Octane Rating

[DGShannon_imp]

Been running ethanol since 2000 in all my vehicles and boat, never an issue. Since nothing I have is a high compression engine, regular works fine. My emergency generator never fails to start even after a year, my chainsaw, lawn mower, even the 200hp Merc jet pump on the boat starts whenever I want them to. Ethenol reduces our dependence on foreign oil, makes money for the farmers, and reduces air pollution. I can't argue with that.

Ethanol is all about there being an over abundance of corn in the U.S. And there being some senior senators from corn growing states that have the power to ram bad ideas down everyones throats. Period.
It doesn't make any sense from an environmental standpoint either, since it's been proven it takes more energy to produce the same amount of ethanol from corn, as opposed to refining that same amount of gasoline.

Ethanol is all about there being an over abundance of corn in the U.S. And there being some senior senators from corn growing states that have the power to ram bad ideas down everyones throats. Period.
It doesn't make any sense from an environmental standpoint either, since it's been proven it takes more energy to produce the same amount of ethanol from corn, as opposed to refining that same amount of gasoline.
Exactly. It is a total farce. Do some digging to see how much water gets wasted in the production of 1 gallon of ethanol. Or, look at the recent studies on pollution in areas where ethanol is heavily used (such as Brazil) and you find that it is not what was expected. Levels of benzene and butadiene dropped, but formaldehyde and acetaldehyde rose, which ends up being a wash. In hindsight, the whole ethanol thing was a stupid distraction from real advances, but now the lobbyists for the corn growing interest have to be defeated, which means the people have to educate themselves.

Ethanol is all about there being an over abundance of corn in the U.S. And there being some senior senators from corn growing states that have the power to ram bad ideas down everyones throats. Period.
It doesn't make any sense from an environmental standpoint either, since it's been proven it takes more energy to produce the same amount of ethanol from corn, as opposed to refining that same amount of gasoline.
Exactly. It is a total farce. Do some digging to see how much water gets wasted in the production of 1 gallon of ethanol. Or, look at the recent studies on pollution in areas where ethanol is heavily used (such as Brazil) and you find that it is not what was expected. Levels of benzene and butadiene dropped, but formaldehyde and acetaldehyde rose, which ends up being a wash. In hindsight, the whole ethanol thing was a stupid distraction from real advances, but now the lobbyists for the corn growing interest have to be defeated, which means the people have to educate themselves.
+ ONE DG Shannon. People need to get educated on this stuff. Ethanol is not our friend in the USA. Anytime I hear of a new technology that is enviromentally friendly I want to see the cost/benifit comparison asap. THose reports seldom come. I am dealing with this right now in my church with some nut that is sold on solar panels. I told them point blank to make a business case for it and they cant. Case closed. The examples go on and on but you get the point.

Let's see if we can get this topic back onto fuel. Speaking of ethanol, here is an episode of Jay Leno's garage, where he talks a bit about damage done to some of his vehicles...





I implore you guys to join and support a group, such as the [url=http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/rights/amafuelforthought.aspx]American Motorcyclists Association, that fights in Washington to protect us from the further damage that will come from higher levels of this stuff.

[Powerdogg55]

I recently found out that one of my local gas stations is selling ethanol free gas 90 octane. They call it "rec" fuel. I wondered if anyone else runs this stuff in their cb1100? Kind of expensive gas too.

This is all that I have run in my CB since day one. Sure it costs a little more but topping off the tank doesn't break the bank. My bike performs extremely well with "real gas". I've experienced problems with lawn mowers, weed eaters, and chain saws with ethanol fuels. No longer use it for any of my gasoline powered equipment.

[NightRider_imp]

I run non-ethanol regular. I hope it will help keep her running for a long time. I currently have a full tank with gas stabilizer while she is waiting for spring.

[flynrider]

The two big issues with ethanol are 1) vehicles that sit for long periods and 2) older vehicles with incompatible fuel system components.

