Author Topic: What's the Word on Biofuels?  (Read 2784 times)

tobacco

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What's the Word on Biofuels?
« on: September 04, 2009, 19:04:25 »

I see gas pumps displaying stickers regarding biofuel content, expressed as a percentage range.  What effect, if any, does gasoline biofuel have on the W 113's engines?
Bill Greffin
Chicago
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Peter van Es

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Re: What's the Word on Biofuels?
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2009, 09:05:03 »
See this post (http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=11150.msg74455#msg74455) for the full low-down including official MB bulletin. The long-and-short is: Don't.

Peter
1970 280SL. System Admin of the site. Please do not mail or PM me questions on Pagoda's... I'm not likely to know the answer.  Please post on the forum instead!

mdsalemi

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Re: What's the Word on Biofuels?
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2009, 20:23:12 »
By "biofuels" I assume only E10; anything else just won't really work.

It's difficult to get consistent and accurate information as an outsider.  So, we need to go inside.

In Michigan, and only Michigan, E10 at the pump NEED NOT BE LABELED AS SUCH.  That's the law, you can read it on the state's website.  http://www.michigan.gov/dleg/0,1607,7-154-25676_25753_25757-83812--,00.html

My neighbor owns an oil and fuel distribution company in a suburb here; and they are BP distributors.  They tell me that for some time now ALL gasoline (excepting specialty fuels such as avgas, racing fuel, marine gas etc.) for road cars is E10.  I think BP was one of the last to change over.  I can't verify this, but labeling law aside, I have NOT seen a gas pump around here that IS NOT labeled "CONTAINS 10% ETHANOL".  I have not seen any stations advertising "ONLY PURE GASOLINE" like BP used to.  I guess I've been using E10 for the past couple of years.  Not by choice but only by availability.

It is less costly to "pump up" the octane rating with a small quantity of ethanol than with petroleum octane.  That's one reason why it is used.  Claims about renewable energy, etc. are another.

I don't know what to make of it: I do know that I don't look anymore because you can't really find E ZERO which is what MB is suggesting for our old cars.
Michael Salemi
Davidson, North Carolina (Charlotte Area) USA
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