Another gas question (ETHANOL)

Highfly

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I was filling my sleds up at Costco last year and my daughter said to me "Dad you can't use this gas, it has ethanol in it". Now I'm not sure where she saw they can't have ethanol but need to confirm this.
 

E-Zmoke

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I was filling my sleds up at Costco last year and my daughter said to me "Dad you can't use this gas, it has ethanol in it". Now I'm not sure where she saw they can't have ethanol but need to confirm this.

She is correct! Not a good idea...are you running those old edges? If you are you can, but you will need to jet them fatter and the long term effects of running ethanol are not favorable. Just keep it simple and run shell v power
 

cokecrazed007

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I know in gp the pump has a sticker on by the 87 octane that says 10% ethanol, but I don't know if that is for premium as well.

Sent from my SGH-I717D using Tapatalk 2
 

HotShotHarry

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I think the only non ethanol gas left is Alberta is Shell Premium. As mentioned above- V-Power,
 

Badass69

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Premium from blenders like Shell and Esso have no ethanol in them. All 87 octane from any blender does as it was a provincial mandate.

Any 94 octane gas you will find in this province has ethanol in it as that is the reason for the 3 point increase on 91 octane basestock. Remember when Husky/Mohawk had 90/92/94..... Well that was because the 10% ethanol gave them a 3 point increase on 87 basestock.... so it is 90 octane. But since everyone has started blending ethanol the base stock has officially anyway been dropped to around 84 so with 10% ethanol blended in you get 87 octane.

As far as not running ethanol.... that's up to you. It just limits where you can fill up, and if you aren't using premium gas all midgrade and regular have ethanol in them.
 

Highfly

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Cool thx guys. I always run premium. Yes it is for both my 2004 RMKs. Maybe Cosco Premium has no ethanol????
 

adamg

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Didn't the last thread on this topic conclude that Costco premium gas comes from the same tanker as every other brand's premium gas?
 

SavageCanuck

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When in doubt always use Shell Gold there has been a ton of info on fuels and this one definatly contains no ethanol in BC and Alta
 

Badass69

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Petro 94 carrys no ethanol.

Wrong. Yes it does. It is the same fuel in that sense that Husky and Mohawk have been carrying for years already.

Right from Petro Canada's FAQ's page on their Website
  1. Does Ultra 94 contain ethanol? Does Petro-Canada still offer an ethanol-free gasoline?
    Ultra 94 contains ethanol. Due to the fact that various fuel grades are blended at the point of sale, most grades of Petro-Canada fuel may now contain up to 10% ethanol. This represents a change from the previous state, where premium fuel was ethanol-free at Petro-Canada.

Most 91 Octane Premium's do not have ethanol as that is the octane level the basestock is shipped into the truck loadout at before final additive blending when it gets loaded in the tanker. Petro Canada ( or properly Suncor) has only 2 pipes into the truck load out for automotive gasoline. 84 or 85 ( whatever the proper number is when blended with 10% ethanol that gives 87) and 91 octane. That's it. And truthfully for the Edmonton area..... All your Fas Gas, Co-op, UFA, Race Trac Gas, Husky and of course Petro Canada gas comes from that same refinery. Slighty different additive blend depending on what the truck driver punches in according to who he is hauling for. Same basestock regardless for all however.

So no, there isn't a special top tier fuel line and regular schmuck line, lol. That is more based on tank and carrier truck cleanliness IMO. And you will have a Petro Can bound tanker fill off the same load line as a Race Trac gas one just did minutes before.... All that differs is the final additives ( ethanol, tactrol, dye, etc). They don't drain the probably mile of 8" pipeline from the plant to the loadout to give better basestock from one to the next...... That's a myth.

I installed the pressure monitoring system on the incoming lines to the truck loadout from the refinery a few years ago so I got to know what they are getting. And then did maintenance there as needed on and off as with the Shell load out station. Don't miss working on that junk anymore. The blending systems are so high tech and accurate..... Lol.

Supposedly Costco has no ethanol in their 91 octane fuel according to the puregas website. I honestly have no idea but my guess is being it's 91 octane.... it's ethanol free.
 
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Modman

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Wrong. Yes it does. It is the same fuel in that sense that Husky and Mohawk have been carrying for years already.

Right from Petro Canada's FAQ's page on their Website


Most 91 Octane Premium's do not have ethanol as that is the octane level the basestock is shipped into the truck loadout at before final additive blending when it gets loaded in the tanker. Petro Canada ( or properly Suncor) has only 2 pipes into the truck load out for automotive gasoline. 84 or 85 ( whatever the proper number is when blended with 10% ethanol that gives 87) and 91 octane. That's it. And truthfully for the Edmonton area..... All your Fas Gas, Co-op, UFA, Race Trac Gas, Husky and of course Petro Canada gas comes from that same refinery. Slighty different additive blend depending on what the truck driver punches in according to who he is hauling for. Same basestock regardless for all however.

So no, there isn't a special top tier fuel line and regular schmuck line, lol. That is more based on tank and carrier truck cleanliness IMO. And you will have a Petro Can bound tanker fill off the same load line as a Race Trac gas one just did minutes before.... All that differs is the final additives ( ethanol, tactrol, dye, etc). They don't drain the probably mile of 8" pipeline from the plant to the loadout to give better basestock from one to the next...... That's a myth.

I installed the pressure monitoring system on the incoming lines to the truck loadout from the refinery a few years ago so I got to know what they are getting. And then did maintenance there as needed on and off as with the Shell load out station. Don't miss working on that junk anymore. The blending systems are so high tech and accurate..... Lol.

Supposedly Costco has no ethanol in their 91 octane fuel according to the puregas website. I honestly have no idea but my guess is being it's 91 octane.... it's ethanol free.

