Readers of the September 3rd, 2011 Sunday edition of the Orlando Sentinel were treated to a piece by regular columnist Stephen Cole Smith, asking the question on the minds of many consumers from Florida and across the country:
How do anti-ethanol treatments work and are they worth it?
You can follow the above link to Smith's article which made the following points:
- Finding pure gas instead of ten or fifteen percent ethanol is more difficult than ever. And that makes drivers and riders really unhappy.
- Federal tax subsidies are essentially keeping the ethanol producers afloat. Which means we're stuck with ethanol until that changes, if ever.
- Ethanol is a raw deal for consumers because of the damage it causes to parts and the lower mileage and performance it causes. You've heard this said multiple times on this blog before.
- Ethanol-fixing additives can benefit small engines by preventing damage to small equipment and keeping the ethanol from breaking apart in storage.
- Are they worth using in modern cars and trucks? That's a mathematical question - an additive like Ethanol Defense which costs just pennies per gallon to treat is far more likely to be worth using than a less-concentrated treatment that costs 30 or 40 or 50 cents per gallon to treat. At that rate, it's unlikely it would save you enough in fuel to pay for itself.
An interesting final point from the article was the VP of Harris Oil in Mt. Dora, Florida, which is one of the few places in Florida where you can get 100% gasoline. Although boats and airplanes and other "off-road" vehicles are legally exempt from having to use ethanol, your car and truck is a different matter. According to the VP, it is technically illegal for a car or truck to pull up to a pure gas pump and fill their vehicle with it.
Wow. Government intervention at its finest.
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