Ethanol changes fuel strong reader reaction

the go green tree huggers will have all of us spending our few dollars for higher fuel bills, repairs on all our equipment, and food. charlie is not helping the people of florida with this program.

This ethanol issue just kills me. Our Governor and Legislature should give the consumers a choice. My car runs like sh*t on ethanol. In Germany just a few weeks ago they did away with 10% ethanol due to the damage it was doing to their cars and trucks. The only way ethanol is going to help the environment is when it damages so many vehicles their will be less of them on the road.

To quote the band Rush, "Those who know what's best for us, must rise and save us from ourselves."

A bunch of know-nothing politicians drank the tree hugger Kool-Aid and now we have E10 forced upon us!

Heck, it may have been the tree huggers that suggested it in the first place, but it sure has been embraced, implemented and expanded by our Republican governor and the Rebublican White House. I spread the blame amongst them all.

Of, By and For the People. Not anymore. Now it is all about the green people. They gave us higher food prices and blended gas to ruin our vehicles and equipment. Thanks for nothing Charlie.

singlewheel wrote:

the go green tree huggers will have all of us spending our few dollars for higher fuel bills, repairs on all our equipment, and food. charlie is not helping the people of florida with this program.

I'm as pro-environment as anyone... and I am definitely ANTI-ethanol. I see it for what it is... a load of horseshite.
It offers NO benefit to the environment when:

You have to burn MORE gas to get to where you are going.

You have to use energy (and lots of water) to grow the corn and process the corn into ethanol.

We have once again been sold out by our legislators, who have been bought and sold by Big Oil, and now Big Corn. This ethanol benefits no one and it's a huge mistake.

What good are the 'exemptions' if there is no supply?

Ethanol is not good in so many ways. Watch for increased asthama attackes from burning soybean fuel and increased famine in underdeveloped countries that used to nourish on what our big-car-obsessed community now consume as automotive fuel.

Many small aircraft run on automobile gasoline. With mandating E-10 (ethanol), which absorbs water, it appears that our legislators are trying to kill us.

Follow the dollars and you will get the answer.

skyla2551 wrote:

This ethanol issue just kills me. Our Governor and Legislature should give the consumers a choice. My car runs like sh*t on ethanol. In Germany just a few weeks ago they did away with 10% ethanol due to the damage it was doing to their cars and trucks. The only way ethanol is going to help the environment is when it damages so many vehicles their will be less of them on the road.

Hey, I feel for you all. We had the same kind of mandate in Minnesota years ago. In fact, the co-op where I buy my gas has sold only ethanol blended gasoline for about fifteen years.
One thing to keep in mind with this change is you will probably have to change your fuel filter after a while (this is good maintenance for your engine anyway) but after the gunk gets cleaned out of your fuel system, it should be ok.
The worst is the small engines. It was frustrating with my mower and garder tiller, each needed a carb kit after a season of working them, but again, after the initial clean up it has been fine (I've had the tiller since before ethanol ... it has been fine since the initial cleanup.) But then again, several other small engines have had no problems what-so-ever. I believe the last industry to get on board is the marine engine manufacturers, so that may be a big part of your concern. Resorts (think 10,000 lakes) used to have a supply of non-blended gas for outboard boat motors, but that has not been needed for the last few years.
I'd like to see your source on the Germany story. I've never heard of an engine being damaged so by ethanol.

The whole ethanol issue is a crisis in the making.

1. With food shortages around the globe does it make any sense to use food for fuel? Hmmm....

2. Mandates are rarely fully thought through and of course in crisis many times cause more problems than solutions.

3. What about... solar, recycling, conservation, etc... I am a Republican and see no benefit in being wasteful.

Well I am off to bike to the Y. have a great day.

