HAVE A GREAT SATURDAY READERS!

For readers who have older outboard marine engines, here's an article that may interest you. It explains why older marine engines CANNOT tolerate ethanol gasoline. I don't imagine, however, that there are that many pre 1990 marine engines still in use??

Here's the article:

A shotgun marriage? Ethanol and old outboard boat engines

Posted: Friday, March 30, 2012 10:04 am | Updated: 10:05 am, Fri Mar 30, 2012. Smith Mountain Eagle

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Ever since E10 gasoline (gas containing 10% ethanol) became widely available several years ago, the nation's largest recreational boat owners group, BoatUS, has received hundreds of calls and emails complaining about boat engine problems. The majority of complaints concern older outboard motors, those made before about 1990. BoatUS' Seaworthy magazine asked Mercury Marine's Ed Alyanak and Frank Kelley, who between them have over 60 years of experience, to find out what's made these decades-old outboards more susceptible to ethanol's well-known problems and what owners can do.

1. Vulnerable hoses: In the mid 1980's new standards (SAE J1527) for fuel hoses were developed for "gasohol," which was known to deteriorate rubber and plastics. Since then, problems with hoses have largely gone away, but that doesn't mean they are maintenance free. Tech Tip: Any hose older than 10 years should be replaced. Here's another way to test rubber fuel hose condition: wipe a clean rag along the hose. If you smell gas on the rag, replace the hose immediately.

2. Carburetors: O-rings and rubber carburetor parts on older engines tend to get hard and brittle when exposed to ethanol and then break off in bits and pieces causing clogs, misfires and shutdowns. Pre-1990 carburetors were also made from alloys that didn't stand up to ethanol, leading to corrosion that can cause tiny fuel orifices to clog, resulting in hard starts and poor running. Old carbs are also "dumb" in that they were designed to run on only one type of fuel. Ethanol, however, has more oxygen and affects the air/fuel ratio, causing engines to run leaner and hotter. Tech Tip: The best solution with old outboards is to run straight gas - if you can find it. Some mechanics may also have the ability to "recalibrate" a carburetor to tolerate E10 (note: gas with ethanol greater than 10% should never be used with any boat engine).

3. Plastic fuel filter bowl: Some older engines may have plastic fuel filter bowls. Tech Tip: If you still have one, replace immediately with a metal bowl.

4. Fuel fill gasket: Keeping water out of the fuel tank is even more important with ethanol as it can eventually lead to the formation of two separate solutions in the gas tank (water and fuel), also known as phase separation. The process is more common on older boats which are more likely to have accumulated water at the bottom of the tank. Once phase separation happens - the tipping point when water in the gas is either harmlessly ingested or transformed into a corrosive mixture no engine will run on - there's no going back. No fuel additive can restore E10 back to its normal state. Tech Tip: Age and exposure to ethanol can rot fill gaskets or O-rings. Replace them every few years.

5. "Gunk" in the tank: It is still possible that some old outboards and boat fuel systems have yet to sip a drop of E10. But once your boat drinks its first tankful, ethanol will "scour" or dissolve the gunk that's been coating the tank walls (and hoses) for years. Tech tip: You may want to think about hiring a professional to have the tank drained completely of any gas and water at the bottom before adding your first load of E10. If not, keep a supply of filters on hand - they will clog quickly. Always use a fuel stabilizer and avoid using octane boosters that contain ethanol.

For more information on ethanol and boat engines, go tohttp://www.BoatUS.com/seaworthy/ethanol.asp

"Pete" Landry............comments welcome at..............way2gopete@yahoo.com

HAVE A GREAT THURSDAY READERS!

The "ethanolaholics" are getting nervous since they can't seem to get their precious 15% ethanol gasoline into the market. I posted a recent article on "Current Ethanol News" page of the website that indicates gasoline retailers are reluctant to even consider selling this stuff unless they are given liabelity protection should a customer "misfuel" and damage his automobile, marine engine or lawn and garden tool by using 15% ethanol in an engine for which it is not intended. Even though the EPA said in their approval of "E-15" in January, 2011 that it was safe to use in 2001 and newer passenger cars and light trucks, nearly all owners manuals in 2001 and newer vehicles warn users NOT TO USE GASOLINE WITH GREATER THAN 10% ETHANOL! They go further to say that engine damage from the use of over 10% ethanol will VOID the vehicle warranty!

