Non-Ethanol fuel in Washington

[Chester]

Wigeon, thanks for the update. I assumed the one on Iowa St still carried the good stuff.
Small point; the address of the station you mentioned is 1602 12th St.

[Wigeon]

Chester, good catch! Thanks so much for updating the update. It's just nice to have good fuel available and it's right on my way to the boat ramp.

[Chivita]

Port of Kingston and the Port of Pouslbo both carry ethanol free.

Port of Kingston also offers free dog treats and has a large dog walk area right above the fuel dock. No cat treats though, unless the occasional slow seagull counts.

[Pandion]

[mailbox101]

It is my understanding that, except at their testing center in Yorktown, Virginia, the USCG will not purchase blended fuels at this time, so what we do is try to find out where they buy their fuel, as it is not economical for fuel depots to have a separate tank just for USCG use.

At this time they appear to have decided not to use methanol, for all the reasons that we have discussed on C-Brats, and are currently focusing on isobutanol.

Here is an interesting article on the subject in a bio-fuel trade magazine:
http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/9607/isobutanol-to-the-rescue/

[Chester]

Anyone have knowledge of which gas stations in the Bellingham area are currently selling non-ethanol gas?

[Da Nag]

pure-gas.org lists 5 Bellingham locations.

[thataway]

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=WA Is always the best place to check for ethanol free fuel. Currently it lists 200 stations. This is down significantly from about 385 about a year ago. I suspect that the costs of storing, and pricing an extra fuel are part of the issues.

I have to disagree a bit with Roger (since I own a farm where corn is grown)--most of the real farmers who work the fields hate ethanol gas as much as we do. It is the powerful ethanol lobby who has their fingers in the pie--this includes the ethanol manufactures, and some large conglomerate corporations, but not the individual guys who till the fields.

Corn prices were high, do to a relative shortage for a few years--less soy was produced--and more ethanol--then the prices of corn fell….because of a surplus..

I suspect economics have to do with the ethanol shortage in WA-on the other hand, in Calif. (14 stations listed with non ethanol)--it is almost impossible to buy non ethanol gas.

[fishee2]

Well....since is too far for me to drive all the way up north every time to get Non-ethanol gas.

I use the blue/green stabil stuff every time I fill up my tanks.

On my older boat that I've already sold. I do the very same thing, add Stabil blue/green stuff; it was 90hp 2 stroke Yamaha 1989.

During the cold winters, starting October, I use the green/blue stabil and the red stabil stuff. Just run the engine making sure the Stabil stuff gets through the engine and of course the gas tank itself.

I really can't think of anything else since I prefer to buy my fuel closer to home in Seattle. That Stabil stuff is not cheap, is well worth it.

[Chester]

The pure-gas site isn't always up to date. I was hoping for local knowledge.

[localboy]

[BrentB]

In 2012, the corn ethanol industry spent $22.3 million – or over $61,000 per day - lobbying before the U.S. Congress and federal agencies

that is deep pockets

and...

The federal government has in one form or another provided lucrative subsidies to the corn ethanol industry for more than 30 years, wasting tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in the process

[localboy]

[thataway]

The ethanol story is complicated. (Some chemist may clarify this better than I) Gas used to have lead added, as an anti knock and wear agent. Because of the health and environmental impact of the lead, MBTE (Tertiary butyl methyl ether), was used in place of the lead. MBTE also has some bad qualities for humans and the environment--so corn (cheap ?) ethanol was added, instead, and we know how that is working out--at least for our outboards. It is also part of the "green" movement to have bio-renewable resource. But growing the corn is not cheap (chemicals for soil, pesticides, fuel for the tractors--and many other expensive costs from farming, which we don't all consider).

I personally don't feel that farm subsidies are a good thing, and donate any I get to charity. I don't refuse them--because that causes all sorts of governmental issues (Just as my treating Medicaid patients for no fee caused issues). Also, the sharecroppers who work the farm need the subsidy. (Although they have a full time job).

Unfortunately just Stabil does not always prevent the issues in carburetors--I run the fuel out, and drain what is left.

[AstoriaDave]

Bob, I'm a chemist, and alcohol in fuel gripes me more than it does you, I suspect. Here is the full story:

The energy budget for generating the alcohol used in fuel, if sourced from corn, consumes as much petroleum as the alcohol replaces. This was predicted ahead of time, amd reported in reputable scientific publications. Despite this, a combination of green politics agricultural lobbying, and actions by congress lead to the alcohol in fuel mandate ... as a replacemenf for MTBE ... to maintain the octane needed for modern engines. So blame Congress, green groups, the africulture lobby, or those who voted in the folks who approved alcohol, but it ain't "the government" which made it happen.

Forgot: the alcohol has a lesser number of BTUs than the petroleum it replaces, so that also engines now consume more fuel per mile. Surely others must have noticed this. My 2005 Dodge pickup lost about 2 or 3 mpg in around town driving. My boat lost a couple hundred rpms at WOT.

There is an old Navy term for this sort of debacle, but we can't use it here.