E10 Unleaded

National Boat Racing Association Adopts E10 Ethanol Blend As Official Fuel For 2011

2011-04-12T22:31:00.001-04:00

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the National Boat Racing Association (NBRA) announced yesterday that Hydroplane and Runabout racing boats will be flying across the lakes of the Midwest on a new fuel: E10 ethanol. The newly-formed partnership between the RFA and NBRA will provide all powered boats competing in the 2011 NBRA series event races with E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline).

“American boaters have been utilizing ethanol-blended fuel safely and effectively for years,” said Vernon Barfield, NBRA Spokesperson. “Ethanol-blended fuel provides the high-performance engines in this series with the horsepower and performance they need to win. We are excited to show that our racing boats are able to perform to their best capability using E10 fuel, shaking the myths that ethanol harms marine engines.”

Today, nearly every gallon of gasoline sold in the United States is blended with ethanol, most commonly in the E10 formulation. This blend of fuel has been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in all engine types, including marine equipment, automobiles, and small or non-road engines. These two-stroke engine boats will be taking engine performance to the next level, reaching top notch speeds operating on E10 fuel purchased from the same retail fuel locations as local consumers.

“We are thrilled to partner with NBRA to dispel any notion that ethanol is an unfit fuel for marine engines,” said Robert White, RFA Director of Market Development. “The use of E10 in these racing boats proves that this fuel is as effective during your weekly commute in your automobile as it is on your weekend boating trips.”

Through the partnership of the RFA and NBRA, ethanol pride will be displayed at every race. To educate and inform consumers about the use of ethanol, Fan Packs of ethanol information will be give out to the first 200 attendees at each event with RFA’s “Fueled With Pride” logo displayed on uniforms, course buoys and flags, t-shirts sold at the races by NBRA, trophies presented at national events, near refueling areas of all boats, and on signs placed throughout the viewing area. Through the Ethanol Driver Contingency Program, cash awards will be given to those who promote their use of E10. It is important that America’s consumers are aware the benefits ethanol blended fuels and the positive impact this domestic made fuel has on our environment and our economy.

(Crossposted from American Fuels)

E10 Ethanol Blend Reduces Moped Exhaust Emissions

2010-08-26T14:53:00.001-04:00

I recently ran across an interesting study from Denmark on the exhaust emissions from mopeds. Mopeds are evidently fairly common in Denmark so they were looking at ways to reduce harmful emissions from them.

The study was conducted by the Technical University of Denmark and measured how ethanol blended gasoline reduced the emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, smoke and particulate matter. The results showed that all emissions were reduced with introduction of ethanol but the most striking change was in the levels of particulate matter. E10 reduced the amount of particulate matter by up to 75%.

Emission from a Moped Fuelled by Gasoline/Ethanol Mixtures

This study may not seem all that relevant since mopeds aren't all that popular in the United States but the engine in the moped tested is of the same basic type as found in many pieces of small hand held equipment such as string trimmers and chain saws. And since the users of these types of equipment are forced to breath the pollutants they emit, any product that reduces the amount of harmful pollutants emitted should be considered.

MTD Products Fuel Recommendations

2010-05-13T23:13:00.003-04:00

MTD manufactures outdoor power equipment under many names including Cub Cadet, Cub Cadet Commercial, Cub Cadet Yanmar, Troy-Bilt, White Outdoor, Yard-Man, Yard Machines, Bolens, Arnold, GardenWay, MTD Pro and MTD Gold. In the support section of their site a question and answer section and one question deals with what type of gasoline should be used.

It is recommended that customers use unleaded gasoline in the 84-90 octane range and avoid using gasoline with more than 10% alcohol.

Source : MTD Products Website

RedMax Fuel Recommendations

2009-03-01T01:43:00.003-05:00

RedMax is a maker of commercial grade outdoor equipment such as chainsaws, string trimmers, blowers, etc. In their warranty statement they say that gasoline containing up to 10% ethanol is acceptable.

Only use gasolines which contain 89 octane or Higher. Gasohol which contains a maximum 10% ethanol (grain alcohol) or 15% MTBE (methyl/tertiary/butyl/ether) is also approved.

Source : RedMax Warranty Statement

Echo Outdoor Power Equipment Fuel Recommendations

2009-02-23T00:21:00.000-05:00

Echo Outdoor Power Equipment makes commercial quality power equipment such as string trimmers, blowers, etc. On their website, in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section is their recommendations on fuel.

Gasoline – Use 89 Octane [(R+M)/2] (mid-grade or higher) gasoline or gasohol known to be good quality.
Gasoline may contain up to 10% Ethyl (grain) alcohol (ethanol) or 15% MTBE (methyl teriary-butyl ether).

