E85 Flexfuel?????
03-02-2006, 08:10 PM
#1
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E85 Flexfuel?????
What do you guys think about that E85 fuel GM keeps plugging. I haven't seen any around. I tell ya what. If the corn that makes that fuel comes from the US I am all for it. I would much rather put a little money into the U.S. farmers hands than well, someone else. Our luck the darn corn will come from another country and cost us out the wazo. Anybody heard anything about this?
03-02-2006, 08:24 PM
#3
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E-85 is available at almost every gas station here. It is manufactured from corn produced in the USA. I know because there are two ethanol plants here and they buy all there corn from area farmers...and lots of it. Also it is typically much less per gallon than gasoline....sometimes as much as a buck a gallon cheaper.
03-02-2006, 09:36 PM
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true it is always less than regular unleaded ( 2.17 vs. 1.95 today at local station),
true it does put money in our local farmers pocket ( we have a plant 40+ miles away)
we consistantly get 2-3 mpg less when we run it in our van.
most of the time it is still worth the sacrifice though
true it does put money in our local farmers pocket ( we have a plant 40+ miles away)
we consistantly get 2-3 mpg less when we run it in our van.
most of the time it is still worth the sacrifice though
03-03-2006, 11:47 PM
#5
DTR's Locomotive Superhero and the DTR Sweet Tea Specialist
A gas station near me has it and it was about 1.90 last time i went by a week ago. Also an ethanol plant is being built near me so it might become more common around here after a plant is built.
matt
matt
03-05-2006, 07:11 AM
#6
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Pretty soon we will be forced to use a ethanol blend in the Dallas/Houston area to meet EPA air quality. Reading in the Houston Chronicle that there could be gasoline shortages because the supply of ethanol may not be enough to support the demand.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3677520.html
MikeyB
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3677520.html
MikeyB
03-06-2006, 11:41 AM
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E-85 takes a different air fuel ratio than gasoline. It doesn't have as many BTUs per gallon, so the fuel needs to be richer.
Ethanol should have been used instead of MTBE, 30 years ago, when they were phasing out lead. But, since the oil companies owned the chemical co.s that made the MTBE, ethanol got shelved. MTBE is a nasty chemical, those of us that were around it knew that. But, the money got in the right places to get the EPA to approve it.
Ethanol should have been used instead of MTBE, 30 years ago, when they were phasing out lead. But, since the oil companies owned the chemical co.s that made the MTBE, ethanol got shelved. MTBE is a nasty chemical, those of us that were around it knew that. But, the money got in the right places to get the EPA to approve it.
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03-07-2006, 06:22 AM
#8
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NY has been running blend for a while. The "oxygenated" fuel and winter blend both have ethenol. Not sure on the percentage. I do notice a diff in the milage we get with my wife's van after a visit to the out laws. We don't take my truck cuz LI has some sort of fascist plot against truckers and diesel is right around $3 a gallon and I don't trust the quality. Two yrs ago I went up to do some work on their house and I had to replace the fuel filter ON THE TRIP HOME!! crappy fuel 
But back on topic, I would pay a little higher price and get less milage if it meant US farmers are making more and oil baron politicians are making less.
But back on topic, I would pay a little higher price and get less milage if it meant US farmers are making more and oil baron politicians are making less.
03-07-2006, 12:35 PM
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03-07-2006, 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by VADSLRAM
I would pay a little higher price and get less milage if it meant US farmers are making more and oil baron politicians are making less.
03-12-2006, 07:14 PM
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While reading this I'am sitting here scratching my head. I know my life would be concidered a shutin compared to the global world we have now a days but. Ethanol has been used since the late 70's. Vehicles produced since that time have components that are ethanol friendly. It's not some new technology. That being said I plan on using a 50/50 % blend come spring in my old 94 Corsica. I doubt I'll have many if any problems. It's more of a EPA emissions thing than compatability issue and where I live there is no emission testing. 
03-13-2006, 05:47 AM
#13
Originally Posted by 06dually
When the wifes car is paid for we will be looking for a flex-fuel vehicle.
E-85 is to gasoline engines what bioDiesel is to Diesel engines, only less. Ethanol in gas engines sees a greater power drop and isn't quite as friendly as bioDiesel in Diesel engines.
And the fact that ethanol is being derived from corn is still sickening. Per acre there are crops like rapeseed that can deliver ten times the amount of fuel as corn.
The only reason that corn is used is so farmers have something to fall back on in case fossil fuel prices drop down.
03-13-2006, 10:25 AM
#14
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The only reason that corn is used is so farmers have something to fall back on in case fossil fuel prices drop down.
The reason corn is used is because it still has a high value as livestock feed after the ethanol is extracted. Same goes for soybeans and BD. Although rape, canola and mustards produce higher yields and quality their value as livestock feed is inferior.
I work in research with the alternative fuel industry, our economists say the fuels derived from the crops should be considered a byproduct. The real money maker is in the feed. That's why it's important to locate alternative fuel plants close by feed lots and the availability of alternative fuels is limited at this time to the more agricultural states.
03-13-2006, 07:10 PM
#15
Originally Posted by infidel
Not true.
The reason corn is used is because it still has a high value as livestock feed after the ethanol is extracted. Same goes for soybeans and BD. Although rape, canola and mustards produce higher yields and quality their value as livestock feed is inferior.
The reason corn is used is because it still has a high value as livestock feed after the ethanol is extracted. Same goes for soybeans and BD. Although rape, canola and mustards produce higher yields and quality their value as livestock feed is inferior.
So I take it that corn as a feed stock is still more profitable than canola or the like for bioDiesel? I'd assume that if it was more profitable, then it'd be grown.