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Ethanol Rating

3K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  360ci 
#1 ·
Hey does anyone know the highest level of ethanol we can burn in the 2009 escapes? i don;t think its e85???
 
#2 ·
It is close to E50. I know two individuals one with a 2005 and the other with 2009 that have run close to E50 before obtaining a check engine light for too lean conditions. Both of these individuals have run E85 with conversion kits such as those found at Change2E85.com I have gone a little over E30 with no problems. I have sometimes obtained the same or better mileage with E20-25 blends when compared to E0!
 
#3 ·
Be cautious running more than 10% ethanol (most unleaded fuels run around 5% depending on the station and your local area). It will state in your owners manual the maximum safe amount of ethanol you can run. Unless the engine is built specifically for ethanol blended fuels, don't run anything more than 10%. Some owners manuals (generalization here) will state no more than 5% ethanol, and some will state up to 10%. Provincial law here allows fuel manufacturers to sell up to 10%E in their fuel. However, a lot of vehicles can safely only handle around 5% without causing misfires, CEL to come on, etc.

When I owned my three service stations, all the pumps advertised "up to 10% ethanol" on the pump, but that was more of a marketing scheme as the fuel rarely had more than 6%, and only in the winter months. Summer months it hovered around the 4% mark, but never did I see a fuel delivery to any of my stations that contained more than 6.5% ethanol blend.

The other thing here, is since you have an '09, you have to be careful that you don't run more ethanol than what Ford recommends you to run or you can run into warranty problems should you cause any engine, or related damage.
 
#5 ·
Interesting read, thanks Billy!

However, I think Ford is going in the wrong direction here. Let alone I want it stated in the owners manual, or writing directly from the dealer or Ford head office that the vehicle can in fact run safely on E15. This 15% idea of theirs is going to start a huge debate, as 99% of vehicles on the road can't handle more than 5% ethanol, safely. By the time the government decides to step in and standardize the 15E blend, I know I'll be laying on a dirty old mattress in an old age home at the ripe old age of 105. It's just like when the manufacturers wanted to go hydrogen, and spent billions in the development process, only to realize that they'll have to setup new fuel stations just for that purpose. This also is in the hope that people will buy these expensive hydrogen cars. I think that idea has a better chance of making it forward.

The governments are also starting to realize that ethanol is not a long term solution for reducing the need of foreign oil. I know for a fact that the Alberta tar sands could easily support a larger portion of North American oil use. However, the fact remains that they're out to make more of a profit, so they sell it to corrupt overseas markets who in turn sell it back to us, so they both make money. Strange? Yes! It's the government that is the culprit here for allowing it to happen in the first place. If the petrol companies make money, they pay more to the government in taxes. When push comes to shove it's always about the money.

The price of rice in China is no joke either. When ethanol production goes up, so does the price of usable commodities such as soy and corn, along with several other plants that can produce a combustible oil. To fill a standard Tahoe with E85, takes over an acre of corn. So, it's not a long term solution. It was a good idea at the time, but right from the get go, no one really had any other cost effective options. Again, it's all about the money. I'm done with the rant lol.
 
#6 ·
It takes 21 pounds of corn (less than a 1/2 bushel- one bushel =56lbs) to make a gallon of ethanol via this link: WikiAnswers - How much corn does it take to make a gallon of ethanol. If the GM Tahoe has a 20 gallon tank, then 420 pounds of corn is needed. There is 8400 lbs of corn in an acre via this link: WikiAnswers - How many pounds of corn are in a two acre cornfield

One acre of corn can fill the tanks of 20 GMC Tahoe vehicles.


cost of corn in a 1lb box of Corn Flakes
1 bushel of Corn = 56 lbs.
1 bushel of corn is around $4.10
$4.10/56= 7 cents a pound!
A box of Corn Flakes has 7 cents of corn in it!
So much for ethanol causing sky rocketing food price hikes.

"as 99% of vehicles on the road can't handle more than 5% ethanol, safely".
Not true. Modern vehicles have adjustable fuel trim capabilities based upon the feedback from the oxygen sensor. Your vehicle will sense the increase of oxygen in the exhaust via ethanol and produce an increase in fuel at the injectors. This does not mean all vehicles can run E85 but lower intermediate blends are within capabilities.
 
#7 ·
"as 99% of vehicles on the road can't handle more than 5% ethanol, safely".
Not true. Modern vehicles have adjustable fuel trim capabilities based upon the feedback from the oxygen sensor. Your vehicle will sense the increase of oxygen in the exhaust via ethanol and produce an increase in fuel at the injectors. This does not mean all vehicles can run E85 but lower intermediate blends are within capabilities.
Corn weight will vary depending on weather as well. A high drought will cause an increase in field capacity to produce a said gallon of ethanol. It can also go the other way. Growing season in the US is also longer than up here. Variables will always be there. I posted what Shell Canada had on their website a couple years ago, when the domestic auto makers were adding more 'flexfuel' options to their model/engine line.

I fueled up with 'E10' at a station outside of Toronto a few years ago in my '99 Taurus and it ran rough after a few miles; once the fuel had mixed with the bit of regular I had left in the tank. Perhaps the concentrate of that delivery was higher than the said E10, but I'll never run anything like that again. I'd rather run out of fuel and get CAA to delivery me some before I put that stuff in there. Except for a more stringent cat converter and some computer programming, it's fairly 'modern'. As for running E15. No thx. Ethanol is a temporary solution anyway, and vehicle manufacturers are spending millions developing new engine tech around this 'fuel'.

Biodiesel was a good idea at the time as well, and technically, still is. But, here the opposite is true; the older the engine, the better it runs without problems. Tighter injector tolerances and high fuel pressure don't allow any newer diesel (mid-late 90's and newer) to safely run on B80, let alone B100 as it requires two tanks with a heating system. I converted an old MB 300SD four years ago. Took me a lot of trial and error but it still runs today, primarily on McD's and Wendy's used fryer oil since the owner of the car owns several franchises.
 
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