EPA Expected to approve E15 gas

[ducatiz]

Simple availability...and the fact I run the tractor to occasional mowing/tilling jobs.

My tractor has a glass sediment bowl that makes it easy to see the dye color. It isn't worth the fine, and the local constabulary has nothing better to do than break balls.

Don't get caught with that stuff in your tank on the road.

i don't have a glass sediment bowl and the exhaust poops out black soot no matter what i put in it.. i ran a little bit of kerosene last winter, like 1:20, it ran like a top.

[ducpainter]

i don't have a glass sediment bowl and the exhaust poops out black soot no matter what i put in it.. i ran a little bit of kerosene last winter, like 1:20, it ran like a top.

I don't think kero is illegal.

They're probably screwing with that too.

Remember when vw's solution to winter start up was 10% gasoline?

I know a guy that has run 10% kero in every car he's ever owned, cat or not, and has never had an issue with anything. He swears by it.

[muskrat]

so if we mix our own gas will the ATF or FBI come after us for bootlegin the fuel we need? 

[zarn02]

There's a fairly large alcohol plant about fifty miles from me. Smells nice. Sure wish it was making booze instead of industrial/fuel alcohol.

so if we mix our own gas will the ATF or FBI come after us for bootlegin the fuel we need? 

Probably the EPA, but yes.

(*checks the boiling points of ethanol and gasoline*)

Wonder if you could run a small still/refinery in a shed, and boil the alcohol out of your gas?

It'd be a huge fire hazard, and very illegal, but hey...

[ducatiz]

You can make your own fuel at home, you just have to make sure you are complying with state and federal laws (only ethanol implicates federal laws).

I know in Maryland you have to pay the state tax on all biodiesel you make.  A Baltimore station interviewed a guy who made his own bio-D and he was talking about how much he made -- apparently, SDAT went after him and charged him back taxes on the fuel!

But I don't know why you'd want to make ethanol anyhow unless you have an alky burner bike or car.  It really is a crappy fuel.

[Greg]

Some of the lubricative properties are gone, but diesel is naturally a light lube, not a solvent.  I've been following fleet owners' issues with diesel engines and very few have had problems with ULSD.

The big problem has been with biodiesel blends above 5% due to the higher solvent content of biodiesel.

If you take Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel straight from the refining unit and rub it between your fingers it now feels more like gasoline than the old diesel you know. In fact so much of the lubricating properties are now refined out of ULSD that refiners have to add lubricity improvers to bring them back up to spec.

[derby]

the marketing has begun:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/racing/wires/10/16/3010.ap.car.nascar.e15.fuel.2nd.ld.writethru.0664/

[ducatiz]

the marketing has begun:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/racing/wires/10/16/3010.ap.car.nascar.e15.fuel.2nd.ld.writethru.0664/

God, what a load of bullshit.  I find it funny they are talking about moisture issues.

WELL YEAH

[Raux]

just to pull an important passage

"Bob Owens, senior vice president of Sunoco, said development was a tricky process of overcoming reactions that occur when the ethanol and hydrocarbon are mixed and come into moisture from humidity or rain. A second issue was developing a strict chain of custody from mixture to the gas cans at the race track. The cans must be altered to eliminate any possibility of moisture contaminating the fuel.

"We didn't just take Sunoco race fuel and dump 15 percent ethanol on top of it,'' Owens said. "We did a significant amount of testing, and research of our own prior to getting it to the teams for their testing to ensure that we had the proper blend.

"Worst case: seamless transition. The best case, we were not surprised to hear of a little bit of horsepower gain.''

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said some teams already have tested the new fuel. It's too soon to determine how much of a horsepower gain teams noticed, but the fuel mileage effects were minimal, Pemberton said."

So I get from this. The can't store it without moisture being introduced. They get worse gas mileage. There is a bit more power.

[zarn02]

Short answer: There's no reason other than propaganda to make the change. Also, I can't say whether this change has improved anything, but I can say that the second mansion I bought with the kickback money is amazing.

[ducatiz]

Excellent summary

[derby]

God, what a load of bullshit.  I find it funny they are talking about moisture issues.

WELL YEAH

that was my first thought as well. 

[Greg]

the marketing has begun:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/racing/wires/10/16/3010.ap.car.nascar.e15.fuel.2nd.ld.writethru.0664/

Given that they are having a hard time blending enough ethanol, I am surprised that they didn't just switch to E85 or E100.

[ducatiz]

Given that they are having a hard time blending enough ethanol, I am surprised that they didn't just switch to E85 or E100.

NASCAR's primary business is marketing.  Sunoco can't sell E100 to anyone because no one runs it in their cars.  They're only going to co-brand with someone who has a product because that's how they get sponsorship -- consumers.

Also, E100 has other issues (legal) such as the fact that it is drinkable -- 100% alcohol.  Part of the reason they keep a 15% gasoline component (E85) is to keep the mixture poisonous so bums don't go buy a gallon of E100 and suck it down.

Imagine $2.50/gallon for 200 Proof PGA.

[Greg]

NASCAR's primary business is marketing.  Sunoco can't sell E100 to anyone because no one runs it in their cars.  They're only going to co-brand with someone who has a product because that's how they get sponsorship -- consumers.

Also, E100 has other issues (legal) such as the fact that it is drinkable -- 100% alcohol.  Part of the reason they keep a 15% gasoline component (E85) is to keep the mixture poisonous so bums don't go buy a gallon of E100 and suck it down.

Didn't seem to stop Indy Car racing making the switch to Ethanol 3 years ago.