E85 Test

E85 and gas

2008-12-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't update this in awhile, but I have still been using E85 up until a few weeks ago. E85 has been very positive for me, especially when gas prices this summer were outrageous. E85 was consistently priced 20%-30% lower than gas. 13-14 mpg on 2 tanks of gas, and 11-12 mpg on E85.

The cool thing is that my truck will run on either, and with gas near $1.50, E85 is no longer priced 20% less, per e85prices.com so I am running on gas, which is more cost effective for me. The way gas prices fluctuate has always bothered me. Who can figure it out? Global economy, supply, demand, taxes, tariffs, etc. Now that I have a choice, an alternative, who cares. I'll go with the cheapest, but then the 'buy American' ideal goes out the window. It is similar to those new house furnaces that run on both electricity and natural gas and can switch between the two depending on the cost per therm.

Spark Plug change

2008-02-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Ok, I went ahead and changed all 8 spark plugs with AC Delco 41-985 gapped at ".040. All of the ones I pulled out were AC Delco/NGK and looked real normal and looked to be original. So, I have full synthetic Pennzoil, new plugs, all drivetrain fluids serviced, synthetic in rear, filter changed in tranny, and I had all the dents popped out of the doors, too.

A white fleet Chevy Uplander van from Diebold filled up at the E85 station behind me last night. And the last time, I saw a new Jeep Liberty? getting E85, so it seems popular.

First E85 oil change

2008-02-14T14:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, this past weekend, I changed the oil, upon recommendation from the 'Change Oil' light. This will be the first time since last July. I've always done my own oil changes, never had anyone else do it on any vehicle I've ever owned. (DIY home improvement projects, bag your own groceries, check yourself out of the store, pump your own gas, generate your own solar electricity, grow your own fuel, but then pay for car washes and oil changes?? Whole other topic.)

Anyway, I pulled the AC Delco PF61 filter off and replaced with NAPA Gold 1522. Drained the oil and replaced with Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic - almost 6 qts! The dirty oil that came out did not smell like normal dirty oil. Can't quite describe it here, but I could tell this was different. Dirty though, no doubt.

When I started it to back off the ramps, my dad noticed the E85 exhaust smell. It's obvious this vehicle runs on something different - E85.

Might have to tackle the spark plugs, next. Stay tuned.

E85 in the News

2008-01-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

I filled up yesterday at 91st and Huron in Denver for $2.09. 11.5 mpg. I think the next tank might be gasoline to test the mileage difference. But, that's 60 cents more per gallon! Argh!

Corvette Indy pace car to be E85. http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/27/two-vettes-set-to-pace-indy-including-e85-z06/ Cool, why not make all of them like that?

I went to the boat show here in Denver. Malibu has a Corvette boat. http://www.flickr.com/photos/malibuboats/sets/72157603225218888/

With all the new boats and boat technology, why not an E85 boat? Ethanol is water soluble. I'd like to go to one pump and fill up my truck and boat with E85.

Normal Fuel Fill up with E85

2008-01-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

I filled up yesterday with fuel - notice its called fuel as it is not gasoline. 17 gallons for $36, I believe. That's about 11 mpg. I thought cold air delivered more power because it is more dense, but then your tires also lost 1 psi for every so many degrees, so that adds rolling resistance. I also heard they add more gasoline to E85 during the winter so it is more like E70, but that doesn't seem so in this case, or else my gas mileage would be improving.

Here is the emissions link http://www.change2e85.com/images/store_version1/Emissions%20Scans.pdf and a 1996 isn't a factory flex fuel vehicle.

A co-worker of mine wishes his Subaru ran on flex fuel. His dealership wouldn't even address his questions and warned him it would void his warranty, of which, he still has 2 years left. Too bad Subaru. Get with it.
There is a flex fuel conversion company out there that has been EPA approved for fleets but the kit is $1,000 and they add $200 if the transmission store installs it for you.

I thought I saw Volvo adding flex fuel to its line up in 2008. Hopefully, in the USA.

E85: $1.99 Oil: $100 per barrel

2008-01-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

I filled up yesterday at $1.99 with E85. Fortuitously, oil reached $100 a barrel. Hmm.