Fortunately for me, my two bikes and truck all get enough use to get a new tank of gas at least once a month and the only vehicle old enough to have an incompatible fuel system is my plane, which isn't allowed to run anything with ethanol.

As such, even though ethanol fuel has been mandated in my area for many years, I haven't had any ethanol related issues. For those with old bikes or bikes that spend time in storage (like Jay Leno), this can be a real pain. The only real fix is to update older fuel systems and make sure to use an ethanol free fuel when the bike is going to sit. In most metro areas where ethanol is mandated by the EPA, you can by ethanol free specialty racing gas (with various octane ratings) from speed shops when you're going to store the bike.

[Randy B]

The two big issues with ethanol are 1) vehicles that sit for long periods and 2) older vehicles with incompatible fuel system components.

Fortunately for me, my two bikes and truck all get enough use to get a new tank of gas at least once a month and the only vehicle old enough to have an incompatible fuel system is my plane, which isn't allowed to run anything with ethanol.

As such, even though ethanol fuel has been mandated in my area for many years, I haven't had any ethanol related issues. For those with old bikes or bikes that spend time in storage (like Jay Leno), this can be a real pain. The only real fix is to update older fuel systems and make sure to use an ethanol free fuel when the bike is going to sit. In most metro areas where ethanol is mandated by the EPA, you can by ethanol free specialty racing gas (with various octane ratings) from speed shops when you're going to store the bike.

This should be a wake up call to just how bad ethanol blended fuels really are.

[mininsx_imp]

The ethanol industry wouldn't exist if not for federal subsidies. Remember when ethanol plants sprung up back in the eighties and then disappeared? The feds yanked the rug out from under them and they went out of business because the business model doesn't work without subsidies.

[NightRider_imp]

Here in the country, the McMinnville area of middle Tennessee, we have non-ethanol regular always available. I know of three gas stations around my house that carry it. It seems to be popular here and so they carry it with at least one pump. One gas station carries it on most of it's pumps instead of diesel, there pumps have three grades of ethanol based gas and one regular grade of real gas. No limits to purchasing it except it is only available in regular grade.

[flynrider]

The two big issues with ethanol are 1) vehicles that sit for long periods and 2) older vehicles with incompatible fuel system components.

Fortunately for me, my two bikes and truck all get enough use to get a new tank of gas at least once a month and the only vehicle old enough to have an incompatible fuel system is my plane, which isn't allowed to run anything with ethanol.

As such, even though ethanol fuel has been mandated in my area for many years, I haven't had any ethanol related issues. For those with old bikes or bikes that spend time in storage (like Jay Leno), this can be a real pain. The only real fix is to update older fuel systems and make sure to use an ethanol free fuel when the bike is going to sit. In most metro areas where ethanol is mandated by the EPA, you can by ethanol free specialty racing gas (with various octane ratings) from speed shops when you're going to store the bike.

This should be a wake up call to just how bad ethanol blended fuels really are.

This should be a wake up call to just how bad ethanol blended fuels really are.
The reason is pretty simple. Most of the General Aviation fleet was built in the 60s - 80s, before auto fuel was routinely tainted with alcohol. Certain fuel system components can react badly when exposed to it.

When they first started putting ethanol in the local gas, my '59 Cessna (which was running car gas) got a bad case of the melting carb floats. My '69 Mercury ragtop had a couple of rubber fuel lines swell up like Ball Park Franks.

[Pauley]

Does CA put extra ethanol in the gas for winter? I've noticed about a 10% decrease in mpg lately.


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[mininsx_imp]

Does CA put extra ethanol in the gas for winter? I've noticed about a 10% decrease in mpg lately.


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The difference you note is not from more ethanol (they can't do that), it's from more butane mixed into the blend. Depending on where you live the refineries change the blend and add more butane in winter so that the mixture vaporizes easier inside the combustion chamber. More butane equals less mileage.