Read this article to see what I am referring to:

Is Kansas ready to bump to E15 at the pump?

Ethanol industry pushes for the state to step up from the E10 blend now offered. But automakers warn of engine damage, voided warranties.

BY STEVE EVERLY The Kansas City Star

Ready or not, Kansas is one of three states in line for more ethanol in its gasoline.

The Environmental Protection Agency last year allowed E15 — gasoline with 15 percent ethanol — for model year 2001 and newer vehicles. Now the agency is ready to take the next step — approve applications to sell E15, making it legal to use in roughly 60 percent of the country’s cars and light trucks.

E10 will still be available, and selling E15 won’t be mandatory, but there are concerns that E10 could be harder to find if the new blend becomes popular.

Promoters hope to have the fuel in some Kansas gas stations this summer or later this year to help meet the federal energy policy’s call for more use of biofuels. But congressional intervention or a lawsuit filed by critics of E15, including automakers, could delay its introduction.

Critics say more study is needed to ensure E15 won’t harm the newer engines it’s approved for, and automakers say warranties could be voided if the new fuel blend is used. In addition, misuse could damage older vehicle engines, boat motors and small engines such as those in lawnmowers.

The Renewable Fuels Association, a major ethanol trade group, has placed an official in the Kansas City area to push E15. He is initially focusing on Kansas, Iowa and Illinois for a quick start when — and if — E15 is legal.

The three states were picked because the association says they’re “very pro-ethanol” and don’t have regulations that would slow its introduction. Missouri has a law capping ethanol content at 10 percent, so that will have to be changed before E15 can be sold.

“We have to get those first gallons out into the market and show that consumers want this,” said Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association. “We can’t afford to wait.”

A couple of fuel stations in Kansas are already selling E15, although for now it can be used only in “flexfuel” vehicles, which are equipped to run on E85 — the blend of 85 percent ethanol and only 15 percent regular gas, which is less readily available.

Scott Zaremba, who has been selling E15 at his Zarco 66 station in Lawrence for about a month, is getting ready for wider use of the blend. He has seven other retail fuel stations in the state, including two in Olathe, and plans on selling E15 in them once the EPA gives its final OK.

“I’m ready when it becomes legal,” he said. “It’s going to be interesting in how this plays out.”

The new fuel blend comes as gasoline prices continue to rise amid renewed attention to curbing oil imports. Ethanol has had a controversial role in the country’s energy picture — keeping fuel prices lower than if there had been none of the biofuel available, but also providing less energy per gallon than straight gasoline.

According to AAA, while a gallon of E85 is now 60 cents cheaper than a gallon of regular gasoline, it actually “costs” 40 cents more when adjusted for its lower energy content.

There are also questions about how gas blends containing more ethanol will mesh with environmental rules meant to reduce summer smog. The Kansas City area has to use a special summer gasoline blend under those rules.

Ethanol blends can release more vapors and cause more smog. But E10 had an exemption allowing it to exceed federal vapor standards. E15 doesn’t have that exemption, though, which would require more refining for summer use, and that could raise its cost. The ethanol industry says it is examining options to avoid the problem.

But there’s no doubt that ethanol has been successful in reducing oil imports. E10 has replaced 5 percent of the country’s gasoline supply, and ethanol production could triple over the next decade if the federal mandate for more ethanol use succeeds. E15 will be crucial in meeting the mandate, although eventually blends with even more ethanol will be necessary.

Up in the air

That is, if E15 happens at all. Critics are vowing to try to stop it or at least stall its introduction until further study of its effect on engines.

The EPA has said that sound science shows it will perform well in the vehicles approved to use it. Ethanol advocates say their tests and those by the U.S. Department of Energy confirm there will be no problems.

But critics have joined a lawsuit seeking to send E15 back to the EPA for reconsideration. They’ve also asked Congress to have the National Academy of Sciences study the effects of E15 on engines.

The concerns are twofold: Will it damage 2001 and newer models it has been approved for? And what would happen if it is mistakenly used in older vehicles, or equipment such as lawnmowers, that aren’t supposed to use E15?

