Ethanol or Non-Ethanol fuel???

Thoughts on this question? Thank you

 

The only input I have is that the high pressure fuel pumps are a lot happier with non ethanol. Otherwise I don’t think it matters.

 

Meh. I don't really pay any attention. $ per gallon is more of an issue.

 

Non ethanol for small engines

 

In practice there really isn't any difference between E10 (which is pretty much what you get at most pumps in the US) and E0 or pure gasoline as far as using it in a vehicle.
Where ethanol blended fuel is a problem is in small engines because it destroys rubber and aluminum and it doesn't keep good more than a few months due to it being highly hydroscopic.

Now E85 (or any blend above E15) is reserved strictly for vehicles designed to run on it (typically labeled "flex fuel"), it's not recommended to be used in a non flex fuel vehicle.

 

Nothing but non ethanol in my 1st gen.It was really hard to find in CA, but lots of N.E. pumps where I am now.

 

Ethanol is just fine.

 

The first year after I retired, the 2004 Tacoma ran on alcohol free fuel. It got better fuel milage by a couple or 3 miles per gallon better. Running was the same if not slightly improved, but it cost way more than regular blended fuel.

Now, it is several dollars more for EToH free fuel & I switched back to regular blended fuel. My driving is much less, so I am not worried about it.

All small engines get EToH free fuel that is 98 octane for better storage.

 

None of my non-on road vehicles / engines have seen any eth since purchase as they can sit for a bit (I have 8 smaller engines to deal with). I opened my 2008 ATV carb in 2020 for the first time and it looked brand new inside. Run your carbs dry at the end of use!

Taco gets a mix, generally non-eth since I don't always drive it alot, especially mid summer or mid winter. Sometimes only go through a third of a tank in a month so I'm not always concerned with $. If I'm down and know I'll be doing 100 or more miles I'll fill up with regular just to save a few $ here and there for plasti-dip and Minute Rice splurging.... No MPG difference for me.

 

You might get a bit more MPG, but no ROI on the $ delta. Actually more like a net loss.

One exception *might* be if you live in a cold state that has a harsh winter blend of fuel.

 

Ok with running in daily drivers. Will NEVER run ethanol fuel in small engines, two strokes, or HD's.

Corn was made for drinking....

 

I base use of non-ethanol fuel on run time. My '08 Mustang GT with 27k sits a lot in the garage, so it only gets non-ethanol to help alleviate any fuel system issues in the long run. My daily driver Tacoma gets regular fuel, but its being run every day and I have to fill it up often. I also try to fill up at Costco, or similar stations that are likely refreshing their fuel more frequently. All the lawn and garden equipment, ATVs and such get non-ethanol. Again, mostly because they don't go through the fuel as quickly so I don't want the stuff gumming up my carbs.

 

I lament this all the time. There is only one gas station (Stewart's) that offers non-ethanol (E0 but only 91 Octane) fuel that I have found in an approximately 75 radius from Poughkeepsie, NY -- and it frustrates me to no end.

 

This might have been an issue in 1975. Engines made since then are designed to work with 10% ethanol, even small engines. They used ethanol in gas in the 1940's during WW-2 with no long-term problems and those vehicles were certainly not designed to work with it. I have my dad's 50-year-old tiller. It's not seen 100% gas in years; it starts on the 1st pull and runs like new. I have a 30 year old chain saw that have never seen 100% gas. Never used it in any of my yard machines or ATV's.

In THEORY you should get a bit more power and theoretically more efficient fuel mileage with 100% gas. But at best the gains are minimal, certainly not enough to justify the costs. But in the real world my experience is the opposite. The few times I tried it performance suffered. Just guessing, but I think they sell so little of it that it's more likely to go bad in the storage tanks before it's sold.

 

There's only one station nearby me that sells E0 in small amounts, there's a couple stations in a nearby city that sell E0.

I quit running any ethanol blended fuel in small engines, it's fine if you use them every day but you let it sit more than a couple months and you may as well replace the carb and all the fuel lines because they will be trash. Been there done that too many times, never again.
Modern small engines are tuned so lean that they actually run better on E0.

 

I guess if you run them every day. That's the only way I don't call BS. If you are a unicorn, I am truly glad for you. I see way too many bad carbs, fuel lines, etc. to ever drink the kool-aid you are trying to sell.

 

So, I was getting gas at this Circle K because it was always $.15 cheaper than the other places by my work. Well, I got gas at a Shell the other day and the last two tanks I've actually gotten 3 more mpg avg than the previous ones on the cheap gas. Not sure on ethanol content but there's something going on there...

 

I might try this experiment for a(n expensive) tank, just to see.