[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by landrovered

Boys, boys...

Ethanol is the same chemical as Vodka.

Does vodka turn into water if it sits in the bottle? no

Ethanol is hygroscopic however which means it will absorb water from the atmosphere and if a tank full of 100% ethanol was left in a fuel tank with no fuel cap for a long time in a humid climate, then it would absorb some water which could be a problem.

Fuel in the US contains no more than 10% ethanol unless it is E85 which contains 85% ethanol.

Modern fuel systems are very tight and humidity from the atmosphere is not a concern especially when only 10% of the fuel is ethanol. This is a non issue.

What is more concerning however is that the caloric content of ethanol is 15% less than that of gasoline. So 10% of your fuel is 15% less energetic than the gasoline.

Also mpg using ethanol is 15% lower than mpg from gasoline.

When spread across every auto in the US that is a significant drop in overall fuel economy.

Ethanol is an oxygenate for fuel that helps it burn more thouroughly and reduce emissions. It is far far better for the environment than MTBE which is known for polluting large amounts of ground water with very small amounts of contamination.

Economically ethanol is produced in the US and that is good for the economy.

In the long run ethanol is worth its drawbacks but it does not "turn to water".

Actually, the ethanol in gas picks up water during manufacture, transportation and storage. When it sits in your tank, it can separate and form acidic compounds with other additives in the fuel, and attack a wide variety of surfaces such as the mild steel fuel lines, pump components and the injectors. This is why E85 vehicles have all stainless fuel systems, special injectors and other components; making a true conversion from normal gas to E85 price prohibitive.

We recently had a Z06 Vette in the shop that the owner (on a 9-month assignment in China) put into storage with a full tank of gas, but no stabilizer. A mere couple of grand or so later, we replaced all the parts screwed up by the water that separated from the 10% ethanol gas and he was on his way again.

Use fuel stabilizers if you let the car sit, it is cheap insurance, and now even recommended by a lot of the OEM’s………..