Automakers say that they also have concerns about using E15 in newer vehicles and that further study is needed. They also point out that owner manuals state that using more ethanol than is in E10 will void the warranty.

“Our position hasn’t changed,” said Sharon Basel, a spokeswoman for General Motors Corp. “We’re pretty confident that cars and trucks will be damaged.”

Outdoor equipment such as lawn mowers wasn’t approved to use E15, and manufacturers say misfueling could be a problem. Consumers could either accidentally use E15 or be tempted by a lower pump price to use it anyway.

“We know people will misfuel,” said Kris Kiser, president of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute trade group. “This is a train wreck.”

Itching to start

The ethanol industry, frustrated by such arguments and believing years of study showing that E15 can be used safely, is eager to get to the ground game of getting E15 into the country’s fuel stream.

Robert White, director of market development for the Renewable Fuels Association, is now based in Olathe and gearing up for a push once the EPA approves applications from ethanol sellers.

Tom Palace, executive director of the Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association of Kansas, said: “Our members support E15. The bigger issue is the logistics.”

QuikTrip, a major retailer, says it hasn’t decided whether to sell E15 and won’t until after it becomes legal.

In fact, selling a new fuel like E15 isn’t simple — or cheap. One way is to use pumps that can blend gas and ethanol. But there are only about two dozen of those pumps in Kansas now, and a blending pump can cost around $30,000, although there will be some financial assistance to buy them for E15.

The other way is to deliver E15 already mixed, but that will require stations to have a separate storage tank for that blend. Wholesale fuel outlets would have to prepare for it as well.

Bruce Heine, a spokesman for Magellan Midstream Partners, which operates the largest wholesale terminal in the Kansas City area, said they haven’t been approached about providing E15 but if they did it would likely require additional storage to be built.

White believes the logistics will be handled.

To be successful, he said, E15 will need to be cheaper than E10, which he expects to happen.

“I think the economics are going to drive it in the marketplace,” he said.

To reach Steve Everly, call 816-234-4455 or send email to severly@kcstar.com.

Posted on Tue, Mar. 27, 2012 11:41 PM

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Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/21/3518991/push-is-on-for-e15-ethanol-blend.html#storylink=cpy

"Pete" Landry...........comments welcome at.............way2gopete@yahoo.com

HAVE A GREAT TUESDAY READERS!

Here's yet another article showing how the ethanol industry is struggling since losing the federal tax credits. In some cases, the inventory of ethanol is so high, some plants has slowed production while others have closed.

Ethanol struggles in the red

2:41 PM, Mar 26, 2012 | by Dan Piller | DesMonies Register.com

Ethanol producers spent the first two months of 2012 bathed in red ink as the commodity price for ethanol fell despite rising gasoline prices.

Figures from Iowa State University show an average negative margin of 16 cents per gallon in February after a similar deficit of 11 cents per gallon in January.

The January-February figures followed the expiration of ethanol’s 45-cents per gallon tax break, which went to refiners and other blenders. It also ended a six-month period beginning in July of last year when ethanol’s profit margins averaged 36 cents per gallon.

“These are lean times now, but we’ve seen it before,” said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, the trade group for Iowa’s 41 ethanol plants that in 2011 produced a nation-leading 3.7 billion gallons of ethanol, about 30 percent of total U.S. production.

The wholesale price of ethanol fell from about $2.75 per gallon in late 2011 to little more than $2 per gallon in January. While ethanol prices have edged up to the $2.28 per gallon it closed Monday on the futures market, that price is more than $1 below the wholesale unleaded gasoline price of $3.39 per gallon Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Ethanol producers have preferred that their product sell for about 40-45 cents per gallon below the wholesale gasoline price, so as to provide some economic incentive for oil companies to blend ethanol.

The falling ethanol prices occurred despite corn prices that have remained about $6 per bushel for the first quarter of this year. Corn closed Monday at $6.37.

Shaw said the industry badly needs a full switch to the 15 percent blend of ethanol approved a year ago by federal regulators, which has been delayed the red tape. The latest holdup is the necessity for each retail station to send for approval a “plan to prevent misfueling” to regulators.

