Using gas with 10% ethanol

I have a 2001 honda accord. Wanted to know if it was ok to use gas
with 10%ethanol and would there be any long term damaging effects if I
did that. I asked a dealership in my area and they said it would not
be a problem. However, want to know expert opinions of the people in
this group.

Thanks.

 

It depends on what the fuel system components are made of. Check the
manual. Ethanol blended gas is common so it's probably OK. There are
no long term problems using ethanol blends as long as your fuel system
is compatible. Generally the milage will drop slightly and the engine
will produce less soot with Ethanol blends.

If your manual says Ethanol is OK, don't assume that other alcohols are.
The heavier alcohols can be very destructive to organic solids.

 

There are

All true. However it may be useful to note that Archer Daniels Midland owns
about 80% of us corn -- from which alcohol distilled. Further, it takes the
heat from about 1.5 gallons of alcohol to distill 1 gallon of alcohol. 50%
net loss. And guess where this energy comes from. Electricity. Which comes
almost exclusively from burning coal, natural gas, oil -- whatever fossil fuels
are locally available. High school chemistry

Quent

 

Is not an opton in some cities. All have 10% ethanol.

 

-----------------------
Jose,

It doesn't really matter what the 'experts' in this group say, really.
Your owner's manual is the only source for this answer, 'cuz if you obey
it's instructions, and something still goes wrong, Honda will have to
make it good. If you obey the advice of an Internet 'expert', and damage
your engine, who will testify for you in court.

There's some really amazing advice dispensed around here. Some of it is
WAY worse than some of the advice you get from your dealership. Stick
around and join is in a good laugh.

Just read your manual.

'Curly'

-----------------------

 

Probably coal, maybe gas. Even if ethanol's production requires more
energy input than is output, it could still be economical relative to
gasoline produced from the distillation of expensive crude. I think
there's more to the equation than you have represented.

Ron

 

Ron wrote in part:> Even if ethanol's production requires more

I wonder how refining crude would require more energy than one gets out -- as
does alcohol. How many BTUs in to get how many BTUs out. First Law of
Thermodynamics --( OK, maybe 2nd or 3rd.)

Quent

 

The only "more" to the equation is Mr. Daschle's pork barrel. Ethanol from
biomass as a vehicle fuel is non-viable by any measure - the scale is all
wrong. In fact the cheapest way to produce ethanol is from ethylene, IOW
steam cracking of virgin naphtha which has been distilled from crude
petroleum... but then that would not fit the ummm, proposed "green" model.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

Honda will make it good IF the damage becomes evident during the warranty
period. Honda's are supposed to last a long time so most years of ownership
are AFTER the coverage ends. Who would be able to link the damage to
ethanol? What are the chances they will offer a free repair on a 7 year old
car?

 

Who said that "refining crude would require more energy than one gets
out?" And this situation has nothing to do with any of the Laws of
Thermodynamics.
Energy in vs. energy out is not the principle in question. It's the
total cost of producing the final volume of fuel that drives the
economic process. If it costs more to produce a gallon of ethanol
that it's worth, do you believe that an enlightened manufacturer would
continue to produce it?
Ron

 

Doh? It's kinda simple: if the energy in is more than the energy out the
process is not viable.

If he's being subsidized by your tax $$ - YES!!

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

Ethanol blended gasolines need less anti-pollution processing and
additives than pure petroleum gasolines. That can be the cost benefit
in areas with strict emissions regulations. MTBE can be extremely
expensive when you take into account the environmental damaged caused by
leaking tanks.

 

Moot IMO. Even so, it would still be cheaper to produce the ethanol from
petroleum distillates.

Oxygenated fuels are a bureaucratic red herring IMO - totally unnecessary
with today's engine technology - and amount to little more than govt.
tampering for its own sake. Obviously in countries which do not have an
excess of useable, fermentable biomass, they cannot even be considered.
Alcohol as a blending agent also has some serious storage problems which
incur extra, less well known, costs.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

snip

Although this logic may apply quite well to the ethanol question, I'm
not sure it's valid as a generalization. Just because a fuel requires
more energy to produce than it, in turn, can produce does not
necessarily mean that it's economically nonviable. If a critical
process required a special fuel for which there was no substitute, it
would not matter if production of that fuel were "endothermic." The
process would still be viable.
By the way, the proper spelling of Homer Simpson's favorite
exclamation is "D'oh." ;-) (http://www.snpp.com/guides/dohs.html)

Point taken. I'd like to learn more about this. Thanks for the info.

Ron