Plus, there is a surplus of corn. Ask a Colorado corn farmer, the Colorado Corn Growers Association, or the NCGA.

My mileage was 11 mpg probably because of the snow we've had and the frequent use of 4wd.

For emissions, I thought I had a chart bookmarked which compared a 1996 Chevy on E85 and on gasoline. E85 was the winner, but I can't find the bookmark. 1996 wasn't a flex fuel model year vehicle.

One thought I had about the decreased mpg with E85- what if a car ran on water and got 3 or 4 mpg? Well, we'd need a lot more water. We could set up desalination plants on the coasts. Since the ice caps are melting, there's plenty of water now. We could save the beaches from being flooded, too.

About 25 years ago, I had a water powered watch using simple tap water from Edmund Scientific, I believe. It was great! I got a new one for Christmas from a different source and the instructions say to add some salt to the water. Ok. My consternation: our demand or technology for water powered devices for the past 25 years hasn't progressed past a time-keeping device?

E85 Cold Weather Test

2007-12-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

I filled up today, the first time in a month!! I had 2 people start asking me questions while I was filling. It was very positive. You can tell if your vehicle is Flex Fuel by gas cap, VIN, Internet (e85fuel.com) or the dealer.

The performance of E85 tested in 10 degrees F has been a success here in Colorado. My Great White Tahoe starts and runs fine. E85 cold weather test: Passed.

Let's see, E85 was $2.19 so ~20 gallons was $43. Gas at the same station was $2.90 I believe. So, gas would have cost me $58.

The debate continues in the news including diesel. These studies are mind boggling, which is fine for people who don't want to use E85. If you don't want to use it, then don't - it keeps the demand and the price low. If everyone switched, demand and price would increase. So, keep the price low for me, please. Wired had a good article on cellulosic ethanol in October 2007 issue. Great ideas, very, very exciting. I'm not corn crazy, but it is a step in the right direction. Choice is good.

More Gallons Than Dollars

2007-11-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you filled up with more gallons than dollars? Uh, never? I filled up with E85 for only 85 CENTS this morning! YES!! It was a GM promotion. Thank You!! They even had models from Maximum Talent Agency pump it for you, which wasn't bad. Nice touch. I also had them fill 2 extra 5 gallon tanks. I was prepared. They also gave me a yellow gas cap and E85 Flex Fuel Vehicle badge. Some E85 splashed around on the top of my extra tanks. It evaporated by the time I got home and the inside of Great White didn't stink like it would with gasoline. I love the smell of ethanol compared to gasoline.

156 miles on 12 gallons = 13 mpg. 23 gallons for only $20! Gasoline would have cost me about $60.

Dollar per gallon divided by mpg = cents per mile? So, 85 cents divided by 13 mpg = 6.5 cents per mile. So, at $3 per gallon, you would need a car that gets 46 mpg to be the same. And one that can tow 6,000 pounds.

Ethanol is biodegradable, non toxic, water soluble, and there is a surplus. Did you hear about that oil tanker that spilled 58,000 gallons of oil in the San Francisco Bay?

E85 Test and price promotion

2007-11-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

This blog was mentioned in the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition NEVC newsletter. So, a main point of this E85 test is to compare mpg between E85 and gas. Well, with gas prices increasing, it would be a bad time to do it, and expensive for me. Plus, there are plenty of Chevy Tahoes on the road, running on gas, so we know what mpg they get.

Are you ready for the great part? As I was reading the newspaper today, Chevy has 2 color ads and at the bottom, Western Convenience (and others) is offering E85 for 85 cents per gallon tomorrow!! WooHoo!! I'm at half a tank, so I will be at the station on 91st and Huron in Thornton, CO tomorrow morning. Thank you Colorado Chevy Dealers!

Normal fill up

2007-11-01T11:58:00.001-07:00

I update this blog when I fill up, so I try not to update this too often! No grand opening today, just a normal fill up at 91st and Huron. I usually fill up at Sam's Club, which is just across the highway, so I'm not driving out of my way to get E85.

The news said gas at over $92 a barrel this morning. Or was it $96? Who knows.

