Ethanol in fuel.

And now we have yet another useless thread about ethanol.

I find those results extremely hard to believe because scientifically an E10 mixture contains 3-4% less energy than E0.
An E5 mixture should contain about 1.5% less energy.

Are you absolutely sure that the "large motoring magazine" isn't owned, subsidized or otherwise in the pocket of Big Oil ???

 

it's all a scam, and someone is profiting by it. follow the money...

 

Really....honestly ??
Since when does any big oil company actually PRODUCE ethanol ??

 

Vpower doesn't have it and doesn't cost that much more. Makes no difference to economy but my car runs smoother on it, especially at start up.

Don't worry about big oil, you're using less of their product. There are always choices too. I don't think 'big oil' is responsible for E10, more our illustrious unelected leaders in the EUSSR trying to justify their jobs.

 

Valero in the US makes ethanol, Sunoco in the US makes ethanol. By doing this they take those gallons out of the market and can turn a profit on both sides.

I just did a 600 mile plus trip in my '05 PRI purpose fully running e10 and I averaged 54.1 mpg (mfd) adjusted 50 mpg actual. Yes ethanol has less potential energy per unit vs E0 but the little PRI's ICE doesn't seem to mind. One of the reasons I bought a Prius was because of a big oil lobbyist who said in an interview everytime gas goes to $4.00 the consumers buys a Prius
This was his lame half baked position for higher gas prices based on lower demand associated with greater fuel economy. What a tool.

 

Amazing and sad how Ethanol, even only 5% ,gets blamed for everything from bad breath to flat tires, while the 90 or 95% that is gasoline is never questioned as to quality. Big oil's propaganda has worked well on the public mind.

 

I am very interested in fuel issues, and thank you for giving us the latest on Ethanol from UK.

We have painfully little official data in the USA on impact of E10 ethanol on MPG for, say, a Prius.
Nobody that I know (EPA/Consumer Reports) does any testing of the E10 impact on MPG.
We are told to assume MPG on ethanol correlates directly to energy content (should be 3% less on E10).

As EasyRider said, the 6.5% MPG loss sounds too high for E5...but the non-ethanol portion (the gasoline) can vary in energy content too. So if they had the same base E0 gasoline sample and added 5% ethanol to that, that might be a valid test. In other words, without more details, it's hard to understand if the motoring magazine made a good test.

In the US, we have some reports from a few Prius owners that E0 gives better than 3% better MPG. If true, my explanation is the gasoline fraction also probably has more energy content in the E0. My understanding is that when EPA or other groups do MPG testing, the energy content of the gasoline is also measured and used to adjust the observed MPG to a standard energy content.

I'm ecstatic that the magazine did E5 ethanol tests on a Prius....any more details or LINK? That's what we do not have: any attempt in US to do that testing.

 

What worries me most is the apparent link between ethanol use and premature catalytic converter failure. At least I think there is a connection. There are some threads that mention it anyway.

 

What about gummed up EGR valves? I'm wondering if it was why mine had to be replaced?

 

In the book, Alcohol can be a Gas, the history of ethanol as an automotive fuel is portrayed as an interesting one. Henry Ford built his first cars to run on ethanol, and farm-distilled alcohol was a reality at that time. But Oil (which soon became Big Oil) set it's sights on alcohol, and saw fit to eliminate it from the marketplace by bankrolling the Prohibition movement, which forced nearly everyone to switch to gasoline, which is a much dirtier and poorer-performing fuel. After Prohibition ended, governments continued to go after ethanol fuel with similar vigor.

Whether you believe in the conspiracy theories or not, the book is great fun to read.

 

If you want it’s pretty easy to test if fuel has alcohol in it. You just put it into see-through container ad water mix it and wait for it to separate. Here all gas has at least 5% ethanol in it and most vintage cars don’t really have problems with it.

In modern normal fuel injected car ethanol should only change fuel consumption by how much fuel energy changes.

 

Come on, what are they and where are the pictures?

 

As long as the alcohol Brit Prius has to deal with is Ethanol, the problems he fears may well be more fear mongering than reality.
Gasoline with 10% Ethanol has been a reality in my part of America for more than 30 years. I deal with vintage engines from as far back as the 1920's and simply do not see any fuel system damage from 10% Ethanol, even in months long storage. The only problems have been a few boats with fiberglass gasoline tanks or a very few pre 1040's carburetors that use a varnish coated cork float . Some types of fiberglass or varnish will melt when exposed to Ethanol, but your typical un coated mild steel, fuel tank and other metal fuel system parts just do not see any measurable damage with 10% Ethanol fuel.
If by chance someone is sneaking cheaper to buy Methanol alcohol to blend with gasoline, then yes, Methanol is quite corrosive, but with any kind of normal fuel supply tank sanitation, Ethanol has not proven harmful to vintage fuel systems.

 

As long as the alcohol Brit Prius has to deal with is Ethanol, the problems he fears may well be more fear mongering than reality.
Gasoline with 10% Ethanol has been a reality in my part of America for more than 30 years. I deal with vintage engines from as far back as the 1920's and simply do not see any fuel system damage from 10% Ethanol, even in months long storage. The only problems have been a few boats with fiberglass gasoline tanks or a very few pre 1040's carburetors that use a varnish coated cork float . Some types of fiberglass or varnish will melt when exposed to Ethanol, but your typical un coated mild steel, fuel tank and other metal fuel system parts just do not see any measurable damage with 10% Ethanol fuel.
If by chance someone is sneaking cheaper to buy Methanol alcohol to blend with gasoline, then yes, Methanol is quite corrosive, but with any kind of normal fuel supply tank sanitation, Ethanol has not proven harmful to vintage fuel systems.