Pure gas vs E85

[T]

Hi All,

I watch my mileage. I have been running pure gasoline now for a bunch on months.

My mileage jump up from 23.5 on 15% alcohol to 25.5 miles per gallon on pure gasoline

Hmmmmmmmmm .....

-T

[Snag]

That's great , but what you really need to calculate is the miles per DOLLAR . If there is like here , that pure gas is higher priced than the gasohol .

[T]

It is 40 cents more per gallon. I have an equation for miles per dollar, but the gas prices keep jumping all around, so it is pretty hard to make a good comparison.

Also it is pretty hard to calculate the cost of the reduced wear and tear on my engine.

Price/Gal Price/Mile $2.68 $0.1181 $2.42 $0.1027

$2.56 $0.1015 Pure $2.64 $0.1055 Pure

[Scott Lurndal]

It hasn't been news for two decades that alcohol fuel mixes reduce mileage simply due to less energy content in the fuel.

Where have you been?

[Hawk]

Don't forget to add nitrogen to your tires to help improve mileage. (◔_◔)

[Frank]

Very true and they are screwing him by charging more for pure gasoline as it is cheaper to make.

[gfretwell]

I can live with the hit using E-10 but when we tried a tank of E-85 in North Dakota I said never again. I had a rental with the instant MPG display on the dash and it was dramatic when that E-85 worked it's way through the fuel system an hit the injectors. It wasn't much cheaper either, I might have been about the same. A little ethanol increases oxygenation and octane (Eliminating lead and MTBE) but when you get much over 10%, you are really taking a hit. E-0 (REC90) is a whole other thing. They need a more expensive blend of petroleum to get there.

[Frank]

I think E85 requires a special engine to handle it and T said it was 15% that he used.

I understand that you cannot pipeline gas with ethanol as the ethanol making the mix more polar tends to clean the pipes and gum up the gas. I recall when they switched to the blend in nearby PA they had to dig up the tanks at gas stations to put new ones in. I understand they tank the ethanol to the refineries to mix there and truck out.

All these different blends and regional specification just raise the price of gas.

[T]

This was the first I could find any in a very long time.

[T]

I also use Diydrogen Monoxide to wash my car. Removes bug guts from my windshield really nicely.

:-)

[Ed Pawlowski]

I use a custom blend of gasses. Start with 78% nitrogen but then I add in a bit of oxygen and a tad of some secret gasses. Works well but I'm not giving up the secret recipe.

[T]

No helium to suck on? Your voice sound that way normally?

[T]

I have compared Hyrdogen Hydroxide to. Seems to work pretty much the same.

[T]

I remember when the last gas station converted over to E85. I was complaining to the owner when the provider rep walked over and told me their experience was that mileage always increased a bit (liar). I told him about my spreadsheet and how it had decreased by 2.5 miles per gallon. He was dumb founded. What was he going to say, alcohol has a higher energy density?

[Clare Snyder]

That custom A.I.R. does work a treet though, doesn't it. Is it that

0.93% argon that does the trick?? (your recipe has been "leaked" - better get some better repair patches or re-seal the beads)

[trader_4]

That's because it's non-existent in today's vehicles. I've been using it for decades, no maintenance issues. Small engines, that's a different story.

Where is the calc that matters, with the .40 cent price difference? Quick math in my head, the E85 gas is less expensive, you get about ten percent less mileage, but the cost per gallon is about 15 percent to 20 percent less.

[trader_4]

You have cites for that? That it actually costs the refiner more for alcohol than to refine crude? Also factor in the retailer needs a separate tank and pump that's low volume to support it.

[rbowman]

Can't waste helium in tires; they aren't making it any more. Unfortunately that isn't a joke.

[Frank]

Educate yourself by looking at it into the whole process.

[trader_4]

I take that to mean that like usual, you have no cites. Thanks for playing. Are you going to Tulsa?