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.
Over time, the ethanol attracts moisture, separates from the fuel, and causes serious engine problems, steering car owners to repair shops.
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17 comments:
Yes this has become a big pain.
But if we stop the corn price will go down! :-0
Ethanol saves no fuel you burn more less MPG its all BS
Eats up carburetors on small equipment. I work on small engines trust me it's a problem. Don't blame junk fuel on the user. 90 days ethanol gas is no good.
Ethanol is horrible for any carbureted engine. It pits anything brass and dries out anything rubber. Tell me how when oil is 50 a barrel that non ethanol fuel is $4 a gallon? The government that is how!
Sell the corn as feed or food for peaple, we don't need mandated ethanol, the farmers will survive.
I run my lawnmower every two weeks. On the last cut of the season I run the mower until it runs out of fuel. Before using it in the spring I change the oil put fresh fuel in the empty tank and it always starts on first pull.
Sand Box John
Government ruins everything.
Ethanol is a disaster coast Americans millions to fix all the problems it causes. Small engines hate it but also big engines in boats.
It turns the rubber parts in older 80's carburetors to chewing gum finally dissolving it away. It pits the aluminum carb bodies, and crystallizes when it gets older, clogging all the tint passages in the carbs. Running an engine lean because the fuel can't get through fast enough leads to fried cylinders and pistons.
And, I get better miles per gallon on pure gasoline than the diluted corrosive stuff.
Corn alcohol was made for whiskey, not fuel!
It is a pain, I use gas additives and still have to get my carb replaced or fixed every spring when grass mowing season starts. I even do what they tell me and run the engine dry when I put it up in the fall. I run my motorcycle in the winter on warm days because it got gummed up when I let it sit one season over the winter. I truly wish they would get rid of this additive. It's hard to fine gas stations that serve ethanol free gas.
there are quite a few gas stations around salisbury that sell ethanol free gas.
Thats all i buy for my small engines.
More expensive yes, but it beats repair bills and trying to find fuel lines that fit.
Maybe you all will see now, that most things the govt does is for the sake of money, nothing less, nothing more...
That's our EPA,hard at work! Corn is food or liquor,not fuel! Smaller cars hate this stuff too.I had a Honda that burned out 3 distributors because of that crappy etrhanol.
Joe, is there a listing anywhere where people can go to get ethanol free gas? The only one I know of is the Shell station on North Salisbury Blvd by the Centre of Salisbury.
1144, why don't you Google it yourself and contribute the information? Yes there is at least 1 other source in Salisbury and also in Easton.
The one location has stickers that say new ethanol free gasoline. Such an oxymoron
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