15% EBlend Gas

[Triggermv]

In theory it would be 2.5% less mileage; ethanol has approximately 50% less energy than gasoline. (2.5% = 50% X 5%)

This is actually false as it is closer to straight Ethanol getting 2/3 of the fuel economy of straight no-lead. Then, like you said you do the conversion to 15% blend vs a 10% blend. Here is the exact numbers:

The energy of ethanol relative to gasoline
A. 76,000 = BTU of energy in a gallon of ethanol
B. 116,090 = BTU of energy in a gallon of gasoline
C. .655 = 2/3 = GGE of energy in a gallon of ethanol. A / B. (GGE =energy in a gal. of gas)
D. 1.53 = Gallons of ethanol with the energy of 1 gallon of gasoline. D = B / A.

 

[ruxCYtable]

Can the E15 be ran in any engine or does it need to be a flex fuel engine? If I remember right the gas pump with the 15 says to be careful what vehicle you put it in as it may harm the engine. I find it hard to believe that it would effect a regular gas engine at all if you already use E10 in it.

Manufacturers say no. The government says yes. I trust the manufacturers.

I support farmers but, IMO, ethanol is a total scam. If someone can answer one simple question, you may change my mind right here and now:

How can something that reduces fuel economy be good for my car or the environment?

 

[JDDDCy]

I have compared it to E10 in a couple different vehicles and have actually had better mileage with it. I believe is has to do with the quality of gas they blend it with. It is normally a higher Octane 88 or 89 vs E10 being an 87. I am not really sure how that all works but I know what my results have been so I use it whenever it is an option.

 

[herbicide]

This is actually false as it is closer to straight Ethanol getting 2/3 of the fuel economy of straight no-lead. Then, like you said you do the conversion to 15% blend vs a 10% blend. Here is the exact numbers:

The energy of ethanol relative to gasoline
A. 76,000 = BTU of energy in a gallon of ethanol
B. 116,090 = BTU of energy in a gallon of gasoline
C. .655 = 2/3 = GGE of energy in a gallon of ethanol. A / B. (GGE =energy in a gal. of gas)
D. 1.53 = Gallons of ethanol with the energy of 1 gallon of gasoline. D = B / A.

A little nit-picky, but yes. So instead of 2.5% less it becomes 1.7% less. From a straight economic standpoint that means if the $ difference is greater than 1.7% then you are saving on the E15

 

[BCClone]

I have compared it to E10 in a couple different vehicles and have actually had better mileage with it. I believe is has to do with the quality of gas they blend it with. It is normally a higher Octane 88 or 89 vs E10 being an 87. I am not really sure how that all works but I know what my results have been so I use it whenever it is an option.

Actually E10 is blended with poorer fuel. It is used to bring up the Octane. They will use 85 gas with E10 to make 87 octane.

 

[herbicide]

Octane ratings don’t affect fuel economy directly*.

They can be indicative of the formulation of the fuel though, as certain compounds have more energy per gallon (BTUs) than others. The more energy per gallon, the more mpg you get.

 

[clone52]

Oh boy...

You do realize that most of our imported oil is from the Great White North, eh?

I don't agree with the terminology Cyclonesrule91 uses, but you can't argue that the Middle East doesn't play a huge role in determining the price of oil and that without oil, we wouldn't spend nearly as much militarily in the middle east.

 

[1100011CS]

What exactly is 'Octane'? (too lazy to Google)

Actually, I did Google but I'd prefer one of you intelligent people ELI5

 

[herbicide]

What exactly is 'Octane'? (too lazy to Google)

Resistance to predetonation, which is fancy for engine knock. Basically higher octane is only needed for engines that are higher performance, like sports cars or some turbo/supercharged engines, most cars don’t need it.

If your manual or gas cap doesn’t say premium fuel only, you’re not getting any benefits.

 

[Triggermv]

I have compared it to E10 in a couple different vehicles and have actually had better mileage with it. I believe is has to do with the quality of gas they blend it with. It is normally a higher Octane 88 or 89 vs E10 being an 87. I am not really sure how that all works but I know what my results have been so I use it whenever it is an option.

