Ethanol

[scooter trash]

Anyone using ethanol based fuel in their Bandit?? Virginia will be switching to ethanol based fuel by the first of May (next Monday).
Have you noticed any changes in performance? Fuel mileage, etc ??

[B6mick]

No but we in Oz have heard some horror stories here of what it does to fuel systems. Plastics, and other fuel system parts can be eaten away by the stuff. Car manufactures over here will not honour warranty claims if they find you have be using enthol blended fuels. Personally I have steered clear of using it. But having said that some oil companies, and or petrol station operators have been blending ethnol fuels, and have had the shyte kicked out of them for doing so. Now if they wish to blend ethnol with fuel they are required to put big big signs up saying so.

[aussiebandit]

No but we in Oz have heard some horror stories here of what it does to fuel systems. Plastics, and other fuel system parts can be eaten away by the stuff. Car manufactures over here will not honour warranty claims if they find you have be using enthol blended fuels. Personally I have steered clear of using it. But having said that some oil companies, and or petrol station operators have been blending ethnol fuels, and have had the shyte kicked out of them for doing so. Now if they wish to blend ethnol with fuel they are required to put big big signs up saying so.

I thought it was Methonol that the manufactures didn't like........

either way, it's a bit rude, as you really don't know what you're getting when you fill up these days....

[B6mick]

Methonol is the good stuff, but its kind of expensive, racing fuel.
Ya need to rejet for it to. like the jets need to be so big ya could drop ya fist through them. No not quite, but lots lots bigger.
The big shyte fight not that long ago, that our federal government even got imvolved with was the use of ethonol, and selling it blended greater than 10% and not telling the comsumer that iin fact it was blended.

[scooter trash]

Great !!!!!

The gas situation here in Virginia Beach, VA is getting to be ridiculous. Fuel shortages, gas stations closed with no fuel. Prices changing hourly. Stations that have gas are charging outrageous prices. And all because we are switching to ethanol. They say they have to empty their storage tanks and have the water taken out of the tanks before they can put the ethanol in the tanks. It’s a mess. Meanwhile the oil companies are about to announce record profits again for this quarter while we sit in gas lines waiting to pay top dollar for regular.

 

[mike]

White Lightnin'  - corn mash and moonshine..

The farmers n SC use it all the time, the ag fuel is died green so you can't use it in nuthin but farm vehicles.  Hell, as rural as it is here, I betcha some of em' make there own with there own grown corn crops.

How would you lke that kinda quality control..


TOTALLY OFF SUBJECT POST !!!

[Red01]

Are you getting it to replace MTBE? If so, ethanol is the lesser of the two evils.

We used to have to get MTBE/ethanol fuels in the winter for air quality reasons in the Greater Seattle/Tacoma area. A few years ago, the EPA said we'd cleaned up our air enough we no longer had to have laced gas at all.  

In the US, they're required by law to put a decal on the pump if the fuel contains 10% or more alcohol. So, I don't buy gas from stations with the stickers on the pump. Around here, that's ARCO & Union 76.

I used to run ARCO gas in my cages because it was cheapest, then I learned of the things that can happen from running alcohol laced gas from a friend who spins wrenches at a GM dealership... and every car that came into the shop with FI delivery problems was an ARCO customer. (76 hadn't started lacing their gas yet back then.) Once I started staying away from ARCO, I noticed the cages got better mpg and had better snap. So far, the B12 has only had one fillup with laced gas, and that was when I'd stopped in a 76 station - and didn't noticed the alcohol sticker until the tank was almost full.

[Daytona]

Once I started staying away from ARCO, I noticed the cages got better mpg and had better snap. So far, the B12 has only had one fillup with laced gas, and that was when I'd stopped in a 76 station - and didn't noticed the alcohol sticker until the tank was almost full.

Maybe the pillar of the site Red 01 (on that other coast) will do a test for all our bikes safety! Got to stay loyal to Pete SC! Maybe seen @ B.O.S.S.!!
Alcohol will sure eat up some rubber stuff and dissolve paint.    

[tannerismyhero]

We have been using 10% ethanol in Iowa for years. When you got so much corn around it just makes sense. I dont fill up with anything other than the bleneded because the 89 or 90 octane blended is about a dime cheaper per gallon than the 87 octane straight up. I would venture to say that it is pretty safe. I have never had a problem in my other bikes with it and my cars don't seem to mind it. I have heard that it attracts water and I have also heard the opposite....no rusty gas tanks for me thus far.  Is anyone from MN? I hear they use a 15-20% in all gas there.

[Red01]

Not trying to open another can of worms here, but hero, have you followed any of the octane threads?

[Bob Holland]

I just read where it takes 1 1/2 gals. of gas to produce 1 gal. of ethanol.Also we, the tax payers, give $30.00 in subsidies to the ethanol compaines for every $1 dollar of profit they make.
Just something to think about.

[Daytona]

Methonol is the good stuff, but its kind of expensive, racing fuel.
Ya need to rejet for it to. like the jets need to be so big ya could drop ya fist through them. No not quite, but lots lots bigger.
The big shyte fight not that long ago, that our federal government even got imvolved with was the use of ethonol, and selling it blended greater than 10% and not telling the comsumer that iin fact it was blended.

I thought methanol was wood alcohol and was a no no in all but highly modified race engines. I see the zuk manual said not to be used, where ethanol is ok and suggested up to 15%! This could become a bigger can of worms than the oil. Or the requirement of the stealer doing the services! That costly 600 mile one they say is needed. "BAHUMBUG"  

[Daytona]

Methonol is the good stuff, but its kind of expensive, racing fuel.

 Hey B6 i'm not   You! the stealer! Hey will there be any sugar cane left after this blow is over to make go Juice????  Wow what a blow!!!!  

[ray nielsen]

Ethanol has been used in MN for the last few years with NO problems except lower gas mileage.  

Methanol. or wood alcohol, is the bad stuff and if used in gasoline it should be accompanied by a co-solvent like Acetone or Methyl-Ethyl-Ketone, both of which are expensive to add.   Without the co-solvents it WILL affect carburetor gaskets and float needle rubber parts.   MTBE or Methyl-Tertiary-Butyl-Ether is being phased out due to it's ground water polluting effects.  I think this is the last year it can be used.  

Ethanol won't affect carb parts for anything made much after 1979 or 1980.    ON my lst few bikes the owner's manual states that a maximum of 10% ethanol is okay, but warns not to use 15% solutions.  It adds that the warranty will be void should that happen.

Since alcohol contains only about 55% of the energy per pound as gasoline the mix will result in slightly lower MPG.  I found it to be about 5-10% on my Bandit 1200.  

On a car it will be worse because of the fuel injection systems commonly used these days.  The increase in oxygen content of the exhaust gas will be sensed by the oxygen sensor(s) in the system and showing too much oxygen the fuel injection computer will be told to richen the mixture.  It does this by widening the voltage pulse to the injectors, effectively dropping mileage -- on my two late model cars it's about 10-15% compared to non-oxygenated fuels.  

In a nutshell, it won't hurt the Bandit save for the increased gas consumption.  It "fakes" a higher octane effect in that the cooling effect of alcohol minimized ping -- actually octane rating is NOT changed, just the effect.

[chevsuz12]

From April through October it's all at least 10% Ethanol in the Chicago area.