Higher ethanol blends are coming soon to a gas pump near you

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/money/higher-ethanol-blends-are-coming-soon-to-a-gas-pump/article_1300241c-a591-5b04-b788-0b87e6e38b3b.html


POSTED: WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016 12:30 AM | UPDATED: 3:04 PM, WED MAY 4, 2016.
By Russell Hubbard / World-Herald staff writer

Like it or not, here it comes: Convenience store operator Kum & Go says it is making a massive commitment to higher gasoline-ethanol blends, planning to sell E15 at about 100 more locations this year.

The 430-store chain based in West Des Moines, with about a dozen stores in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, plans to equip about 30 new stores with E15 apparatuses and retrofit 70 others, company executive Jim Pirolli told attendees of the Nebraska Ethanol Board’s Emerging Issue Conference late last week.

The decision illustrates what motorists might find more common in coming years: Gasoline retailers, beguiled by the lower per-gallon price of higher ethanol blends, increasingly view cheaper fuel as a lure designed to get customers to the soda fountain and cigarette rack.

The higher the blend, the lower the gas mileage, as ethanol has a lower energy content than clear gas. But retailers such as Kum & Go appear to be betting on the appeal of less cash out-of-pocket at the moment of sale. Already, Kum & Go says it has had good success with an even higher ethanol blend, E85, though it is usable by a smaller number of vehicles than are said to be able to use E15.

FULL story at link.

[KamaAina]

1. Kum & Go?

[Brickbat]

5. Not as much fun as the Pump & Munch.

[TrappedInUtah]

2. Ethanol is a scam

It's bad for small engines, boats, motorcycles and older cars.
It gives worse gas mileage than normal gas.
We're turning food into fuel.
I've heard it's not even environmentally friendly and sometimes has a higher carbon footprint than normal gas factoring in production.

The only reason the scam continues is because of the Corn lobbies.

[MillennialDem]

3. Sugar ethanol is pretty good (used in Brazil). Corn is bad news.

[beevul]

4. Either way, it produces less BTUs...

Either way, it produces less BTUs, which means you burn MORE of it to get the same output as you would from a smaller amount of strait unleaded, which means more pollution in the long run, not less.

[Omaha Steve]

7. We have used ethanol since the 70's in our cars

In Nebraska the ONLY gasoline you can buy without it is premium because the refineries dropped the octane to 85 on unleaded. Most drivers won't pay the extra for premium.

The US used it in WWII to raise the octane in aviation fuel. There was a plant for the war dept here in Omaha.

It does drop our milage a small amount.

When I rented a car two years ago I used 85% in that car and it was fine.

[One_Life_To_Give]

8. More difficult to stabilize

It has raised havoc with the boats fuel system since E10 was forced on us here. So far has cost about $500 in extra filters and filter replacements. And thats in addition to having to use a much higher does of Marine Fuel Stabilizer to get her through the winter without getting a tank full of useless stuff to have to drain out and replace.

[madokie]

6. We have a 2014 focus flex fuel

and when I figure our miles per Dollar we get about 1/2 mile more with E85 but having to fill up so soon makes me use the E10. Actually at the E-Z mart where we buy 99% of our gas every time I've checked the ethanol content it comes in at about 7%. On the pump it says it can be up to 10% but its never checked out to be that high.

Our car seems to run fine on the E85 but like I said we don't get nearly as many miles per fill up but we actually save money by using it. I just don't like to have to fill up so often as E85 makes me have too.

When I put straight gas in and figure our miles per Dollar it gives us 1/2 more miles per Dollar too but not too many stations here sell the straight gas. None in our town do.

[FLPanhandle]

9. Lowering the life span of every engine that uses it.

People may choose to buy E15 if it's a few cents/gallon cheaper, but they may face thousands of dollars in repairs later.

There are a few ethanol free fuel stations around and that is my choice, especially for boats.

[Liberal In Texas]

10. Gums up your carb in a lawnmower

if you let it sit for more than a week or so.

[NightWatcher]

11. I prefer Ethanol Free over ruining my engine to subsidize corn farmers

Everyone should run a tank of E-Free every once in a while. I like to run it if I'm planning a long haul on interstate at speed. Itll clean things up a bit.

[Odin2005]

12. Ethanol is a scam pushed by Big Ag and their tools in Congress.