Source : Echo Website

Stihl Fuel Recommendations

2009-02-15T23:37:00.000-05:00

Stihl is a maker of small hand held equipment such as chainsaws, string trimmers, blowers, etc. In the Frequently Asked Questions section of the Stihl website there is a question on the use of ethanol blended fuel.

Will a 10% (E10) blend of ethanol hurt my chain saw, trimmer, or blower?

All STIHL gasoline powered engines are OK for use with up to a 10% (E10) blend of ethanol in gasoline.

Source : Stihl FAQ

Yamaha Outboards Fuel Recommendations

2009-02-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

Yamaha, makers of marine outboard engines, maintains a section on their website for frequently asked questions concerning the use of ethanol blended gasoline.

Are Yamaha engines compatible with E10 fuel?

All current models as well as most engines built since the late 1980’s have been designed with fuel system components that are tolerant to fresh fuel containing ethanol up to 10% (E10). Outboard fuel systems can still be affected by: water, dissolved gum, varnish, corrosion particles, and dissolved resins that E10 fuel has cleaned from the distribution system and your boat’s fuel tanks.

Source : Yamaha Outboard FAQs

Iowa E10 Sales Reach 75 Percent of Gasoline Market in 2008

2009-02-02T08:58:00.015-05:00

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) announced that Iowans chose E10, a 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline blend, 75 percent of the time in 2008.

According to the Iowa Department of Revenue (IDR), in 2008 Iowans purchased:


Type               Gallons       Percentage
E0 Gasoline       397,245,643       25.0%
E10             1,193,833,838       75.0%

Previous E10 Usage in Iowa

2008 75.0%
2007 73.9%
2006 69.3%
2005 75.0%

* Note: These figures do not reflect E85 sales, which are reported separately and at a later date by the IDR.

Source : Iowa Renewable Fuels Association

Using E10 Unleaded In Snowmobiles

2009-01-31T14:28:00.001-05:00

Lately there have been several news articles from the North East claiming that use of ethanol blended gasoline in snowmobiles was causing problems. It is hard to understand the difficulties they are having since other parts of the country have used ethanol blended fuel for some time. And examples of E10 being used successfully aren't hard to find.

For instance the Yellowstone National Park was looking for ways to reduce pollution within the park and after studying the situation concluded that the use of E10 in snowmobiles operated within the park would help cut emissions. The two-stroke engines common to snowmobiles typically emit several times more pollutants four-stroke motors. The use of E10 and low emission lubricating oil was found to reduce emission substantially.

Estimates based on the amount of fuel consumed in the 1997-1998 season suggest that use of low-pollution products by the rental machines (which are estimated to have traveled nearly 5 million miles) probably reduced emission of hydrocarbons (primarily unburned fuel and lubrication oil) by as much as 84 tons, and carbon monoxide by about 120 tons. This was a reduction of 16 percent in hydrocarbon emissions and 9 percent in carbon monoxide.

As a result the park started using E10 along with low emission lubricating oil in it's fleet of 100 snowmobiles in 1997. And the snowmobile rental agencies that operate within the park adopted E10 as well.

Project findings caused West Yellowstone snowmobile and snowcoach rental agencies to voluntarily use E-10 and bio-based lube oils to reduce emissions and increase power. The fleet operators experienced a 60 percent reduction in required maintenance calls, avoided carburetor freezing, and had better power and fuel economy.

The use of E10 may be new to the North East but it has been used successfully in other regions of the country with similar climates for some time.

Source : Montana Department of Environmental Quality

E10 Ethanol and Fuel Mileage

2008-10-08T14:29:00.000-04:00

Visit any of the internet discussion forums where ethanol is being discussed and you will always see someone claiming large decreases in fuel mileage with ethanol blends. The problem though with user testimonials is that there is no way to control the other variables that effect fuel mileage in normal day to day driving. That is why formal tests conducted under controlled conditions is the only way to truly measure the effects of ethanol blends on fuel mileage.

Some time back California decided that they needed to move to lower carbon fuels. The move to greater use of biofuels in the transportation sector was part of this strategy and in preparation they started conducting tests to determine how the expanded use of ethanol would effect emissions. One of the studies conducted also reported the effects of ethanol blends on fuel mileage.

Fleet average fuel consumption increased by 1.4% when ethanol content was increased from the zero to the high level.

In this case the high level that they refer to is 10% ethanol. So in formal testing where other variables that could effect fuel mileage are controlled E10 increases fuel consumption by 1.4%. Putting that a different way, if a vehicle gets 30 miles per gallon on straight gasoline, the same vehicle should get about 29.6 miles per gallon on E10 if all other variables other than fuel selection are eliminated.

