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LSU plays their first SEC opponent Thursday night when they head to Starksville to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The game is nationally televised on ESPN at 7:00 pm Central.

GEAUX TIGERS! GEAUX TIGERS! GEAUX TIGERS!

In yesterday's blog, I published an article called "Why is Ethanol Gasoline Bad for Lawn and Garden Tools". I continue to get questions from readers as to why ethanol gasoline seems to be tolerated reasonably well in their car and truck (except for the 6-8% loss in gas mileage in highway driving and 10-12% around town), so why is it bad for marine engines.

Th following is an article which I originally published in December, 2009 and updated in May, 2011. It attempts to explain why ethanol gas is bad for marine engines:

Why is E-10 Gasoline Bad for Marine Engines?

By “Pete” Landry

(December 17, 2009 – Updated May 15, 2011)

The U.S. Congress enacted the “Energy Independence and Security Act” in 2007, mandating the increased use of “renewal fuels”. The premise behind this was to supposedly help reduce our dependence on foreign imported crude oil and provide for an oxygenate for cleaner burning and lowered exhaust emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues mandates to oil refiners in the Country each spring listing how much of their total gasoline sales must be renewal fuels for that year. Ethanol, primarily manufactured from corn fermentation in the Midwest states, is currently the largest contributor to renewal fuels. In 2009, all refiners in the Country were required to sell 10.21% of their total gasoline sales as ethanol fuel. In 2010, the requirement was reduced to 8.25%. In 2011, it was reduced to 8.01%. Many U.S. Senators complained to the EPA that their constituents were complaining about the substantial increase in cost of all food products made from corn (bread, cereals, milk, meat, all dairy products, ice cream, etc). As a result, the EPA reduced the 2010 and 2011 quota for ethanol fuels. In addition to contributing to substantial cost increases in food products made from corn, the huge increase in farmlands and fertilizer required to grow corn for ethanol production has contributed to an ever increasing of the larger and larger “red algae” or “oxygen deficient hypoxia dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. LSU environmental scientists have been studying this red algae Gulf situation for years and warn that its continued growth threatens Gulf fisheries.

While ethanol gasoline appears to be tolerated satisfactorily in automobiles and trucks, except for 6-8% lower fuel economy, marine engines and gas powered yard and garden tools are an entirely different matter. Auto vehicles have sealed fuel tanks as required by EPA regulations to reduce gasoline emissions to the atmosphere. Boat fuel tanks, however, are almost always vented to atmosphere. Water is seldom found in vehicle fuel tanks unless it is pumped in from the gas station’s fuel tank. Boat tanks, however, almost always contain a water layer because it is vented to the atmosphere. The difference between daytime and night time temperatures causes the accumulation of water in the fuel tank. At night time, when the air temperature drops, the fuel tank takes in air to balance the tank pressure. With the air comes moisture, and high relative humidity in South Louisiana means lots of moisture enters the fuel tank.

This moisture forms droplets on the fuel-tank walls, and eventually these droplets fall to the bottom of the tank and form a lower water layer (water has a higher density – it’s heavier than gasoline, so the water appears as a lower layer in the fuel tank).

Water in the boat fuel tank presents a serious problem with ethanol gasoline. Ethanol is 100 percent soluble in water. It is “hygroscopic” and acts like a “water magnet.” So the ethanol in the gasoline will migrate into the water layer of the fuel tank. This creates several problems.

First, by losing ethanol in the gasoline, the octane of the gasoline will drop. Ethanol has a 113 octane rating. So, if there is enough water in the fuel tank, it is possible that all of the ethanol could migrate into the water layer, thus leaving the gas with a reduced octane rating of 83 to 84 instead or the original 87. Outboard engine manufacturers warn this lower-octane gasoline could damage the engine.

A second problem with ethanol gasoline is related to potential corrosion to aluminum fuel tanks. Since the ethanol/water layer is conductive, unlike gasoline, it can result in galvanic corrosion and also acidic corrosion and could damage aluminum fuel tanks, eventually causing them to leak. A leaking fuel tank could create a huge safety hazard as this could lead to a fire and/or explosion. Also, the ethanol/water layer is an ideal medium for algae and sludge to form. This could create plugging problem in fuel lines and engine carburetors and fuel injectors, potentially leading to very costly damage to the engine.

A third problem is potentially the most serious: Ethanol is perhaps the best solvent known to man. It will dissolve the gum/varnish film from gasoline which has accumulated on the walls of fuel tanks, fuel lines, etc., over the years. There is a greater risk of this if the boat sits idle for long periods of time. The ethanol could also attack certain types of fuel-line hose materials. These dissolved products will be fed into the engine and cause carburetor plugging and in fuel-injected 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines plug the injectors. Very serious engine damage could result. The resin in certain older types of fiberglass fuel tanks also could be dissolved by ethanol, causing them to leak. Older marine engines and yard and garden tools could also experience failure due to damage to rubber o-rings, seals and gaskets.

