Jack:
10% ethanol has been around in many markets for quite a while,
or its sibling, gasoline with MTBE. MTBE was banned in CA as I recall
(someone correct me on this point?) because of the possibility of
groundwater contamination. It has fallen out of favor as a result, and
you see (at least in Oregon) that ethanol has partially or wholly
replaced MTBE.
Both are oxygenated fuels, a misguided attempt by the EPA to
reduce pollution by providing extra oxygen in gasoline to chemically
lean the mixture. This has been shown to be remarkably ineffective
because modern cars with oxygen sensors see the extra oxygen and richen
the mixture to compensate, negating any benefits and reducing fuel
economy.
For cars without O2 sensors, there is an emissions benefit but
there is such a small proportion of those cars on the road now that any
benefits are more than offset by other cars, which are now burning more
fuel thanks to ethanol.
The downside for us old car nuts is that there is a lot of steel
in our fuel systems, and ethanol holds water and so tends to enhance
corrosion. In addition, there may be materials compatibility issues
where gaskets and such may not like the ethanol and tend to fail as a
result. I would think that replacement of any failed parts with modern
materials would permanently rectify this problem, however.
The EPA has backed away from its requirements for oxygenated
fuel as a result of data showing no measurable improvement in air
quality, although your local air board may still require it. In
addition, congress has decided that ethanol is a step towards energy
independence, and is actively subsidizing and encouraging the continued
use of ethanol. This despite the fact that it takes as much or more
energy to make a gallon of ethanol as is recovered in it's burning.
(Some fans of ethanol say its less energy, some critics say it is more.
The average number is break even or slightly more energy than is
contained in the ethanol itself). I feel that this whole push is a
thinly disguised attempt to keep farmers in business with tax subsidies,
but that is another topic.
As I recall there are additives that can "dry" the fuel by
keeping the water dissolved in the ethanol, but I don't know if these
are really needed or not. Me, I just put gas in it and drive, hoping for
the best. But then, I didn't put hardened seats in my head when I did a
rebuild either, so color me reckless. I am probably not the person to be
emulating on this point.
Cheers,
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Pimento73@aol.com
Sent: September 18, 2006 7:50 AM
To: stuartt@tlthompson.com; 6pack@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: 10% Ethanol
In a message dated 9/18/2006 9:37:29 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
stuartt@tlthompson.com writes:
Could today's gasoline (with a mix of 10% ethanol) have any harmful
effect on
a system originally built to run on leaded gasoline? Should I be
adding
anything to the fuel when I fill up? I'm just curious to see what
others are
doing, if anything
Isn't 10% ethanol forced on the public only in the greater Dallas area -
and
maybe a few other markets?
on the long drive to and from Dallas (from NC) for VTR, Dallas is the
only
place i saw 10% ethanol.
Cheers
Jack Mc
|