First Tank of E85

Cowpie · April 15, 2017

Ethanol is food? Man, you need to attend AA.

And how much #2 Yellow Dent field corn do you eat in a year? Must be on that N. Korean diet plan.

redwngr · April 24, 2017

It doesn't appear to be available in Ontario. I suppose the provincial government hasn't figured out how to sell us e85 at the same price as regular gasoline. Once they do it will be forced down our throats and we'll be told 'it's for the environment'.

Coop (UPI) petroleum used to have it at some Ontario stations -- don`t know it they still do.

cmysstailights · April 24, 2017

I have a 2014 1500 high country. I onky use e85. Reg gas on long island ny is 2.45 93 oct is almost 3.00. E85 is 1.59. 70% hwy driving i see 14mpg

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Cowpie · April 25, 2017

Now that makes sense economically. That is why I have grown fond of flex fuel capable vehicles. Can select the fuel that offers the best value. And at an 86 cent spread, that is darn good value.

mrailing · April 26, 2017

Generally $0.45/gallon price difference makes E85 at the break even point, and anything better than $0.45/gallon difference, it's worth using E85 with the loss in MPG. I generally just figure on $0.50 to make it easier, if it's less than $0.50, I use 87, if it's more I use E85.

For me, I don't care about total distance on a tank of gas, my wife's bladder is smaller than the time is takes to drain a full tank of fuel, even towing, so I will be stopping, and I might as well plan a fill up when I stop.

Hauling the 33' toy hauler behind us means I usually use 87 gas so I get more miles per tank, since I have a rolling toilet behind us for quick stops. (smart planning there)

I really, really, really want a 57 gallon tank for the truck, but $1000 isn't worth the cost, I would rather just stop. I do have some VP racing fuel jugs I carry in the bed of the truck (for the motorcycles), usually an additional 25 gallons worth of fuel, plus I have two 6 gallon tanks for the dual Yamaha generators that I use to power the toy hauler when we don't have electrical connections. So if I ever did want to skip a "last fuel" station, I could do a full fill up with those tanks and keep rolling.

Cowpie · April 27, 2017

Yeah, that price for a 57 gallon tank is ridiculous. I can put on a new 120 gallon polished aluminum fuel tank on my semi truck for less than that. You could probably put an auxiliary tank in the bed, fed to the stock tank, for less than strapping that 57 gallon tank on.

GP9 · April 27, 2017

For a while I used E85, in my 2012 2500HD, when gas was expensive. I did the math, based on the MPG, of what it costed per mile. My math revealed that even when the price difference was greatest, regular was still cheaper.

Since then the few E85 dealers stopped selling it. The local convenience chain has a direct withdrawal program, which discounts 10 cents/gallon.

Even though the newer models are supposedly equipped, I still rather not risk damage. Who knows if the gaskets will get eaten up. When I did the cost analysis, the truck was still under warranty.

The competing chain has 90 octane, which is ethanol free. Maybe I can do another study. My only problem is that in the last study, I was commuting 150 miles each way, twice a week. Now I work only 2 miles away, so it's mostly city driving.

Cowpie · April 27, 2017

Not very likely. Some areas of the country have been using various blends of ethanol since the late 70's with no problems. My 1974 Pontiac Catalina was on E10 from the day it started being sold in our area in the late 70's. That car went to 250,000 miles and finally died of body cancer, but the 400 motor was still in very good shape. Nothing about that car was designed for ethanol yet it digested it just fine. Even though there has always been ethanol free readily available in my area, ethanol laced gasoline has far outsold it in my area for many decades.

Lots of fears bandied about regarding ethanol, but they never seem to be more than obscure anecdotal tales that gets hyped up by folks that have an decided bias against ethanol, and most times, the stupidity of the owner was more to blame than the fuel itself. You never see major scientific studies showing major failures on any kind of scale. Lots of E10, E15, E20, E30, E50, and E85 sold in my area of the country for quite some time and we don't have piles of vehicles lying around that failed from using the stuff. Dealers in my area don't seem to get many warranty work claims that are attributable to ethanol blends. When the fuel costs were so high several years ago, my 1500 lived on E85 for better part of two years with no issues. The spread was $1 a gallon or more at times. Anyone with a flex fuel vehicle was using all the higher ethanol blends they could get their hands on. No more problems with vehicles than previously. If there would have been, the media would have been all over reporting how ethanol was destroying vehicle systems. Especially media interests with a bias against ethanol. All that was heard was crickets. Not a hue and cry from anyone.

mrailing · April 27, 2017

Yeah, that price for a 57 gallon tank is ridiculous. I can put on a new 120 gallon polished aluminum fuel tank on my semi truck for less than that. You could probably put an auxiliary tank in the bed, fed to the stock tank, for less than strapping that 57 gallon tank on.

I wish a bed tank would work, but I haul motorcycles in the bed on occasion.

I have about 3" of clearance in the front of the bed with the bike in, nothing loaded on the lift gate. The desire for another tank is there, but really the only way to do it is to replace the existing tank, and that's a crazy price. They do make tanks that fit over the wheel wells, but they are expensive as well.

I'll juggle stopping on occasion for fuel. If I really wanted the bigger tank, I could have optioned the diesel instead. Happy I went with the gas.

Nick The Great · April 27, 2017

My old truck was Flex Fuel and with my driving habits and routines I needed about 40 cents differential to break even.

I am a farm kid and generally like the idea of E85. But I was disappointed when I bought my '17 that there were far less FFV's to choose from

cmysstailights · April 27, 2017

On the east coast, there isnt that many station that carry e85

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Cowpie · April 27, 2017

Yeah, it is more regional, with the midwest having the largest selection and availability of biofuels. After all, the midwest is where most of it is made.

And state directed regulations determine what is available. States that have to import ethanol and have larger population centers, E10 is the name of the game. So what they bring, most all gets directed to E10 blending. If they would allow higher blends and encourage their use, that would mean more non-ethanol laced fuel available for their constituents that need it for outboards, power equipment, etc. The EPA mandate is only that 14.5 billion gallons of ethanol be used every year. Doesn't state that ethanol free cannot be used, or that higher blends not be made available. The blame goes straight to the state gooberment hacks.