Ethanol Free Gas

[Dan1940Chief]

Anyone have a web site or other source for locating ethanol-free gas suppliers?

My Chief was doing very well with a mix of 100LL and Mogas, but some of the mogas vendors have started adding ethanol...

[joea]

Might see if EAA or Petersen knows anyplace for this. After all, the STC prohibits any additives in the fuel so the STC holder might be of some help.

[Mnflyer]

Hi, I would check with the local fuel distributors sometimes you can buy ethanol free gas in bulk (they can get it before the ethanol is added), you may have to buy a couple hundred gal to make it worth their effort. Here in MN 91 oct can be gotten ethanol free for classic cars, snowmobiles motorcycles etc.

[MikeB]

I think it varies state to state. Next door in Minnesota they have a few marked stations with ethanol free gas. Here in Wisconsin it's fairly available if you know where to look. Our local Cenex station has ethanol free but only in 'Super Premium". Unfortunetely, the idiots in the legislature don't seem to understand that (1) not everything runs well on 10% ethanol (2) some low compression engines tolerate 100LL poorly and (3) the requirements to meet a STC. Your best bet is to write your local representative and explain the situation, that is complain, complain, complain. I've done that a couple of times (easy with email). In fact, I get on their cases with a lot of issues. Part of the problem nowadays is that you get a 'form' letter back that may or may not address the issue you wrote about....in this case ethanol free fuel. In the old days you used to get a personal letter or phone call.

I'm not sure ethanol (and bio-diesel) has proven to be the big answer to alternative fuel. They toss all kinds of figures around but they have a pretty heavy subsidy and takes a fair amount of energy to produce. What they do have is a pretty effective lobby group.

Mike

[skyking3286]

I'm surprised that non-ethanol gas is still around. Out here on the west coast, the Seattle refineries are blending sub-standard gas and then using the ethanol to
get it up to specs. Used to be a crime to "water down the gas" but now it's legal with ethanol. There are only three stations in the whole Puget Sound that are still carrying non-ethanol gas and those days are numbered. Best site I know
of about the whole issue is:

www.e0pc.com

[CptKelly]

Non ethanol auto fuel is still quite available here in South Carolina, thank God. I would sure hate to HAVE to buy 100LL. I have used non ethanol auto fuel for decades, and found it to be just as good a fuel as the aviation blends, only a lot less expensive.

Mike

[joea]

Mark,

All car gas is "non-ethanol" fuel. Its usually only when its dumped into the gas stations tanks that they dump in any "extras" that are being used. The tank farms and truckers do not want this crap in their systems, so its done at the last possible moment to keep it out of their pipes.

Joe A

[Rick Hadley]

Here in Iowa, even though we're the state that probably produces the most ethanol, straight unleaded 87 is available at almost all stations and 91 unleaded at many. Around here, at least, the blending is done by the distributor just before the fuel is loaded on the tanker. I've not seen any trucks equipped to blend either ethanol or biodiesel, but that's not to say they don't exist.

[Dennis]

I agree with Rick, Mike, MikeB and JoeA and it is the same in Arkansas. It is up to the station owner, not necessarily the operator, whether or not ethanol is added to the gas. In my little Ozark town of 8 stations, the only station with ethanol is Walmart. Hence, a good reason NOT to buy gas from them. Go to the bulk plant. Usually they are locally owned. I might even try to talk with the transport driver. He might be more incline to point you in the right direction.

Even though I know I am getting ethanol free gas, I still test it. Simple to do. Get a jar with a lid. Add about 10% water to the jar and mark the level. Then fill with gas, replace the lid and shake the jar. If you have a miraculous increase in the water level, you got ethanol contaminated gas.

Dennis

[Dennis]

Hey MikeB,

I found this web site that list service stations selling Ethanol free gas in Wisconsin.

http://www.molonyrealestate.com/Ethanol ... onsin.html

There is an incomplete listing of service stations selling ethanol free gas at BuyRealGas.com I know the list is incomplete because the stations in my area are left out but it is a start.

Dennis

[joea]

Good find Dennis. Problem is that its only as accurate at people's input. But at least its a start.

[skyking3286]

Joe, I know all about the distribution system. I know the Midwest has it very good, compared with Oregon and Washington State. We have a different situation out here. The refineries have made a decision out here to blend the gas at a lower octane number and then depend on the jobbers to add the ethanol up to the right octane rating. So all the gas on the ranks is blended with the need for ethanol to be added to make it reach the octane specs. The pipelines and all that stuff is safe for them and they make more money by selling a less refined product for the same price as before. It's at the racks where the ethanol is being universally added here on the West Coast. Remember we have California next to us and they influence the market out here.

Oregon is really in hard shape. Hardly anything without ethanol there. Washington isn't much better. No airport in Washington State, except for a person in Oak Harbor on an island, is selling MoGas. Stations on the street are limited to one on the west side of the Sound, one in Auburn that caters to race cars and one in Snohomish which hasn't yet. That's it with close to a million people up here.

It's incredibly ironic that the corn belt has an easier time getting ethanol free gas than we do!

[Rick Hadley]

I was out running my mouse trapline at the hangar today and stopped to visit with the FBO. He said he'd just ordered another 250 gal of mogas to top off our 1000 gal tank, so if you're looking for unleaded come visit us at VTI. Just bring your CC, $2.95/gal self-serve.

[jc pacquin]

please correct me if I'm wrong. As I remember the ethynol scam was started during the Bush years with little forethought. That is, they neglected to tell us that there would be a BIG goverment subsidy for each gallon produced (taxpayers pay for that, over 50 cents a gallon!) and that the price of FOOD would increase considerably due to the fact that CORN would now be in great demand! (Corn is one of the worst and least productive crops to make ethyonol from. Bush also ok'd a 190 billion dollar subsidy over 10 years to the farmers but in the same breath said the government should stay out of business and "let market forces control everything.") Well they tried that on Wall street and see where that got us! The only country that I know of that has had big success with ethynol is Brazil. They make it out of sugar cane and run 80% of their autos on it. Their auto engines are far smaller than ours as are European car engines. I burn 100 octane at 4.5 gallons an hour because thats what the airport sells and at that rate of burn if I can't afford it, I probably shouldn't own the airplane. Your thoughts?jp

[joea]

JC,

First thoughts are that we do not need to get political here. I could wade in with what YOU and I are now paying Brazil due to the current admin, but not going to do this in THIS forum.

The OFF TOPIC forum is the place to do political posts, not here. Lets cool things down a bit...

Joe A