Ethanol blend makes way to Waco gas stations

Ethanol blends have quietly made their way to Waco-area gasoline pumps this fall, and that has Bob Potter fuming.Potter, a retired defense worker who lives in Hewitt, calls the 10 percent ethanol blend a “snake oil concoction” that hurts his gas mileage and maybe his engine.

“I’m not getting my money’s worth,” he said. “I don’t see any difference in price with the ethanol blend. I’m worried about damaging my vehicle, and I’m incensed that I’m paying the same price for less miles per gallon.”

Refiners have begun selling stations the 10 percent blend, called E10, because of federal laws that require them to ratchet up their ethanol sales nationwide over time. And E15, a 15 percent ethanol blend, may be on the way.

Responding to requests from the ethanol industry, the Environmental Protection Agency this month said it was considering increasing the amount of ethanol that retailers could blend into gasoline to 15 percent. The final decision would come no sooner than May, when the U.S. Department of Energy is to complete tests of whether E15 damages cars. The blend would be recommended only for cars from the 2001 model year and later.

The ethanol industry has sought the new standard, saying the ethanol market needs to expand to avoid overproduction. The industry argues that expanding the market would create an incentive for developing a new generation of ethanol plants that could use grass, corncobs and wood chips.

In the meantime, refiners have been expanding their use of ethanol blends to meet Bush-era federal mandates on ethanol use. The E10 blend arrived at Waco gas stations in October and is becoming standard everywhere because of federal mandates, industry sources said.

“That’s federal law,” said Bill Day, a spokesman for Valero, the refining giant that owns eight gas stations in Waco. “Eventually, everybody will be buying fuel with ethanol.”

Potter isn’t the only one who doesn’t like it. The ethanol backlash has brought together unlikely allies, including environmentalists, the American Automobile Association, and refining and small engine industry groups. The environmental group Public Citizen urged its members to oppose the E15 standard, saying ethanol causes ozone pollution and in concentrations of more than 10 percent can damage engines.

Day said Valero has no official position on E15, but he said gas stations need to be able to accommodate older vehicles that aren’t ethanol-compatible.

“We would be hesitant to produce a fuel not warrantied by engine manufacturers,” he said.

Ethanol advocates say the fuel cleans out engines and helps them run with fewer knocks without environmentally hazardous fuel additives.

But some Waco businesses already have seen problems with engines run on ethanol blends.

Mechanics at Freddie Kish’s Complete Car Care Center said they recently have worked on three cars they diagnosed as having problems related to ethanol blend use.

“None of them had lasting issues, but all had some expenses to get that fuel out,” said general manager David Derosier. He said motorists might have filled up at stations that had fuel which wasn’t adequately mixed, resulting in “hot spots” of concentrated ethanol.

Mechanic Scott Snyder said the shop also has had to work on cars that were improperly filled with E85, a high-ethanol blend intended only for specially designed cars.

“It does something horrible to the fuel tank and injectors,” he said.

Snyder said he has been looking for 100 percent gasoline to put in his bass boat, but he can’t find it. He said he’s had no trouble so far with his boat, though.

Jim Yowell, who sells and repairs boats as owner of Yowell’s Boat Yard, said ethanol blends can damage older boats, but those after 2001 should be fine with E10.

Even owners of newer boats should add special treatments to counter ethanol’s tendency to pick up moisture, he added.

Yowell said his only experience with ethanol blend damage was two years ago, when an owner brought in a new Yamaha he had filled up at a South Texas gas station. Testing revealed that the fuel was 50 percent ethanol, and the fuel had ruined a power head. Yamaha’s warranty covered the $8,000 in damage, he said.

Meanwhile, Potter, the anti-ethanol motorist, drives a 2001 Camry and a 2004 Silverado — model years that are supposed to run well on ethanol.

Still, he worries that E10 in time will take a toll on his vehicle, and he’s not convinced that it’s any better for the environment than straight fossil fuel.

“I’m not sure there’s an environmental savings,” he said. “They have to truck the ethanol here, and there’s a lot of energy costs in producing corn.”

Potter said he’s getting less from his money when he pays for E10, because it gets fewer miles per gallon and costs as much as regular gasoline.

E10 gets about 3 percent fewer miles per gallon than gasoline, according to estimates by Consumers Union and other groups.

Day, the Valero spokesman, had no definite answer as to whether E10 costs less than pure gasoline.

“That varies based on market conditions,” he said.

AAA estimates that E85 gets 25 percent fewer miles to the gallon than pure gasoline. Nationwide, gas prices were at $2.63 per gallon last week, while E85 was at $2.27, according to AAA. But adjusted for performance to equal straight gasoline, E85 would cost $2.98 per gallon, the group estimates.

source: wacotrib