MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Topic: MTBE to Ethanol gas switch (Read 4088 times) previous topic - next topic

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

April 22, 2006, 03:52:46 PM

Stations in my area are pumping their tanks dry when they prepare to switch from MTBE formula gas to Ethanol formula gas.
Mixing the two is supposedly a bad thing.
What happens when they mix in our gas tanks? My T-Bird gets gassed about every three or four months so the mixture would stay in there for a long time.
I wonder if there is anyway to tell if a station has switched yet.

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #1 – April 22, 2006, 04:09:42 PM

Don't know. My uncle works for the recieving and distribution center for B.P. in Baltimore. He said they are already sending the new mix to the stations. There is an exected drop in fuel mileage with the new mix. It shouldn't be much though.

As far as mixing the two, I haven't heard of any potential problems with it.

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #2 – April 22, 2006, 04:57:11 PM

E85 is 85% ethanol, 15% standard gasoline, and as long as you have a car set up for it, there's no problems...by this i mean the fuel lines have to be stainless, and the eec, or ecm has to have a setting to run the new mix at a different program...
think of the FFV Taurus and Ranger...

As it is, we'll not be having "gas" with much more than 85% ethanol for some ttime, as when the relative temp is cold, the stuff tends to seperate.
My dad is a tanker driver, messes with it all the time...
BTW, there's a lot of E85 vendors around Maryland/DC
Far as MTBE is concerned, i have no clue even what IT is, something new, or what?

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #3 – April 22, 2006, 05:01:48 PM

MTBE is some additive that fuel companies put in that is supposed to be environmentally friendly and to help reduce emissions. I think some states require it and some don't. Maryland does.

Now this environmentally friendly stuff seeped into the ground in one county in MD due to a leaky underground tank and contaminated all of the drinking water in that area. Genious!

Here's some info on the stuff
http://www.epa.gov/mtbe/

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #4 – April 22, 2006, 06:39:35 PM

i thought that they quit mix gas with the MTBE About a year ago so speed up production to help lower the price of gas. Rember when the gas prices went up a couple of months before Katria. That is when the stopped adding it to gas. As far as I know anyhow.

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #5 – April 22, 2006, 07:09:41 PM

well ipsd, i don't think here in missouri, we ever had MTBE in our gas that i know of.
Of course, the nearest town over 10,000 people is over 100 miles away...I suppose in a big metro area, they may have it (or had)

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #6 – April 22, 2006, 07:13:47 PM

Yeah, we had it here in MD for sure.

I thought the drop in price was brought on by a potential government investigation for gouging.

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #7 – April 22, 2006, 09:57:49 PM

I've seen the new "contains up to 10% ethanol" stickers on the pumps recently. I guess that may explain some stations being out of gasoline - it has to do with the switchover apparently. I sure hope there are no ill effects when switching in our tanks - I'm assuming it's more of a long-term storage issue that a short-term issue - otherwise there would be an uproar. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if the govm't hid something either - sspoogebags.

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #8 – April 22, 2006, 10:06:21 PM

MTBE is an additive that has been linked to cancer (like everything else) and has been found to contaminate groundwater, so it's being phased out. I'm not sure why they add it to fuel - I think it's an octane booster or something like that (lead replacement). It's been illegal in Canada for several years now, so you shouldn't see any fuel economy or performance drops at all.

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #9 – April 22, 2006, 10:11:51 PM

Here in Missouri, we have MFA/Breaktime gas stations, and they have 89 octane gas that is 10% ethanol.
I have been putting it in my vehicles as long as it's been available, and have never had any fuel related problems.
It's also the same price per gallon as the 87 octane gas, and MFA/Breaktime stations are usually the cheapest gas around.
Any vehicle can use 10% ethanol blend fuel safely, hell, i think it's safe up to something like 30%, or thereabouts.

here's a link about E85

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #10 – April 22, 2006, 10:20:12 PM

well if most vehicles on the road today cant handle that stuff why would they all switch over to it without warning? its probley fine to just go get gas still, at least i would hope every station dosnt just change over compleatly. im just pissed that gas is upto almost 350 a gallon again... what the hell happened? it goes down to a reasonable price over a gradual peroid of like 3 months, then within a week it goes up a dollar... i have half a mind to go buy a plant and make my own fuel...

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #11 – April 22, 2006, 10:28:04 PM

lol, 10% ethanol gas IS safe for ANY car...

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #12 – April 22, 2006, 10:30:57 PM

i heard that e85 wont run on earlier cars... wtf are we gona do when this happens? im not about to switch everything over in my car for some shiznitty ass fuel that doesnt even burn as well as real gas, not to mention my lawn mowers, and weed eaters, etc...etc... etc...

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #13 – April 22, 2006, 10:37:42 PM

Quote from: 5.0willgo

There is an exected drop in fuel mileage with the new mix. It shouldn't be much though.

E85 robs approx. 20% power and 20% economy compared to straight gas. It burns cooler so produces less power. It is rated at about 100-105 octane though. Turbo cars can benefit from that but still lose the economy. It might be cheaper but you end up paying for that in how many more times you have to visit the pump a year. Also the FFV apparently are tuned so they gain 5% power...but that is probably because they take advantage of the octane increase. They still lose about 15% economy based on gasoline use.

MTBE to Ethanol gas switch

Reply #14 – April 22, 2006, 10:40:37 PM

Here's some more info about E85

Bet some of you didn't know that Brazil is completely 100% self-sufficient on fuel, as they make and use their own...ethanol.