Please note - No ethanol was used during this commentary

real information wrote:

<quoted text>
Hey, I feel for you all. We had the same kind of mandate in Minnesota years ago. In fact, the co-op where I buy my gas has sold only ethanol blended gasoline for about fifteen years.
One thing to keep in mind with this change is you will probably have to change your fuel filter after a while (this is good maintenance for your engine anyway) but after the gunk gets cleaned out of your fuel system, it should be ok.
The worst is the small engines. It was frustrating with my mower and garden tiller, each needed a carb kit after a season of working them, but again, after the initial clean up it has been fine (I've had the tiller since before ethanol ... it has been fine since the initial cleanup.) But then again, several other small engines have had no problems what-so-ever. I believe the last industry to get on board is the marine engine manufacturers, so that may be a big part of your concern. Resorts (think 10,000 lakes) used to have a supply of non-blended gas for outboard boat motors, but that has not been needed for the last few years.
I'd like to see your source on the Germany story. I've never heard of an engine being damaged so by ethanol.

I first saw the Germany Story on CNBC during Green Week. I then went to the web and pulled up the news stories from Germany on this issue. Its my understanding that Germany were Togo from 5% ethanol to 10% in the next year or so. However , After the government of Germany were shown studies by the car and truck manufactures that going from 5% to 10% ethanol would damage 3 million vehicles the German government pulled the plug.

ok, I see. They are abandoning their goal to be 20% renewable by 2020.

Kahona wrote:

Heck, it may have been the tree huggers that suggested it in the first place, but it sure has been embraced, implemented and expanded by our Republican governor and the Rebublican White House. I spread the blame amongst them all.

It makes me sick that I voted for the man, but there seems to be no choice in politics anymore. We get crappy politician after crappy politician and they are all the same. They pander to their constituents and don't care about how much it affects the people who voted for them; case in point with Bush and all those that have completely abandoned Regan conservative principles. Makes me sick.

real information wrote:

ok, I see. They are abandoning their goal to be 20% renewable by 2020.

Of course they are and they are probably not the only ones.....They are trying to "bankrupt" the U.S. by saying "everyone" needs to go green...In the end they won't and we will be "bankrupt" for trying.....It's all a big scam.......

Slim Ashley wrote:

Many small aircraft run on automobile gasoline. With mandating E-10 (ethanol), which absorbs water, it appears that our legislators are trying to kill us.
Follow the dollars and you will get the answer.

You big Big Agra? Yep, stands to reason: along with Big Oil, Big Pharma and other Big Special Interests, we have a perfect storm of corruption controlling our elected policy makers (notice: I don't call them 'leaders').

how it is wrote:

<quoted text>
You big Big Agra? Yep, stands to reason: along with Big Oil, Big Pharma and other Big Special Interests, we have a perfect storm of corruption controlling our elected policy makers (notice: I don't call them 'leaders').

I'd say they are leading pretty well actually; leading us straight in to the ground!

i think its a good idea but it needs to researched more to avoid any problems.

i think its a good idea but it needs to researched more to avoid any problems.

I work in the world of mechanics. I am in fact a motorcycle mechanic, certified for Honda Suzuki and Harley (and their little offshoot who's horrible name I dare not say). I've seen more people coming in since they started putting the alcohol in. Its mostly in the older (2005 and older) bikes but we still get the ocasional new one in for the same problems. Basically because the alcohol like to absort water, that water gets into the cylinder. We all know the old saying, Oil and water don't mix. Well in a motor, it does, but shouldn't. Basicaly it mixes with other things and helps to form an acid in the oil that then circulates around the motor, eating away at various parts of the motor. On top of that, the alcohol likes to eat away at the metal tanks (I know most cars have plastic tanks now but some of the older ones which are more at risk for this could have similar problems). At the same time, the fuel filter doesn't filter out all the little things now 'disolved' in the alcohol and it gets to your motor. There it wears and tears on the moving parts, and causes buildups. On top of that, the extra water in the cylinder...well, water doesn't compress and steam takes up thousands of times more space that the water does. While in the short term this might actually give you a little more power, it puts /MUCH/ more stress on the parts and will cause failures sooner. Not to mention the alcohol is robbing you of power anyway.