Source : Effects of Ethanol and Volatility Parameters on Exhaust Emissions

Kohler Fuel Recommendations

2008-09-28T18:38:00.000-04:00

Kohler is a company with many business interests. Although perhaps more well known for making bathroom fixtures, they also make small engines that can be found on numerous brands of lawn care equipment and some commercial equipment applications.

In the frequently asked questions section of their website they say that use of E10 is acceptable.

What fuel is recommended for my engine?

Unleaded regular gasoline with a pump sticker octane rating of 87 or higher can be used. If you are required to use oxygenated fuel, blends containing a maximum of 10% ethanol or 15% MTBE are acceptable. Fuels with higher concentrations and methanol blends are not recommended.

Source : Kohler

Honda Power Equipment's Fuel Recommendations

2008-09-21T17:04:00.000-04:00

Besides making cars Honda also makes small engines for use lawn mowers, generators, snow blowers etc. And just like their cars Honda small engines have a good reputation for reliability.

According to their website ethanol blended fuels are allowed.

What fuel should I use in my Honda engine?

Honda engines are designed and certified to run on regular unleaded gasoline.

Gasoline is allowed, by regulation, to contain a variety of additives. The same regulation limits how much of some additives, such as alcohol, can be included in the fuel and still allow it to be sold as gasoline. If you look in a Honda product owner’s manual, you will see that a maximum of 10% ethanol is allowed in gasoline (other oxygenates are also listed). Honda engines are designed for good performance and efficient operation using gasoline containing from 0 to 10% ethanol.

Source : Honda

Ethanol Phase Separation

2008-09-10T00:26:00.000-04:00

The EPA published a report in 1995 that deals with the issue of phase separation in oxygenated fuels. The primary oxygenates discussed in the report are ethanol and MTBE.

Phase separation occurs when the water content reaches the maximum amount that the gasoline blend can dissolve, any additional water will separate from the gasoline. If the only source of water is from moisture in the air, phase separation is unlikely to occur due to the length of time required.

For example, at a constant temperature of 100 degrees F and relative humidity of 100%, it would take well over 200 days to saturate one gallon of gasoline in an open gasoline can (assuming the only source of water is water vapor from the air). Water absorption from the air is far slower at lower temperatures and humidities. (At a temperature of 70 degrees and relative humidity of 70%, it would take over two years to saturate one gallon of conventional gasoline in the same gasoline can.) Again, oxygenated gasolines can hold more water than conventional gasoline, and would therefore take much longer to saturate with water.

Source : Water Phase Separation in Oxygenated Gasoline

Mercury Marine's Fuel Recommendations

2008-09-06T16:22:00.000-04:00

Mercury Marine is a leading manufacturer of outboard engines and stern drives for boats. They maintain a section devoted to ethanol blended fuels on their website.

Some of the issues that I have seen discussed in the media latley with regards to ethanol's use in boats are addressed.

Are Mercury engines compatible with ethanol fuels?

The fuel-system components of Mercury engines will withstand up to 10 percent ethanol in gasoline - the maximum level currently allowed by the EPA in the U.S.

How does ethanol affect my fiberglass fuel tank?

Fiberglass tanks manufactured prior to 1991 may not be compatible with gasoline containing ethanol. It has been reported that, in the presence of ethanol, some resins may be drawn out of fiberglass and carried into the engine where severe damage could occur. If an older fiberglass tank is used, check with the manufacturer to determine if gasoline with ethanol can be safely used.

Are older fuel lines prone to failure? What about gaskets?

During the 1980s, many rubber components for use in fuel systems were developed to withstand exposure to fuels containing ethanol. If rubber components in a fuel system are suspected to be of this vintage or older it may be advisable to replace them with newer ethanol-safe components before using fuels containing ethanol. Check with the manufacturer for advice or frequently inspect these fuel-system components for signs of swelling or deterioration and replace if problems are noted.

Source : Mercury Marine

Evinrude Outboard's Fuel Recommendations

2008-08-31T23:33:00.000-04:00

Evinrude is a leading maker of outboard motors for boats. In the Frequently Asked Questions section of their website they state that fuels containing up to 10% ethanol are allowable.

Q - I live in an area where they only sell oxygenated fuels. Will this hurt my motor?

A - Oxygenated fuels should not hurt motors. Motors can tolerate up to 10% alcohol in fuels, which is the maximum allowed by law in the United States.

Source : Evinrude

Briggs & Straton Fuel Recommendations

2008-08-26T21:04:00.000-04:00

Briggs & Straton is one of the largest makers of small engines. Their engines can be found on power equipment such as lawn mowers, pressure washer, snow blowers, etc. According to their website E10 unleaded is allowed in all four stroke and two stroke engines.

All 4 stroke cycle spark ignited engines