ETHANOL FREE GASOLINE

While searching online for gasoline with no ethanol for my lawn mower, I found two stations near me listed having it available. First one, a Marathon has posted "10 percent ethanol". Second one, Gazbah, did not have any ethanol posting. I purchased there for my mower and filled my Tundra. Later on I started thinking maybe there is a state or federal regulation for posting ethanol amount. Found this: http://fuel-testers.com/state_guide_ethanol_laws.html
After reading previous posts on this forum about improving mileage using ethanol free gas thinking I will use ethanol free in my vehicles 06 Tundra and 18 Optima Turbo going forward. Any downside doing so?

 

I can't think of any...

 

Cost is generally the only down fall.

Download the Pure Gas app and it will tell you all the ethanol free stations around where you are.

 

My truck runs better and gets better mpg with real gas. The mpg almost covers the extra cost. Unless my wife drives my truck, it gets real gas. It's been running in real gas for the last year or so.

 

https://www.pure-gas.org/

 

Stewart's premium.,

SPP

 

I have been running 90 octane, ethanol free fuel for years. With this fuel, my mileage has increased by 1.5 mpg. However, it does cost more than regular, but it is not as expensive as premium.

 

Yeah, far better off with ethanol free than mid grade or premium!

 

Gasoline has more BTU’s vs ethanol which is why there should be a slight bump in MPG. Nothing to do with octane. The local Murphy (Walmart) stations have ethanol free but it is about 50 cents per gallon more than the standard 10% ethanol. In our CRV we used ethanol free exclusively for about 1 year. MPG increased from about 33.5 to 34.5. Not even close to covering the difference in cost. And there was no noticeable difference in performance. Both were 87 octane. My gut told me it was better for the engine but nothing that would be realized during our ownership of the vehicle. My plan for the Tundra is to run a couple tanks of ethanol free throughout the year...for no real good practical reason.

 

That is interesting because octane in and of itself has no effect on MPG. Was it a different brand of gasoline?

And FYI..gas stations just have two kinds of gasoline underground. Around here most have 87 and the 93. When you select the mid-grade the pump just mixes the two in appropriate ratio (hopefully....) to get the advertised octane rating.

I did an extensive "study' with my old Accord and around here, I absolutely got the best MPG with the Shell premium gas...but I doubt it was octane related but rather the blend of additives. But again, the difference between that and the cheapest 87 was not even close enough to begin to cover the difference in price.

 

I get the ethanol-free gas to keep for outdoor power equipment and for the disaster preparedness jerry cans I keep in case of the apocalypse. I read somewhere that the ethanol-free gas stores much better and longer (I also use Sta-bil). The tundra seems to like it better too but that might just be psychological. Given the massive reduction in driving the last year I used nothing but ethanol-free in the truck and still spent way less on fuel.

 

Interesting...I’ll have to revisit going to a station 15 miles out. Last time I checked on this several years back, I’d have to drive 50 miles out to get to one.

 

I’m headed to the eastern shore today actually which according to that link, has a ton of ethanol free stations. Might have to start using it on my r6

 

It is the ethanol free fuel that is increasing the mileage. It just happens to come in 90 octane.

 

And if you;re inclined to double-check the station's claim of ethanol-free gas, you can carry around a test kit. https://www.fuel-it.com/ethanol-content-tester/

There are plenty of different brands of test kits around. Just check the 'net.

 

The only thing I use ethanol free for is my 2 cycle weedeater and chain saw. A whole lot cheaper then that canned fuel and the same thing. Those clear fuel lines will harden with ethanol. Whenever I replace them I buy ones rated for ethanol but they still harden eventually. I might put ethanol free in last tank of the season on my riding mower. No need when running it weekly. As far as the truck goes vehicles are made to run on ethanol these days. Just a waste of money to run ethanol free unless it is sitting a long time. The same with my boat. It runs just fine on 10% ethanol because it is engineered to handle it. The biggest problem in the older outboards is the fuel lines. Even with a 95 gallon tank on the boat I have no problem running 10%.

 

Correct. Ethanol is hygroscopic meaning it will absorb water from the air over time. Not a big deal in a vehicle unless it is parked for months at a time. Also I understand that some small engines (mower engines) can have issues with ethanol attacking parts in the carburetor if not run dry before being stored, which I guess was a concern with cars way back when as well.

 

As Netmonkey said, it's the lack of the ethanol, not the octane. From the govt's own fuel economy website: "Ethanol contains about one-third less energy than gasoline. So, vehicles will typically go 3% to 4% fewer miles per gallon on E10 and 4% to 5% fewer on E15 than on 100% gasoline."

 

My dad's 1986 Suzuki outboard was definitely not made to run on ethanol. It performs a whole lot better on ethanol free stuff.

As for the lawn mower, I just put some fuel stabilizer in the tank before winter.

 

Yeah I missed the ethanol free detail. The 3% sounds about right in my experience, dropping from 34 to 33 in my accord. Sadly the price of ethanol free here is at least 20% higher, so no way no how does it save any money to run ethanol free.. And in a Tundra that gets 15 MPG with ethanol, you would expect 15.5 MPG with ethanol free. No doubt many will claim more..but I think some of that could be an awareness of driving habits once one has mpg on their mind!

 

When I switched to the ethanol free fuel, I did the mpg calculations based on my commutes to work. The commute was 50 miles a day on the highway. I drove the same route with the same driving habits with both fuel types and I experienced a 1.5 mpg increase with the ethanol free fuel. If I was only driving in the city, I doubt there would be much of a difference, but it definitely shows on the highway miles.

 

Your ethanol free gas must be a lot cheaper in Utah. Maybe because you're closer to oil production that I am? Here, ethanol free gas substantially higher than regular gas. I haven't looked recently, but I think it was at least $.80-1.00 more per gallon. The increase in MPG wouldn't even come close to justifying it for me. I do run ethanal free gas in my small engines though.

 

I run pure gas in my TRIMMER, Snow Blower, Lawn Mower and Outboard, never a fuel related issue.

 

Up here where I live ethanol is not offered.
I prefer to run chevron premium myself.
I think 91 is the highest octane that I've seen locally.

 

Do you have a link to the site? I like to read it.

 

I try to run a tank of ethanol free and sea foam through my truck every month or month and half . Kinda of like a fuel system tune up. Doubt it actually does anything but it makes me feel better

 

Are you comparing it to your mid grade or lowest grade? Our lowest is 85 and mid is 87. I was pretty sure our manuals called for 87 minimum. At my altitude it might not really matter, but I compare pure gas to mid grade. The price might be $0.30-0.40 more depending on station and time. We do have lots of refineries around. Lots of power sports too.

 

Sure, here it is .....
https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/ethanol.shtml