I went 228 miles on this tank of E85 so that was 12.5 mpg, it was all city driving. The price was $2.09.

Gale Banks is an expert with high performance. In fact, the man is a legend when it comes to turbochargers. He told Jay Leno the benefits of E85 here: http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/index.shtml?vidID=137216

Grand Opening of Colorado's 40th biofuels station!

2007-10-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

I attended the Grand Opening today in Longmont at another Western Convenience station. Country radio station 98.5 KYGO was there broadcasting and handing out free stuff. I got a GM live green, go yellow shirt. Krispy Kremes, free pop, stickers, brochures and pamphlets. Good times. But the best part - $1.99 per gallon! I filled it right to the brim.

18.5 Gallons @ $1.99 = $37.
241 miles on 18 gallons = 13 miles per gallon.

Ok. Still not sure what my Great White Tahoe would get on gasoline.

I do know that's 15 cents per mile.
12.5 miles per gallon at $2.00 = 16 cents per mile.
If I was running on gas, I might get 15 miles per gallon, but would pay $2.70 or 18 cents per mile.

So, gas is more expensive.

Power and Performance

2007-10-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

There are a number of bumper stickers that say, "My fuel is home grown - created mostly with crops grown in places like Colorado" or "Corn - Fed powered by E85 ethanol" or I have a little white with blue and yellow magnet that says, "I Drive E85 - the future of clean air." (I'm thinking Sammy Hagar doing a remix as a promotion - I Drive E85!!) I think the magnet would make me drive harder than I do. Just to beat people off the line at stop lights so they don't think ethanol is weak. And to show off a little. But, at least I'm not giving my money to OPEC.

I am sucking E85 down on this tank. I had to pull the boat to get it winterized and I've been really flooring it, just to see what it can do, what it sounds like and how much power it really has. Especially since the days are getting colder and the morning air is dense which packs more power. Plus, I we took it 4 wheeling in the pumpkin patch. Big ruts and I had to see if the 4 wheel drive works, uh, yeah. I haven't had 4 wheel drive since high school.

Wait or fill up?

2007-10-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

Another station Grand Opening in Longmont on Oct. 18th. I had less then a 1/2 of a tank, so I didn't think I should push it to wait to fill up. So, I filled up today at 91st and Huron with E85 for $1.99!! 16 gallons @ $32 = 12.5 mpg. I don't think I pulled the boat on this tank, (I will have to check my blog) but that is city driving to and from work.

E85 is 105 octane so I'm not really taking advantage of the power unless I had a higher compression engine, like an engine designed to run solely on E85, such as the indy cars - they run on 100% ethanol because they don't have to worry about cold weather. Oh well, at least I may be cleaning my engine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuOs1yap8mU

Interesting bit near the end of this video - gas looks like urine, E85 looks like water. Note how the gas burns with soot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxDYz_IgRK0

Some neat videos on YouTube with the Viper, 1965 Chevelle, and Turbo Integra.

E85 Stations

2007-09-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here in Colorado, I noticed that I can get E85 at the smaller stations, such as Western Convenience, Hill Petroleum, or 1st Stop. What's interesting is that Shell or Conoco or the big (dare I say 'oil'?) companies are not selling it right now. (There is a Conoco station in Denver that sells it and 1 Shell, out of 32 stations.) Hmmm, that's says a lot.

I like the little guys, anyway. The underdogs. Rocky. It's okay for them to have some of my money. I'm making a choice with every purchase. A choice to use E85 and a choice to sponsor the little stations. Choice is good. I like having a choice. (DMV - Department of Motor Vehicles, no choice. Public Schools, not too much competition there, either. Yet.)

National Geographic has this: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2007-10/biofuels/biofuels.html Interesting, fairly good read.

A guy gave me $10 last night to give him and his TV (for Halo3) a ride to his house 5 blocks away. Should I calculate that into my E85 calculations? Probably, but I won't. A car wasn't big enough for the TV, though.

E85 in the News

2007-09-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

The news has stuff about gas prices going up. "Over $80 a barrel!" I don't really care. They don't have me over a barrel, I'm not buying normal gasoline - Well, only 15-30% of it. I also saw this about Ethanol:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070925/ethanol_sector_snap.html?.v=2
Again, not caring about stocks.