“We hope to be able to get 20-30 pumps with E15 in Iowa in the near term,” said Shaw. Iowa has about 3,000 gasoline outlets.

For more news about Iowa agriculture and energy click here for the Register’s Green Fields page on Facebook.

"Pete" Landry..........comments welcome at ...............way2gopete@yahoo.com

HAVE A GREAT MONDAY READERS!

Here's a rather interesting article about the U.S. ethanol business. It seems that since gas prices are sky high and drivers are therefore using less gasoline, the ethanol plants are now exporting ethanol. Get this now.........you and I, the taxpayers and consumers, are paying more and more for food prices as the ethanol industry grows more and more corn to make ethanol to sell to foreign countries. The more they sell abroad, the higher our food prices will rise! If that doesn't get you mad, what will?

And, in addition to increasing food prices, with more and more land being cleared to grow more and more corn, and the tremendous increase in fertilizer use for the additional acres of corn, this fertilizer runoff is coming down the river and adding to the already bad "red algae" or dead zone in the Gulf, which continues to threaten Gulf fisheries!

Read this:

Exporting ethanol to avoid competing with imported gasoline

Stu Ellis, Farm Gate blog | Updated: March 7, 2012

Every day supertankers full of $100 per barrel oil are docking at US ports where other supertankers full of $1 per gallon ethanol have just departed for overseas markets.

While some folks have trouble understanding the economics of the exchange, others are happy there is a thriving ethanol industry in the US and a global market for it. It adds value to corn, and somewhere around the world, motorists would rather have the lesser expensive motor fuel and let the US motoring public pay for the more expensive commodity. Maybe, there is someone, somewhere who can make sense of this. But in the meantime, ethanol has a market.

The “blend wall” is that sky high object that ethanol ran head long into some months back when the 10% limit was reached in the nation’s motor fuel supply. Currently, the recession has reduced demand to about 135 billion gallons per year, and 13.5 billion gallons of ethanol is the maximum that can be blended into regular gasoline. We are there, but that is less than the 14.75 billion gallon capacity of the US ethanol industry, so what can be done with the excess?

Iowa State University economist Bob Wisner says exports are the way that ethanol can scale the blend wall and escape the chains of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS.) Wisner’s latest renewable energy newsletter says there is a glut of ethanol: storage facilities are full, gasoline use is down, ethanol returns are negative, and some plants have begun to close.

One safety valve would be E-15 or 15% ethanol blends, or E-85, an 85% blend, but merchandisers have not been anxious to install those pumps. One of the problems is the restrictions on EPA’s latest approval for E-15, and another is Detroit’s reluctance to build cars for higher levels of ethanol fuel. Wisner says with E-85 mileage about 24% to 28% less than gasoline, it needs to be priced 25% less than regular, but with the loss of the blenders’ credit, it will be difficult to achieve that savings at the pump.

Lower pricing of ethanol would unlock the price of corn from the price of crude oil, but Wisner says that lower price would have to be shared by corn growers, land owners, and ethanol plant operators. Subsequently, the export market has been a good alternative to get around the blend wall. For the 12 month period ending last November, the US exported 1.094 bil. gallons of ethanol, equal to 400 mil. bu. of corn. He says after adjusting for DDGS replacement that added 25¢ to 30¢ to a bushel of corn. With that level of exports, the US replaced Brazil as the largest exporter and that tenure will depend on Brazil’s use of sugarcane to make sugar or ethanol, the relationship between the dollar and the Brazilian real, foreign mandates for ethanol use, and the relationship between ethanol and gasoline prices.

With 6% of ethanol production being exported, that is one gallon of every 16 refined, which is a significant market. Canada has been the leading market and purchased 239 mil. gals in 2011. The EU was second, followed by Jamaica and Brazil.

A group of 57 other nations came in 5th place indicating a broad demand for some volume of ethanol. Canadian ethanol production was about 357 mil. gal. and its total demand is increasing annually, with supplies also coming from waste product refineries. Canada has a mandate for E-5 in the motor fuel, but different provinces have various internal levels mandated. To meet the demand, Canada would need 525 mil. gal. per year, with part of that to be filled by imported US ethanol, before it meets a blend wall also.