I work in the fuel industry and the low octane fuel (84 octane) that gets blended with E10 is the EXACT SAME low octane fuel that gets blended for an E15 blend. The reason the octane is higher is simply because blending a 100 octane level ethanol with 84 octane low-grade (what gets shipped through the pipeline) raises the octane level of any fuel you buy. So, the more ethanol you blend, the higher the blended octane is going to be. With that said, octane levels don't affect your fuel economy, the fuel's BTU content does, which is why you get less miles per gallon burning ethanol blends than not, not vice-versa.

 

[wxman1]

FWIW I have a 2013 Accord and the owners manual says "Your vehicle is designed to operate on oxygenated gasoline containing up to 10% ethanol by volume."

 

[isufbcurt]

Unfortunately, without subsidies and/or mandates, corn-based ethonol could not survive on it's own merits.

I could say the same thing for many industries.

 

[herbicide]

Just adding a friendly reminder that the oil companies aren’t the only big business that is involved in propaganda here. The ethanol industry has its own fair share of it floating around too. Watch the sources of information regarding this topic.

 

[vortec22]

How can something that reduces fuel economy be good for my car or the environment?

Good question. Ask the EPA why diesel trucks have DPF's and regens.

 

[Triggermv]

Again as a fuel industry trader, to simplify for everyone, there is only two products that ship through the pipelines in Iowa that most all fuel retailers pull from. BP is the only real exception as they have their own pipeline. One product is 84 octane low-grade fuel, which you can't sell in and of itself because in Iowa, everything sold to the consumer needs to have an 87 octane level or higher, so it has to be blended. The other product is straight unleaded premium, which is 91 octane. Then, once at the terminal, that is when most our ethanol (100 octane) gets blended in (some retailers blend their own), which gets shipped in to the fuel terminals by rail or by truck locally, usually as some type of high blend (E85 is used a lot). This results in the fuel terminals having three products - low-grade unleaded (84 octane), premium unleaded (91 octane), and some blend of 100 octane ethanol as their base products. Then, any blend you see at the end terminals is some blend of those three products and the resulting blended octane level as well.

Another take-away from this is to all those people who say a certain retailer sells better and different gasoline than another retailer is mostly false. Outside of BP, pretty much all retailers are pulling the exact same gasoline at the exact same terminals. Where you do get a little difference is with some of the different performance enhancing additives that certain retailers add and certain retailers don't to their gasoline. However, the base fuel is the exact same, again, with BP being the exception. Therefore also, if a bad batch of fuel comes through the pipeline, its bad for everyone.

 

[Gorm]

My issue is, my current car is designed to run 89 or higher. When i put the 87 ethanol in it, it knocks and pings horribly. So i'm stuck with the 91 non-ethanol unless I run into a station where they have all octane levels with ethanol.

 

[FOREVERTRUE]

How can something that reduces fuel economy be good for my car or the environment?

The whole exhaust system (catalytic converter, muffler) on your car reduces your fuel economy, is slightly harder on your car due to the back pressure, but definitely better for the environment.

 

[CtownCyclone]

My issue is, my current car is designed to run 89 or higher. When i put the 87 ethanol in it, it knocks and pings horribly. So i'm stuck with the 91 non-ethanol unless I run into a station where they have all octane levels with ethanol.

Just go halvesies with the 91 and 87, it'll average out to 89.

 

[Gorm]

Just go halvesies with the 91 and 87, it'll average out to 89.

I have tried this in the past. Unfortunately, the pump in my tanks always pulls from the bottom. It never seems to mix properly and I still get the knocking. Not to mention the hassle of doing the credit card twice...etc.

 

[khardbored]

Does "leaded" gasoline still exist and is it sold anywhere?

I just remember seeing those pumps as a kid and my dad telling me to be sure NOT to put that in my car! To this day, I still have that slight fear.

To make it more confusing, "regular" used to mean leaded, and now "regular" means Unleaded!