E85 fuel

[P&R Fan]

I have been driving a rental car that a client pays for. Some of them burn E85 fuel. This is 85% Ethanol. I live in a town of almost 100,000 people. There are only two stations that sell this fuel. I see newer cars all the time with the symbol on the back that says they burn this fuel. What is their availability of this fuel like where you live?
Jim

 

[steveno]

an E85 car can still use the regular unleaded gas and/or with ethanol. the mileage with E85 is going to be less although it is usually about 20 cents cheaper a gallon. around here in middle Nebraska not every station has it but it ain't hard to find either

 

[4011]

E-85 is about 85% corn burns super hot. If you own a car that can run it and you don't you can clean the plugs and piston tops real quick with a tank of this stuff.

 

[NYlakesider]

an E85 car can still use the regular unleaded gas and/or with ethanol. the mileage with E85 is going to be less although it is usually about 20 cents cheaper a gallon. around here in middle Nebraska not every station has it but it ain't hard to find either

Around my area there are only a few places selling that E85 stuff. FWIW: From what I see many dealers hardily have any of those E85 cars on their lots as most people up here do not want them and they just gather dust on the lot.

The hardest thing to find is fuel without any of that ethanol **** in it, and when you do its 20-30 cents more per gallon. I have to drive 20 miles out of the way to get non Ethanol but for my Corvette and my many 2 stroke tools & toys it’s well worth it.

 

[arjay]

Don't see it very often here,nor the 100% gas.

 

[steveno]

I was looking at the mileage sticker on a new chevy pickup that was rated with either and the E85 mileage was about 150 miles less than the regular unleaded.

 

[sophie]

There may be a place or two to buy E85 fuel around here but I am not aware of them. Most of what we have here is 10-15% ethanol fuel around here.

 

[Krell1]

I recently talked with a guy who had a truck that could burn E85. He said he's tried burning both to see the difference. Regular gas gives him better mileage than E85 but E 85 costs less if you can find it. He also said the mileage using E85 goes way down. Computing the cost vs mileage he said it's not worth the effort to find the E85.

 

[brucev]

Occasionally I see cars so marked... and even stations selling it. But, it isn't worth the costs. Simply put, plain straight gas produces better mileage in any car than does gas w/ 10% or 15% (E-85) gasoline. My car w/ 10% ethanol gas gets about 40-41 MPG. In the same type driving using straight gas that car will get up to 48 MPG. That is a lot of difference... by far worth the cost differential. Of course in many urban areas, plain gas is not available (you can thank the epa for this), so you have to buy what you can get.

 

[pownal55]

I bought a new Ford Superduty in 2012 which is E85 compatible but never used it and hope I never have to. I would rather use E- free gas but can't find it anywhere near me.

 

[mtgianni]

4-5 years ago there was a station that sold it in the State Capital city. I am not sure if they still do. I drive around 35,000 miles a year and don't remember ever seeing a pump labelled E-85.

 

[Krell1]

I just did a quick search within 150 miles of where I live and found E85 at what looks like 6 stations in Las Vegas which is 140 miles from me. I also searched for real gas (no ethanol) and found 2 stations in my local area. I'm going to fill up there (regardless of price) and compare with what I've been using. I'll post results in a separate thread. Based on what others have said, it might be worthwhile to get unadulterated gas even if it costs a little more.

 

[Just another 22 shooter]

At the local farmer's coop you can buy any blend of ethanol/gasoline from 10-85%. Of course I live within a 45 minute drive of four ethanol plants here in southwest Iowa.

 

[Arik]

Never seen a E 85 gas station

 

[perrazi]

we have several local stations that sell e85. have no idea how much of it they sell though.

 

[islamoradamark]

i use 90 rec fuel it gets better gas mileage than the blend that has 10 to 15 % never seen a E85 down here in south florida either

 

[S&Wmax]

e85 is the new poor mans race gas. it has a high octane rating.

MPG goes way down when using it in your DD.

 

[goldenlight]

Just say no to E85. On some larger and heavier vehicles, using E85 can require that you spend as much as $1000 MORE for fuel, on average for a year, to travel the same distance. You can look this up on the EPA's fuel efficiency website.

Find and Compare Cars

Simply put, ethanol contains far less energy than gasoline, per unit volume (gallon, liter, etc.).

EVERY car that can use E85 costs MORE per mile to operate using E85, than regular gasoline, including gasoline with 10% ethanol in it.

The reason that diesel cars get better mileage than the same car with a gasoline engine is primarily due to the fact that diesel fuel contains more energy per unit volume, than gasoline does.

Stop putting E85 in your car. You will save quite a lot of money, now and in the long run.

 

[jdh]

One station. The $.20 lower price does not make up for the loss of economy (11mpg vs 16 mpg) in my Suburban. I do run a tank about every 3 months or so for some of the reasons mentioned above.

 

[P&R Fan]

Interesting comments, thanks.
This is the second or third car I have had that burn E-85. They are all new, of course, and are smaller cars. The one I have now is a Ford Focus. It has a digital readout on the dashboard that tells you your average mileage. Right now it is a bit over 30 mpg. It does not change at all when I use the E-85.

I see so many cars with the symbol on the back that says they burn it. It costs about 40 cents a gallon less. I just don't understand why more stations don't offer it.
Jim

 

[wbraswell]

I thought E85 was 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline. Is that wrong?
The stuff is a rip-off, the mileage sucks, it's still expensive, your yard tools hate it, and we are using up acreage of food product to make it. It's just a way for the oil companies to sell us a watered down product that we have to buy more of.