The European Union’s imports increased sharply in 2011 to 227 mil. gal. in an effort to meet its internal 10% blend mandate. The United Arab Emirates became a significant market in 2011, and Mexico has been increasing its imports.

Brazil is the wild card, since its once large exports were exchanged for imports when sugar prices were higher and it was more profitable to export sugar and buy ethanol. That is changing and in recent days Brazil has indicated its intention to reduce sugar production, increase ethanol production, and return to exporting it.

Jamaica has been the Caribbean ethanol broker, since it could export ethanol to the US without a duty and had been resale point for Brazilian ethanol before the tariff expired at the end of 2011. Corn and sugar economics were working against the Jamaican ethanol refineries and its plants have recently closed and its future is uncertain at best.

Wisner says US ethanol exports are a small share of the total market, but have grown rapidly and helping an industry with a saturated market. The exports are primarily to neighboring countries, and to markets with mandates for ethanol use. But in the longer term, US ethanol exports will compete at times with Brazil. However, he says the rising price of gasoline will likely spur many nations to come to the US for ethanol, since we may have plenty to sell. (Too bad we are not using it, instead of selling it.)

Summary:
US ethanol capacity exceeds the demand, and an outlet for excess ethanol has been the export market, since many nations have mandates to use ethanol, or want to replace higher priced gasoline with ethanol. Higher percentages of ethanol use in the US have not yet been implemented with success. The primary ethanol market for the past year has been Brazil which will become the primary competitor; due fluctuating sugar prices that now make ethanol exports more lucrative.

Source: FarmGate blog

"Pete" Landry........comments welcome at.............way2gopete@yahoo.com

HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT WEEKEND READERS!

Well, here is a VERY interesting article I picked up a few days ago. It seems that at least one State has now become so disappointed with ethanol gasoline that they have introduced and passed a bill in their House of Representatives to BAN ETHANOL IN GASOLINE in their State! Hopefully, this trend catches on across the Country..........we'll see.

Here's the article:

NH House: Ban ethanol in gasoline

March 7, 2012

· B Boston Globe.com

CONCORD, N.H.—New Hampshire's House has voted to ban corn-based ethanol as a gasoline additive.

The ban would not take effect unless at least two other New England states do the same. A similar proposal has not been approved in the rest of the region.

The House voted Wednesday to send the bill to the Senate after supporters successfully argued the use of ethanol has not benefited the environment as much as hoped. They also pointed out that use of corn to make ethanol has driven up food prices.

Opponents said the bill's aim was unachievable because New Hampshire is too small to warrant a boutique gasoline mix without ethanol. They said it would be better to express disapproval of the corn-based ethanol policy by sending a message to Washington.

"Pete" Landry..........comments welcome.........at..............way2gopete@yahoo.com

HAVE A GREAT SATURDAY READERS!

We all know by now how the Obama administration has totally squandered over a $BILLION of taxpayer monies on so called "green energy" ventures. Non of these companies could get private financing due to the extreme risks involved. But, I guess he feels OUR money doesn't count in financing companies like Solyndra, which declared bankruptcy a year after the Obama department of Energy gave $525 million dollars.

Here's an article about the failures of this administrations failed efforts in promoting so called "green energy":

Obama's Federal Green-Car Fleet Promises Fall Flat

· Erika Johnsen
Blogger, Townhall.com

Feb 25, 2012 04:09 PM EST

Well, color me surprised: yet another of the Obama administration's renewable-energy promises, borne of wishful green thinking and populist political appeal, meeting with resistance from that darn inconvenience that some might call reality. Bloomberg reports:

Obama gave speeches across the U.S. last year touting his twin goals of buying only alternative-fuel vehicles for the U.S. fleet by 2015 and getting 1 million electric vehicles on the country’s roads by that year.

That’s looking more difficult as the federal government learns the same lesson that U.S. car consumers have already figured out: it is tough being green. Rather than leading the way, the government has discovered that the high cost of hybrids and electric cars and their lack of availability often mean it makes more sense to buy cars with fuel-efficient conventional engines. ...

