I well remember when ethanol was first forced into gasoline back in the 1970s, and all the articles written and published about the harmful effects it has on engines, hoses, exhausts, and even the air quality. That died slowly, and today, no one even considers it, since it is universally injected into your car’s fuel. A large gasoline chain “Maverik” has recently begun selling no ethanol gasoline, and I have no idea how much they sell, but I am using it I all my vehicles. Before I fell and broke four bones in my pelvis, I tried it out in my Mercedes 350 SLK, and it got 2 miles per gallon more than with 10% ethanol. That was only one test, and further ones may make my initial test void. However, two experiences with it have convinced me that I will use it.
(1) For some strange reason, after promising never to buy another motor home, I succumbed, and bought a 1988 Bounder in pristine condition which had always been stored inside, and has not a single scratch or blemish on its original body and paint. Owner wasted $9200 and I got it for $5500. The generator didn’t work. I quickly found that the problem with the generator was that the carburetor was frozen in place, and none of the throttle mechanism would move, and I could not make it move. I took it to a shop where they replaced the carburetor, changed the oil, filters, plugs, etc. ($792) and it works fine.
(2) A few years ago, I bought a new gas-powered snow blower. We rarely have enough snow to need it, so I just allowed it to sit under cover. The fall, I tried to start it and it wouldn’t start, even though it probably has less than five hours on it. I took it to a friend who specializes in small engines, and guess what? The carburetor was frozen and useless. I watched him take the old one off and attempt to repair it. Couldn’t be done, so he ordered a new one. He then took great time to show me the damage done by ethanol. He says that over time, ethanol’s water and sugar content will separate from the gasoline, and destroy stuff. He’s seen it happen over and over again. The widow from whom I bought the motor home said that they hadn’t used the generator for years, as they only took short trips with it.
I am not at all convinced that ethanol is in anyway good for gasoline engines, and I found websites which prove it. One of them took two brand-new four-cylinder engines and ran them for 20 hours non-stop. They then took them apart and measured the wear. The 10% ethanol engine had very slightly more wear in piston rings and valves.
Suppose that gradually, people stopped using ethanol in their cars? Wouldn’t the air improve as well as the car’s mechanics? And wouldn’t the billions of bushels of corn used to distill and make ethanol, gradually decrease, making those farmers sell more corn to other consumers or grow a different crop? Ethanol is in no way an economical additive to gasoline. It was begun during a gas shortage during the 55 MPH speed limits in the 1970’s and has simply become glued to the economy.
-Don Stott don@coloradogold.com