 

[OFT II]

I don't think that the oil companies prefer to sell you the gasoline with ethanol added. They would want to sell 100% gasoline rather than cut some farmer in on their profits.

 

[kalei]

E85 fuel is 85% ethanol and 15% gas.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I drive Chevy trucks which have been E85 friendly for quite a while here in Iowa. Even though Iowa is the ethanol capital of the US, many gas stations don't stock E85....I think it has to do with a need to change equipment to handle the high ethanol gas.

The last new truck I bought came with a full tank of E85. The mileage was so poor I called my salesman to complain. Later, I saw a guy filling one of the same dealer's trucks with E85 so I asked why. Simple...a gallon of E85 was a dollar cheaper at the time so the dealer saved $20 to 30 on a fill-up. MPG plummets with the stuff...my truck dropped to about 11 mpg.

FYI: The mpg calculators on-board most vehicles are NOT accurate! I do my own calcs and find a big difference. If you change to a different mix, the calcs will be even further off until the little computer chip gradually adjusts itself.

 

[LostintheOzone]

Ethanol is on it's way out. Feds still mandate it but no longer give subsidies to prop up the price of corn. Farmers are cutting back their corn production because the bushel price is dropping. That will eventually drive the price of ethanol up to compete with gas. Ethanol is causing environmental problems and there is no real advantage when one considers the amount of oil and energy to produce it. It may take the place of gas but the BTU output is less so requires more fuel to move the same vehicle from X to Y.

I bought a diesel vehicle 7 years ago because I could see this one coming. Now diesel is less than gas where I live and my mileage is about 10% better than an identical gas vehicle. 20% if I tow.

The numbers have always been there, the adm just refuses to use hard science and would rather give welfare to farmers. That's how we roll.

 

[S&Wmax]

Interesting comments, thanks.
This is the second or third car I have had that burn E-85. They are all new, of course, and are smaller cars. The one I have now is a Ford Focus. It has a digital readout on the dashboard that tells you your average mileage. Right now it is a bit over 30 mpg. It does not change at all when I use the E-85.

I see so many cars with the symbol on the back that says they burn it. It costs about 40 cents a gallon less. I just don't understand why more stations don't offer it.
Jim

I would not trust the on board fuel readout. Figure the mpg of fuel vs e85 yourself. I have seen fuel mpg apps.

 

[old bear]

The hardest thing to find is fuel without any of that ethanol **** in it, and when you do its 20-30 cents more per gallon. I have to drive 20 miles out of the way to get non Ethanol but for my Corvette and my many 2 stroke tools & toys it’s well worth it.

I would be happy to pay the higher price for REAL gas if I could just find it.

 

[Just another 22 shooter]

The numbers have always been there, the adm just refuses to use hard science and would rather give welfare to farmers. That's how we roll.

Putting up capital that you've worked your butt off for. Working fields and livestock 10-16 hours a day. With the risks of bad weather and poor markets is NOT welfare. Next time you eat, you better darn well thank the American farmer, Not any welfare system.

 

[LostintheOzone]

Putting up capital that you've worked your butt off for. Working fields and livestock 10-16 hours a day. With the risks of bad weather and poor markets is NOT welfare. Next time you eat, you better darn well thank the American farmer, Not any welfare system.

Not buying it. Farming is a business just like any other. Prices for corn have been artificially inflated by subsidies from the fed. Check the historical price per bushel if you don't believe me. Why is it that acreage that was never planted in the midwest is now in corn? I don't know of any other business that gets a subsidy. If farmers can't make it without help from the fed maybe they shouldn't be farming. There are plenty of farmers doing just fine without help from the fed.

Why do you think farmers should get a free pass because they feed people? That's like saying a doctor should get a free pass because he/she takes care of our medical needs.

Nope, grew up on a farm and made money working in a field with migrants to get through high school. Nobody ever gave me a hand out.

 

[bgrone]

E85 and the Easter Bunny

A few thoughts on ethanol: the gas station near my shop has regular unleaded which I buy for my chainsaws, mowers and other small engines; I use the 10% blend in my on-road vehicles. In a vehicle that has never had ethanol blend the first few tankfuls will flush out any scum or debris in the tank usually necessitating a filter change. I have had no troubles with the 10% blend , my 1/2 ton Chevy gets 15 mpg on ethanol blend, calculated by dividing a month's mileage driven by gallons used. I tried a month's trial of non-ethanol regular with no/little discernible difference in mileage. I know this is scientifically counterintuitive due to the dilution of BTU content by ethanol but that's what the numbers said. Methanol has been used for years in race cars successfully because it can produce high horsepower without overheating the engine, however the engine has to be jetted much richer due to the BTU difference. Ethanol is a very close chemical clone of methanol.

I use ethanol in support of the local economy while I feel sugar cane derived ethanol is more feasible due to the much higher yield of final product in relation to inputs.

I also believe ethanol is a better drop-in replacement for diesel fuel than it is for gasoline. Higher compression in diesels produce more power from ethanol than gasoline engines. However mpg would still be less than with straight diesel fuel due to BTU difference, thus the cost of production would have to be far less than diesel to make it economically successful.

There is no magic solution to the fuel issue. Making matters harder is the conflict between science, politics and economics.


Just my humble opinion and personal observations.

Jim in Iowa