Domestic Fuel

O Please

I could provide 50 SAE papers around ethanol, from material compatibility to emissions. What should be asked, why does the base gasoline fuel change every time ethanol is added when it comes to testing. We talk about ethanol being clean and provide high octane. Why did E15 in one study have less octane then the E0 test fuels?

While we say ethanol burns clean, does ethanol today allow the oil industry to produce a gasoline prone to higher emissions? I have two SAE papers that refer to this.

It must have been “politically expedient” to NOT be testing to use ethanol at every % for the last 25+ years, ever since the majority of automobiles moved to fuel injection (though, engines from before then run great with some additional adjustments involving larger jet sizes). No doubt the petroleum industry would have shut down any such testing program, and would be backed up by the corporate livestock and corporate food industries.

Apparently, now every % of ethanol in fuel must be tested, on every engine and fuel system combination, for every vehicle, for the next 3-5 years in order that any potential concern be addressed. How quaint.

Rep. Jim S. need to know that (if he does not already) Ford designed his MODEL A car to run on ethanol fuel, that the Europeans used ethanol fuel before WWII, and that inventor Nicholas Otto in 1860 himself ran ethanol fuel in his engine. Race cars have been using alcohol fuels (include methanol, which is more corrosive than ethanol), for many years. Ethanol keeps fuel injectors, spark plugs, and engines clean. Many don’t realize it, but many of those expensive fuel additives are ethanol or another alcohol. Sheesh, what a pile of bull manure/asinine drivel, this finger twiddling is. Political expediency vs. independent scientific research, my decades-old rear end. ;)

If there were a component to be concerned about, it would be the type of rubber used in the fuel system. Though, those have been made ethanol-compatible since 25+ years ago. For older vehicles, those can be swapped out if there is any concern…but that should probably be done at this point anyway as such old rubber would be rotting and deteriorating, a safety concern, and/or could leave one stranded in a troublesome location. Check out that pencil eraser on your 1980′s pencil given to you by the insurance man, or that 1980′s box of rubber bands shoved to the back of that office closet…boy is that rubber in bad shape!! Now just think of all that fuel running through it, under pressure, and the exposure to the weather. The point is–replace your old fuel lines. Nearly anything you could buy today is ethanol compatible.

The scientific research goes back over 100 years, and ethanol is a terrific fuel for the internal combustion engine. The only reasons to oppose using more ethanol fuel is due to personal monetary gain by not using it, due to ignorance, or due to knowing the truth now but not wanting to admit having been duped before. Pick your reason; you ONLY have these 3 to choose from. If it was due to monetary gain, shame on you as you do a great disservice to the U.S.A. and to morality. If it was due to ignorance or not wanting to admit being duped, please cease spreading falsehoods and instead provide truth.

Dennis, you make an assumption that is not supported by the facts. Check with the racing league mechanics about ethanol fuel’s impacts or positive effects for their engines. Why would you just assume that the mechanics are having to tear apart and rebuild engines due to the fuel? Aren’t you aware the the engines are pushed to their limits for hundreds of miles? For instance, take your own gasoline vehicle out and drive it very hard, pushing the red line and above (keep it in 2nd gear on the freeway!), for hundreds of miles, then find that you’ve damaged or completely ruined the engine, then consider–was it because you used gasoline? No. It was because you pushed it to the limit for many miles.

Though due to the cooling effect that ethanol has on engines, one would expect for an engine thus fueled to fare better than on regular gasoline.

Dennis, there are thousands of FFV’s that have used E85 as their primary fuel that have gone multiples 100,000s of miles, and their engines and fuel systems are in better shape, and cleaner, than had they been run on gasoline.

When you questioned “How many Joe Six-Packs driving a Ford, Chevy, or Toyota can afford to do that?”, you were making an assumption that people who drive regular vehicles would have to tear down their engines like racing mechanics do, and you posed that question after quoting my statement about using alcohol fuels in racing vehicles for many years. How else can that be interpreted, except that you have a concern that regular drivers would need to tear down their engines like racing mechanics do, due to ethanol fuel?

Understood, however why would an experienced racing mechanic be interested in using a fuel that would not stand up to the rigors of high RPM’s for long durations, regardless of when or how often they tear down and rebuild the engine? NASCAR is kind of like NASA…we gain a lot of technology for consumer products from the high performance equipment researched and developed from both of these. If gasoline were better, they would keep with gasoline. However, most all racing circuits are using more ethanol in their fuel each year. That’s the point. Not if they have to tear down and rebuild their engines often, which they would be doing anyway. Besides, it’s not the engines that are of concern to those who spread myths about ethanol…it is the fuel system (tank, pump, lines, o-rings, etc.). Not the engines. Engine oil is pretty important for engines, not so much the mist of fuel/air injected. I suppose the extra power of ethanol could be a concern if the engine couldn’t stand up to it, but even the Ford Model A did just fine with ethanol. Are you suggesting that somehow engines are now, a century later, less capable of handling the power of ethanol?