Help me find a site listing station gas blends

My impression is that gas is gas. No real difference other than octane and (where applicable) percentage of ethanol. Both should be clearly marked on the pump. I think in MN gas must have 15% ethanol by law. In Fargo I only knew a couple of stations that sold ethanol, which I prefered, for environmental reasons. I would be surprised if CA didn't require the numbers to be on the pump as well. So if it does not say ethanol, the percentage should be zero. But then, I don't live in CA so I'm just assuming.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Dec 27 2006, 01:48 AM) [snapback]367055[/snapback]</div>

It's quite frustrating, though, to try to find a pump without ethanol (should that be desired) when the only source is the sticker on the pump. I would also like to find non-ethanol gas, but I haven't even been able to find if Arizona requires E10 or not. My suspision is that OP's Califonia, with its major environmental reputation, does not have any stations without ethanol.

 

Okay. Someone from CA please tell us: Do most stations in CA sell only ethanol-blended gas? Is it required by law? According to john1701a, ethanol blend is both better for your car and better for the environment. I presume he's been pretty thorough with his research, since he's so thorough in documenting his Prius stats. True, there's slightly less energy in ethanol than in gasoline. But 10% ethanol contributes 10% less carbon to the atmosphere. (I.e., 100% ethanol is carbon-neutral.) That should outweigh the reduced high-mpg bragging rights for an environmentalist.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Dec 27 2006, 10:04 AM) [snapback]367133[/snapback]</div>

I don't think the Jury is in on that one yet. The full 'costs' of Ethanol are still being sorted out.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MarinJohn @ Dec 26 2006, 11:01 PM) [snapback]367034[/snapback]</div>

I lived in the Bay Area from 1997 to 2004. They used MTBE for most of that time. However, when I left I believe they switched completely to ethanol. MTBE gets better mileage, but it's murder (literally) on the environment. Leaded gasoline burned more efficiently than MTBE or ethanol. You could always run that to get better mileage!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Dec 27 2006, 12:48 AM) [snapback]367055[/snapback]</div>

Other than the gas/ethanol ratio and octane, apparently the type and amount of additives in the blend do make a difference.

See toptiergas.com

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Dec 26 2006, 09:48 PM) [snapback]367055[/snapback]</div>

Not really. California Reformulated Gasoline is different than gasoline sold in most other states.

Here are some links:

Chevron - California Phase 2 Reformulated Gasoline

California Air Resources Board - California Gasoline Program

California Air Resources Board - California Reformulated Gasoline Phase 3 Amendments

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Dec 26 2006, 09:48 PM) [snapback]367055[/snapback]</div>

I don't believe that's the case. I haven't had a chance to read these in detail, but I stumbled across these while looking around for an answer.

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/boutique-task-force.htm
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/boutique/resources...finalreport.pdf
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-421

From the PDF at the last URL, it says "Although there is no consensus on the total number of special gasoline blends used in the United States, we found that, in addition to conventional gasoline, at least 11 fundamentally distinct special gasoline blends were used during the summer of 2004 in parts of 34 states and covering approximately one-sixth of all the counties in the United States. In the summer of 2001—the last year for which we had data—special gasoline blends accounted for slightly more than half of the total gasoline volume consumed in the United States, with the rest accounted for by conventional gasoline. When different octane grades and other factors are considered, there were at least 45 different blends of gasoline produced and handled by pipelines in the United States during the entirety of 2004. Special gasoline blends are often used in isolated pockets because these blends have generally been adopted in large metropolitan areas in response to severe air quality problems, while surrounding areas have generally continued to use conventional gasoline."

edit: I also stumbled across this map http://www.exxon.com/USA-English/Files/US%...ap%20100102.pdf, this FAQ http://www.exxon.com/USA-English/GFM/Produ...asoline_FAQ.asp and http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/types_of_gasoline.html.

Fixed up URLs.