U.S. General Services Administration purchases of hybrid and electric models fell 59 percent in fiscal 2011 to about 2,645 as the federal fleet added 32,000 cars and trucks that can burn a fuel that’s 85 percent ethanol, or E85 vehicles, when it’s available. ...

So, they're scaling back on the hybrid and electric cars, because -- gasp -- they're just not that practical. But, the Obama administration does include vehicles that can use both E85 ethanol-based fuels and gasoline in it's definition of alternative-fuel vehicles... except, the special ethanol fuel isn't really practical, either:

The problem is that buying and driving ethanol fueled cars solves very little. The GSA, which owns about a third of the federal fleet, said last year that 88 percent of its alternative-fuel vehicles are capable of using ethanol. Still, ethanol fuel pumps are not very common and car owners, including the federal government, often have to use gasoline instead, said Lindland.

There are only about 2,512 ethanol fuel pumps available among the estimated 162,000 fueling stations that sell gasoline. There are about 6,033 electric charging stations, according to U.S. Department of Energy data.

The U.S. government, which has given automakers and suppliers money to develop electric-vehicle technologies, last year bought 2,645 hybrid, electric and fuel-cell vehicles, less than 5 percent of the 54,843 vehicles it bought, according to the data.

That’s a decrease from the 9.5 percent average of all purchases for those models in fiscal years 2010 and 2009, when economic stimulus spending fueled $300 million of fuel-efficient vehicle purchases for the federal fleet of about 600,000 cars and trucks.

The way this administration is experimenting on green energy projects with taxpayer dollars, you'd think we had money to burn instead of a more than one hundred percent debt-to-GDP ratio. And you know something -- I bet they would, literally, burn taxpayer dollars, if they thought they'd release less carbon than traditional gasoline.

"Pete" Landry..........comments welcome at ...........way2gopete@yahoo.com

HAVE A GREAT THURSDAY READERS!

As I mentioned in my last post, there are more articles surfacing that indicates the loss of the ethanol subsidies is indeed hurting the ethanol industry. Here is another article on the subject:

End of federal subsidies hurts ethanol profits

By Joe Kimball | 10:24 am MinnPost

Minnesota ethanol producers are being hit hard by the end of major federal subsidies, reports MPR today.

And it's not just here; across the country "ethanol profit margins have declined sharply, even slipping into negative territory," said the story.

And it notes: "Experts see no quick turnaround in sight."

Minnesota is the nation's fourth top ethanol producer.

Randall Doyal, CEO of the Al-Corn Clean Fuel ethanol plant in southeast Minnesota, said the there's no profit margin now.

"Since the first of the year it's been even-to-slightly negative," Doyal said.

The 45-cent per gallon subsidy ended Dec. 31, and the situation was complicated further by a rush from the gasoline companies to buy ethanol before the end of the subsidy. That led to overproduction which now has created an oversupply and depressed prices

"Pete" Landry...........comments welcome...........at.............way2gopete@yahoo.com

HAVE A GREAT MONDAY READERS!

I've seen a few articles start appearing in the past few weeks indicating that the ethanol subsidy loss is starting to show a noteably negative impact on the ethanol manufacturing industry. I expected this might happen. Will remain to be seen if it continues to have a negative impact.

Here's one of the articles on the subject (more to come):

Without government aid, ethanol industry falters

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal by Mark Reilly, Managing Editor

Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 7:15am CST - Last Modified: Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 7:34am CST

Managing Editor -Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Turns out ethanol producers may really have needed that federal subsidy after all.

Since a federal 45-cent-per gallon credit for ethanol expired Dec. 31, the industry has struggled, Minnesota Public Radio reports. Profit margins at Al-Corn Clean Fuel in Claremont, Minn., one of the many ethanol producers in the state, have vanished.

Part of the problem is the after-effects of the subsidy. Since buyers knew the credit was going away, they ramped up purchases in late 2011. That caused a demand spike, which led to more production. Now the companies that produced all that fuel, but didn't sell it before the deadline, are left with a glut.

Some ethanol producers say they'll cut back on production and they hope that higher fuel demand in the summer will help.

Mark Reilly manages daily and weekly coverage at the Business Journal newsroom.

"Pete" Landry.........comments welcome...........at ............way2gopete@yahoo.com