the famous 1974 World Food Security Summit (Rome) where Butz had led the US delegation.
By the way, the King Corn documentary was quite interesting and I highly recommend it.
Also, by the way, since we overproduced corn, most corn makes its way into our diet. That is a concern for being overweight.
In Hawaii E-10 began showing up in stations and marinas with no warnings about its use. Soon boaters were finding that the ethanol had eaten up their rubber fuel lines and/or fiberglass fuel tanks and stranded some out in the ocean. Those of us with weedwhackers and chain saws found the fuel lines and plastic bulbs for priming to be cracking and dissolving.
Seems we got E-10 a decade after the MidWest did, so the State isued a document with warnings to E-10 users, even if a bit late.
I also use a fuel stabilizer, such as Sta-Bil in my small engines. The fuel can sit for months especially in a chain saw, leaf blower, pressure washer etc. that aren’t used much, especially over the winter and a stabilizer will keep the engines from getting gummed up from old gas.