Almost every station I go to has ethanol (up to 10%) added to gas. For a long time I had the option in my area to buy non ethanol gas but now it’s harder to find.
If a gallon of ethanol gets less mileage per volume than gasoline, then how is it better for the environment if I have to fill that much sooner on gas because the ethanol component lowers my tank range?
In: 101
Ethanol essentially ruins gas, as it adds a hydrophilic substance to gasoline that absorbs moisture from the air. This makes the shelf life/storage of ethanol gas half the length of gas without.
It also ruins older cars (pre-90s) as it can dry out/destroy seals and hoses that were not designed for ethanol gas. Most lawn equipment is not designed to run it, and many manuals suggest not using ethanol gas in small engines. It also causes gas to become gummy, which clogs up carburetors. Boats also should not be run on ethanol gas, and most marinas etc sell ethanol free for this reason. It is worse than ethanol free gas in pretty much every way.
At the end of the day, the real reason we have ethanol free gas is to use up the corn/”biofuel” that was subsidized by the government.
Latest Answers