I do love how I can back up into my garage and not have the garage stink. Or, when I back up, it's not into a cloud of gasoline exhaust fumes.

I should take it to an emissions test station to compare gas emissions vs. E85 emissions. That's $25 each, here in Colorado. Anyone have $50 for me?

I know that the truck runs fine on E85. Starts, runs, power, etc. It's great.

E85 ethanol Grand Opening

2007-09-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I attended a grand opening of a station now selling E85. 91st and Huron at a store called Western Convenience. They were selling it for 85 CENTS per gallon!!

Plus, a radio station was there giving away stuff. I got t-shirt, Coke, Krispy Kreme, magnets and stickers. Good schwag.

I spent $5 because my tank was already full from my $25 gift certificate. But I squeezed every single drop in until it was was right at the filler cap. Yep, I spilled a little bit on my hand and it didn't stink. It dried like water. No oily residue. You know how you spill putting gas in a lawnmower or something and then your hand smells like gas all day long? Nope, not this stuff. Not much smell going in. Kind of sweet.

E85 Ethanol fuel test

2007-09-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

September 15, 2007. We went boating for the day and I filled up with E85 on the way back, in Longmont, using my $25 E85 gift certificate from their grand opening! I went 119 miles on 10.5 gallons, so 11.3 mpg in tow/haul mode. $25 of fuel - FREE! 91,000 miles.

What I did notice was the exhaust smell, or lack there of, when I am hitching the trailer on to the truck, or launching the boat. When the truck idles, I don't have the exhaust smell that stinks.

Plus, I blow up the inflatable tube at the lake using an air pump which is plugged into a power inverter which is plugged into the right rear cigarette lighter in the Tahoe. The Tahoe has to be running in order for the inverter to have enough juice to blow it up, so the exhaust pipe is right there. No stink, kind of sweet.

E85 Test Background

2007-09-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

This entry will serve to document some background and my interest in E85, ethanol.

It started when I read an article by John Gilbert in the April 2006 issue of Sport Truck magazine. His results were based on real word experience with his '05 GMC with the L59. The fuel mileage between E85 and 87 octane were very similar. And the Saab 9-5 2.0 BioPower cranks out more power with the E85, he states. John received feedback from readers, which were published, but nothing from national organizations or corporations.

Soon after his article, Consumer Reports published 'The Ethanol Myth' which did not endorse ethanol or portray it in a positive light, let's say. They received responses from NEVC (National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition) among numerous others. I cancelled my subscription as a result. (They also messed up the car seat tests for babies and they seem biased against GM, Ford and Chrysler cars in their tests.)

So, on a quest to educate, inform and find out for myself, I decided to purchase a flex fuel vehicle and publish my results. I bought a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe with about 90,000 miles on it on July 27, 2007. The 8th digit of the Vin is a Z and inside the gas cap says E-85. It has the 5.3 V8 engine of course and 3rd row seats.

I live in Colorado and I filled up with E85 in Brighton in August at Western Convenience for $2.19. Nice. But I didn't keep track of my mileage. The Tahoe, which is white, (and bigger than my previous S-10 Blazer) I call it Great White. It runs fine and I pull a 20 foot boat on a double axle trailer to the lake on the weekends.

Thanks to the Governor's Biofuels Coalition and Pester Marketing, a station Grand Opening was held in Longmont on August 30, 2007. 1st Stop 900 Ken Pratt Blvd. 14.135 Gallons for $2.23 per gallon. Nice!! Mileage: 90,656. Plus, they handed out shirts, bags, bumper stickers, and a gift certificate for $25 worth of E85 at that station! Yes!

We went to the lake over Labor Day Weekend. Used the Tow/Haul mode - good for the transmission, bad for the gas mileage. It takes longer to shift. In town driving to and from work for the next week.

September 12, 2007 - Western Convenience - 9191 Huron Street, Thornton, CO
20 Gallons at $2.09 per gallon!! $42. Mileage: 90881 (225) MPG: 11.25 Hmm.

My E85 Test and Experience

2007-09-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

This blog will document my experience with E85, ethanol in my 2002 Chevy Tahoe.