E15 On Its Way To A Gas Station Near You

It appears lobbyists for E15 gasoline have convinced the federal government to mandate the sale of  E15 gasoline.

What's E15 gasoline you might ask?

As you probably know the gasoline that you purchase is known as E10 gasoline.  The gasoline contains up to 10 percent ethanol.  When you purchase gasoline it is 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol.  E15 is 85 percent gasoline and 15 percent ethanol.

So your next question is how does it affect me?

First, your car may not like the gasoline.  Ethanol is corrosive and can damage fuel system parts.  The government has determined that car model years 2001 and newer should be able to tolerate E15 gasoline.  If your car is older, it may end up disabled on the side of the road with failed fuel system parts.

Secondly, E15 gasoline produces less energy than E10 gasoline and pure gasoline that is not mixed with ethanol or methanol.  The result is that your car will not travel as far on a tank of gasoline.  Your fuel costs will go up even though right now E15 proponents say it won't.

So what can I do?

Not much except to grin and bare the unintended consequences of this action.  Since phasing in E15 will be slow you may find some gas stations will not sell the product for a while.

Look for labels on the gasoline pump.  They must show what is dispensed from the pump.  Look for a label that says the gasoline may contain up to 10 percent or 15 percent ethanol.  Of course if your car is a flex fuel vehicle and you want to burn E85 gasoline look for the label that says the pump dispenses E85 gasoline which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.  Your car will not be adversely affected by E15 gasoline. 

What should I do if my car is older than 2001?

Don't pump E15 in the tank.  Look for a gas station that dispenses E10 gasoline.  The alternative is to have the car's fuel system upgraded to parts that will tolerate E15 gasoline.  Another alternative is to purchase a later model vehicle, but with almost all decisions made by the government there are unintended consequences.

Way back in the 1970s when the fuel went from pure gasoline to the present mixture of E10 fuel system related problems developed in vehicles that supposedly could tolerate the fuel.  You won't know for sure what will develop until it does.

Additionally, your snow blower, weed whacker, lawn mower, lawn tractor, fishing boat etc. will be affected too.  Get ready, the fun is about to begin, again.