Help Get Control Of Ethanol

Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Just did.... Ethanol is corn liquor you can not drink...
 

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
My button is now properly pushed. We're lucky here in Sumter, SC and even right on the way to our club. 100% gasoline is still available. It's more expensive than blended but well worth it. With as little as I use $3.50 a gallon is pretty insignificant.
 

hewebb

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Oct 8, 2011
329
Catalina Catalina 25 Joe Pool Lake
I have convinced most of the outboard owners that their gas engines are seldom used to purchase aviation fuel. That seems to solve their engine issues. Lots of small airports have self service where you can purchase it. I was glad to add my name to the US Boat list
 
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Sep 30, 2013
3,538
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida
First-generation ethanol is a huge environmental loser, and everybody knows it. It takes more petroleum to produce ethanol than the amount of petroleum it replaces. Not to mention the staggering, unimaginable volumes of fresh water used in the production of ethanol. The only reason there's ethanol in our gas is because every four years, ALL the presidential hopefuls line up to kiss the ass of the Iowa corn farmers who grow the corn to make the ethanol. Even Al Gore, the high priest of the global warming religion, admitted this fact AFTER he got out of presidential politics.

Oh, and all the mouth-breathing enviro-idiots think ethanol can save the world from "climate change".

So sign the petition all you want - I did - but we will continue to be sodomized with ethanol in our gas until some sort of widespread famine makes corn more valuable as a food than a political magic trick.

So get used to it. :banghead:
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Well said @Gene Neill .... have you read the Omnivore's Dilemma by Micheal Pollan? He does a great job of tracing the history of exactly how our food economy got so distorted.

And until that famine occurs I'm going to enjoy very cheap "Flex Fuel" (E85) in my truck ($1.79/gal) subsidized by your tax dollars.... :banghead: Whooop whoop!
 
Feb 3, 2015
299
Marlow Hunter 37 Reefpoint Marina Racine, WI
Sure am glad I am not a mouth breathing enviro idiot or corn growing farmer. But I do live in Iowa, so thanks for sharing.
 
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bletso

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Aug 20, 2013
106
Globe 38 PCB
I added my name now I just have to see who else my name and email will be sold to.
 
Feb 10, 2004
3,917
Hunter 40.5 Warwick, RI
Done. And I couldn't agree more Gene Neill. Ethanol in gasoline is a terrible idea on so many levels. And it is 100% political driven.
 

arf145

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Nov 4, 2010
484
Beneteau 331 Deale, MD
Oh, and all the mouth-breathing enviro-idiots think ethanol can save the world from "climate change".
I don't think any environmentalists believe ethanol is a solution to global warming, as you're still burning and producing CO2. And I don't think many even believe that it's a good environmental or energy policy.
 
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JRacer

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Aug 9, 2011
1,331
Beneteau 310 Cheney KS (Wichita)
Well said @Gene Neill .... have you read the Omnivore's Dilemma by Micheal Pollan? He does a great job of tracing the history of exactly how our food economy got so distorted.

And until that famine occurs I'm going to enjoy very cheap "Flex Fuel" (E85) in my truck ($1.79/gal) subsidized by your tax dollars.... :banghead: Whooop whoop!
The first year I had my Flex Fuel Suburban, I kept meticulous record of the mileage, and the fuel used switching back and forth between E85 and less diluted gas. Found that the E85 vs gas was about a push with the gas giving me more miles at a lower cost. YMMV but it was enough for me to stop seeking out places to buy the E85 and wasting my time. And, obviously, without the subsidy, the whole industry is toast as it makes no economic sense.
 
Mar 26, 2011
3,399
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
Agreed. It was bad politics from the start.

Meanwhile you really can learn to live with it. I've done a bunch of testing for ASTM and mags and I've learned how to make it painless:
  1. Keep the vents closed on integral tanks and portable tanks when not actually running. Even an overnight rain can ruin the fuel. Been there. But no vent = no aging or water pick-up.
  2. If you have an installed tank, install a vent filter. Less water absorption (less corrosion), less volitiles loss (easier starting), and no chance of salt spray (doesn't take much).
  3. Use an effective anti-corrosion additive. Unfortunately, they do NOT all work. Biobor EB, Mercury Quick Stor, and Seafoam are proven. Run the gas out or don't--your choice. I see no proof that solves anything. Running the engine every month and using an additive works perfectly. Carbs are not actually clogging on gum these days, they are clogging on aluminum corrosion bloom (aluminum bowls + brass fittings = corrosion).
  4. Run the engine. FAR more sail kickers and dinghy outboards die from disuse that hours. Try to turn the gas over several times each year. This is also true for non-ethanol gas.
 
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Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Just for the fermentation crowd , hic hic, this is the real bio fuel that has no impact to engines, in fact it may help reduce normal engine maintenance....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanol_fuel
and guess what you can very easily modify the "Ethanol plants" to make it.
Jim...
As a fuel you bet.... but about twice the volatility as gasoline. You are almost at the boiling point at room temperature. It would be tricky to handle in pure form as a fuel. On a hot day, you would have a highly pressurized tank or you would vent off all of your fuel.... Might make a nice 10% blend though. You would need to have some serious spill control protocols and vapor containment devices in place before I'd adopt using it.
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
twice the volatility as gasoline
Not to argue, but are you sure you are looking at Butanol?
http://www.ddbst.com/en/EED/PCP/VAP_C39.php

What is cool about this is, two high school students, rediscovered the fermentation process and a new strain to improve the yield of Butanol. It was stopped (early 1900's) because the discoverer was after acetone, not butanol.

Mark my prediction that we will be running on Bio-Butanol in next 10 years because you can make it off just about any organic including Algae.
Jim...
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Another strike against the Ethanol project- it is taking from food production. The Ethanol demand has driven up cost for corn silage impacting the food sources for our dairy, beef, pork, and chicken. All of these protein sources are costing more because we've increased the cost of a primary feed. What were they thinking?