The shelf life of ethanol gasoline is also lower than pure gas. Problems can be experienced if the ethanol fuel is much older than 60 days. If you must use ethanol gas because you cannot find ethanol free gas, I recommend the use of a fuel stabilizer. I like the Marine formula "Sta-Bil" (blue color). I spoke with the Chief Chemist of Gold Eagle, the manufacturer of Sta-Bil and he told me that the marine formula has over five times more stabilizer than their "red Sta-Bil" due to the shorter shelf life of ethanol gas. It also contains a corrosion inhibitor, which very few fuel additives have. And, a 10 micron water trapping filter in the fuel line before the engine is critical.

Two marine engine repair shops who have been in business for over 110 years have indicated that ethanol gasoline has been their “worst nightmare”. They both indicate the frequency of repairs to marine engines since the introduction of ethanol fuels has skyrocketed. Shops that repair gas powered yard and garden tools also indicate the same experience.

Louisiana is one of many states across the Country that has a law which requires gas station owners to post a decal on fuel pumps that reads “Contains up to 10% Ethanol” (or equivalent wording) on each dispenser that sells ethanol fuels. Failure to post the labels if the station sells ethanol gasoline can result in large fines for the station owners (up to $500/pump/day).

And, the problems with ethanol gasoline is also about to get much worse. In March, 2009, Growth Energy, a lobby group for a large number of ethanol manufacturing plants in the Midwest petitioned the EPA to increase the amount of ethanol in motor fuels from 10% to 15%. The EPA approved their request in December, 2010 and January, 2011. In their announcement, the EPA WARNED that “E-15” CANNOT be used in any of the following gasoline powered equipment:

Cars and light trucks model year 2000 and older, school buses and delivery vans, motorcycles, marine engines, 4 wheelers, jet skis, chain saws and all gas powered lawn and garden tools (gasoline powered home generators cannot operate on E-15 either).

When “E-15” makes it to service stations is questionable however. At least eight different organizations have filed lawsuits against the EPA claiming they don’t have statutory authority to issue “limited approval” of this fuel. The major concern is “misfueling”, which means using E-15 in equipment that it is NOT supposed to be used for and causing equipment damage. It would likely be cheaper than E-10 fuel and users may be tempted to put into equipment that it is not supposed to be used for even though the fuel pump will most likely have warning labels.

There is not one outboard marine engine manufactured or sold in the Country which can operate on 15% ethanol gasoline. Neither can any gas powered yard and garden tools. Marine engine manufacturers all warn owners “use of gasoline with an ethanol concentration greater than 10% will result in serious damage to the engine and void the warranty”. Boat owners will be searching for ethanol free gas stations if and when 15% ethanol is introduced into the market.

There are many cities in Louisiana which do not have any ethanol free gas stations. Most “major oil refiners”, including Exxon/Mobil, Shell, Chevron/Texaco, Citgo, Marathon and BP have chosen to sell almost 100% of their gasoline as ethanol fuel even though the EPA only requires them to sell 8.01% in 2011. This may be due to the fact that they are given a $0.45/gallon tax credit to blend ethanol fuels. To sell ethanol gas requires significant expenses on the part of the gas station or convenience or grocery store. Before ethanol gas can be put into station tanks, the fuel tanks must be emptied and cleaned, the sludge must be disposed of (as hazardous waste - expensive), new electronic water detection and measuring devices must be installed and new, expensive fuel filters must be installed on each fuel pump. These costs can run from $1,500 to over $2,500 per tank, depending on the size of the tank. That is why you tend to see most of the ethanol FREE fuel stations at the small, independently owned gas station and convenience/grocery stores.

Many gas station owners are erroneously being told by their gas suppliers that they are required to sell ethanol gas. That is NOT correct. There is NO Federal or Louisiana State law that requires gas outlets to sell ethanol gasoline. The gas station suppliers tend to “encourage” (or push) stations to sell ethanol gas because they get a larger tax credit the more ethanol gas they sell.

The ethanol manufacturing plants are being subsidized by US taxpayers to produce ethanol. If it were not for this huge subsidy, they could not make a profit as it costs more to produce a gallon of ethanol than a gallon of pure gasoline. These subsidies also include gasoline refining companies getting a tax credit of $0.45/gallon to blend ethanol gasoline (refinery tax credits alone amounted to $5 Billon in 2010), gas distributors get a tax credit and gas stations get a 4.5 cent/gallon or more tax credit for selling ethanol gasoline. There is also a Federal tariff of $0.54/gallon on any imported ethanol to protect US ethanol manufacturing plant. Many independent gas stations have remained “ethanol free” due to the large cost to clean their fuel tanks and add water sensing electronics and filters to convert to sell ethanol gas as I mentioned above.

These ethanol subsidies were due to expire at the end of 2010. However, they were extended for another year as part of the “Bush Tax Cut extension” passed by Congress in late 2010. The subsidies are now set to expire on December 31, 2011, UNLESS extended by the US Congress and Senate. The US Senate voted overwhelmingly in July 2011 not to extend the tax credits. The US House is due to vote on it soon.

Anyone having questions about ethanol fuels can contact Landry at way2gopete@yahoo.com