The midgrades (Shell silver, etc) have always just been a blend of top grade and low grade, that is why there is only 2 lines to the load out - been that way for years.

Base fuel is all the same. You get the same fuel from a lot of the stores and lots of them are just branded to create market share. Centex is Petro (if I remember right?), just as Turbo and Shell were the same. Different stores, exact same fuel. Only difference starts in race etc, which is why you pay more for it. If you want to know who supplies Costco's fuel, look at the pump handle next time you are filling up there. Last time I looked it was printed right there on the plastic cover ;) LOL
 

DragonDiva

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Better check where you are buying your premium fuel from...give the "high" price of it, it sits for ages. We bought some last year and it was obvious by the smell it was bad. We talked to a fuel station owner in Crownest Pass last winter and he said he barely sells any premium and most sleds are running regular. Not sure which is worse...old scanky premium fuel or fresh regular?
 

Badass69

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The midgrades (Shell silver, etc) have always just been a blend of top grade and low grade, that is why there is only 2 lines to the load out - been that way for years.

Base fuel is all the same. You get the same fuel from a lot of the stores and lots of them are just branded to create market share. Centex is Petro (if I remember right?), just as Turbo and Shell were the same. Different stores, exact same fuel. Only difference starts in race etc, which is why you pay more for it. If you want to know who supplies Costco's fuel, look at the pump handle next time you are filling up there. Last time I looked it was printed right there on the plastic cover ;) LOL

Yeah I know all that beyond the Costco thing as I have zero use for Costco and never go to the store or the gas bar...... Lol. You would be surprised how many people fight that there is a midgrade tank..... No, it's blended right in the gas pump itself. But I really don't care at the end of the day.

You have to remember too that it is limited by the local refiners as well. You do, but some many people don't realize that. I mean Lloyd has a Husky refinery.... but Edmonton doesn't. So all you Husky fuels come from Suncor. People get so worked up about fuel at times and I find it laughable.

Most people live by the belief the fuel blends they get are accurate too.... You can believe whatever you want to believe lol. Solenoids never stick open or closed and loads go out with no or 200 times the amount of additive... Naw that never happens, lol.

And people also fight that the final blend is some science done at the refinery..... but of course they have never set foot on a site in their life either.
 
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Highfly

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Awesome info guys. Thanks a bunch! So why is ethanol so bad for sled motors?
 

OOC ZigZag

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Awesome info guys. Thanks a bunch! So why is ethanol so bad for sled motors?

I try to avoid it have always run premium 91 oct or better. Not sure but I think the ethanol dries out gaskets and any neoprene or rubber parts associated with a carbed setup which yours are. Fording this year for some POW.:):beer:
 

Badass69

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I run it my two stroke weed eater, chainsaw and whatnot.... They run just fine.

Ethanol just simply put has less energy per unit volume than gasoline..... So you need more of it to accomplish the same thing. Stoich on pure gas is 14.7:1. Stoich on E10 equipped gas is 14.13:1.... Thus you need slightly more of it. Older fuel injected engines used the 14.7:1 as a base but now most use around 14.43:1.... Middle ground. This is excluding PCM's with the ability to detect ethanol and run E85 ( 85% ethanol, 15% gas which I don't think we can buy in Alberta anyhow, lol).

With E10.... I have found most engines need very little to nothing to live just fine. Some are less tolerant and will start to knock from being slightly lean..... but that's a pretty extreme case at this low of content. Guys always ramble about mileage.... I don't get anything called mileage because I drive hard so I never notice a thing.

I have run E10 since inception in multiple older engines, done nothing special and have never had a failure in a hose, gasket or otherwise yet. Said lawn and garden equipment, tractor, older carbed vehicles.... nothing.

It's reality..... run whatever gives you the warm fuzzy on the inside.
 

pipes

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I run it my two stroke weed eater, chainsaw and whatnot.... They run just fine.

Ethanol just simply put has less energy per unit volume than gasoline..... So you need more of it to accomplish the same thing. Stoich on pure gas is 14.7:1. Stoich on E10 equipped gas is 14.13:1.... Thus you need slightly more of it. Older fuel injected engines used the 14.7:1 as a base but now most use around 14.43:1.... Middle ground. This is excluding PCM's with the ability to detect ethanol and run E85 ( 85% ethanol, 15% gas which I don't think we can buy in Alberta anyhow, lol).

With E10.... I have found most engines need very little to nothing to live just fine. Some are less tolerant and will start to knock from being slightly lean..... but that's a pretty extreme case at this low of content. Guys always ramble about mileage.... I don't get anything called mileage because I drive hard so I never notice a thing.

I have run E10 since inception in multiple older engines, done nothing special and have never had a failure in a hose, gasket or otherwise yet. Said lawn and garden equipment, tractor, older carbed vehicles.... nothing.

It's reality..... run whatever gives you the warm fuzzy on the inside.

The knock is not from being slightly lean but from lower than required octane level. The problem with ethanol blended fuel is that ethanol has an affinity to water. As we all know condensation in fuel tanks comes in the form of water. This water and ethanol combine and drop your octane level in your fuel, hence the knock (AKA pinging). This is particularly bad with underground storage tanks at stations that still have them. They tend to leak fuel out and water in. On the above ground storage tanks condensation builds on the inside of the tank when during the day the tank is heated by the sun and then in the evening it cools down. As it cools down it draws moist air from the atmosphere into the tank this day night change draws in enough moisture that eventually you get some water build up in the inside of the tank and the ethanol loves this water and mixes with it. As badass stated the other problem with ethanol blended fuel is the stoichiometric ratio between blend ethanol fuel and pure gasoline plays a part in the the amount of power generated with the same amount of fuel by volume, although I doubt that one would notice that by the seat of ones pants.
 
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