Ethanol is now at every gas station

[19C7GS]

Apparently since last year there were some pretty big changes that went under the radar. Regulation forced companies to increase ethanol in gas.

Every premium octane out there now has 10% ethanol in it, Shell included. I was curious about this because I pulled up to a Shell gas station last year and noticed that all gas levels had 10% ethanol stickers, I promptly left to another that didn't and filled up.

Well, the time has come boys, we are now screwed and have to force feed our cars ethanol.

Not going to Shell anymore, why pay the premium price when I can get the same garbage fuel at any other random gas station.

 

[Cariboocreek]

I checked with Coop here in Alberta, and yes even their Premium is now 10% ethanol as well.

 

[turbozig]

Hughes petroleum to the best of my knowledge still has no ethanol in their premium only.

 

[Canuck204]

I checked with Coop here in Alberta, and yes even their Premium is now 10% ethanol as well.

MB Coop's have a "may contain ethanol" sticker for at least a year now. Ran it in my C6 and C7 for years with no issues get some cash back is nice too, I will add not by choice I have a company gas card. Shell was the go to up until now I guess.

 

[Rruuff Day]

I checked with Coop here in Alberta, and yes even their Premium is now 10% ethanol as well.

So. Are they taking the cheap route and just adding another 5% ethanol to their mid grade 89 octane. That would bring the 89 up to 10% ethanol and about 91 octane. If they are adding the entire 10% to their existing 91 it will be a 94 octane.

 

[Cariboocreek]

So some local good news. I stopped by my local Coop station and talked to the manager. He has not moved to ethanol free premium fuel yet and indicated we here in Bonnyville will hold out as long as possible. He figured another year of ethanol free premium locally, before the local Coop Board is forced to change.

I bought my first Coop membership today. $10.

 

[Rruuff Day]

So some local good news. I stopped by my local Coop station and talked to the manager. He has not moved to ethanol free premium fuel yet and indicated we here in Bonnyville will hold out as long as possible. He figured another year of ethanol free premium locally, before the local Coop Board is forced to change.

I bought my first Coop membership today. $10.

I asked my guy in Red Deer as well. 91 still ethanol free.

Membership has it's rewards. A cheque every year based on profit share on everything you buy plus equity built up over the years. I have been a member for a long time and when I turned 65 I was eligible to withdraw the equity I had earned. They sent me a tax free cheque for over $3,200. Was a nice surprise. Yearly statement shows how much you spent at each of the Co-Op grocery, hardware, farm and liquor stores. Stopped buying my booze at Co-op after seeing that.... lol...

 

[19C7GS]

You guys are lucky in Alberta hahaha, should move over there. Here in Ontario it's all 10% now, sucks.

 

[Rruuff Day]

You guys are lucky in Alberta hahaha, should move over there. Here in Ontario it's all 10% now, sucks.

We've taken it upon ourselves here to ignore most things that Ontario does and strive to do th opposite. There is some advantage to having a slightly red neck... hmmmm... did I say slightly?.....

 

[Pocono kid]

what about an additive to the fuel... I put an ethanol additive in my gas tank in my boat...???

 

[Canuck204]

We've taken it upon ourselves here to ignore most things that Ontario does and strive to do th opposite. There is some advantage to having a slightly red neck... hmmmm... did I say slightly?.....

If you guys build a wall or break off please don't forget MB lol.

 

[Canuck204]

what about an additive to the fuel... I put an ethanol additive in my gas tank in my boat...???

I've done a lot of research recently on fuel additives and if there is a superior one. Looks like you risk fouling spark plugs across the board and its not worth it.

 

[Rruuff Day]

If you guys build a wall or break off please don't forget MB lol.

Manitoba would remain with the West. I fish Northern MB regularly and wouldn't sacrifice that. The subdivision of the Country would look like this:
We would have the Maritimes which would include NS, NL and PEI; Quebontariowick which would consolidate Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick as the new French region (did I say new?); Manisaskberta (pretty much self explanatory and the new vacation destination for rednecks); and BChina which is already pretty much privately owned.

Now how's that for a thread derailment....

 

[Murray20c8]

Manitoba would remain with the West. I fish Northern MB regularly and wouldn't sacrifice that. The subdivision of the Country would look like this:
We would have the Maritimes which would include NS, NL and PEI; Quebontariowick which would consolidate Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick as the new French region (did I say new?); Manisaskberta (pretty much self explanatory and the new vacation destination for rednecks); and BChina which is already pretty much privately owned.

Now how's that for a thread derailment....

Interesting. I was under the impression that "Westerners" consider Manitoba to be an Eastern province and Easterners consider it to be a western one.
Poor Manitoba. LOL

 

[Dale124]

As spring slowly approaches, I hope to have the car out of storage in 2 or 3 weeks, and am worrying about this ethanol issue. Will we need to add anything each time we fill up, or still just stick with the premium fuel and hope it doesn’t cause any issues? I imagine there are many high end cars that would be impacted by this, so I assume we will be ok. Thoughts?
Dale

 

[Cobravenomous]

As spring slowly approaches, I hope to have the car out of storage in 2 or 3 weeks, and am worrying about this ethanol issue. Will we need to add anything each time we fill up, or still just stick with the premium fuel and hope it doesn’t cause any issues? I imagine there are many high end cars that would be impacted by this, so I assume we will be ok. Thoughts?
Dale

I’ve been buying premium (ethanol free) for my small engines (snowblower, lawn mower, whipper snipper etc.) due to the known detrimental effects ethanol has on those small engines forever. As well, always premium in my performance vehicles too.

Bloody government ……as a young man I used to respect government, but I m much more wise today……I’m fed up with incompetence, “woke” initiatives, leftist attitudes, and ineffective politicians but that’s another topic ha ha….

Maybe this link can help! Last I checked our Canadian Tire gas stations premium remained ethanol free……….

Pure-gas.org - ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada

Pure-gas.org is the definitive web site listing stations that sell pure gasoline in the U.S. and Canada.

www.pure-gas.org

 

[cdnrx1]

As spring slowly approaches, I hope to have the car out of storage in 2 or 3 weeks, and am worrying about this ethanol issue. Will we need to add anything each time we fill up, or still just stick with the premium fuel and hope it doesn’t cause any issues? I imagine there are many high end cars that would be impacted by this, so I assume we will be ok. Thoughts?
Dale

I know that this is a somewhat controversial subject on this forum and, until now, I have abstained from expressing an opinion. However, your question demonstrates just how much misinformation has been spread about the "evils" of ethanol blended fuels and their supposed detrimental effects on an ICE and its fuel system. That may well have been the case for engines that were manufactured 20, or more, years ago where the fuel systems were not comprised of stainless, ceramic and synthetic materials that, in our C7's, are impervious to the effects of ethanol deterioration. In the case of the C7, and virtually every modern day ICE vehicle, it was designed, engineered and built to safely utilize fuels containing up to 15% ethanol. This is not just my opinion but also that of the manufacturer.

From the 2019 GS owner's manual:

"Recommended Fuel (LT1 6.2L V8 Engine).

Do not use any fuel labeled E85 or FlexFuel. Do not use gasoline with ethanol levels greater than 15% by volume. Premium unleaded gasoline meeting ASTM specification D4814 with a posted octane rating of 93 is highly recommended for best performance and fuel economy."

To take this a step further, I had the opportunity to be part of a discussion on this very subject at the 2018 Corvettes at Carlisle event. At the center of the discussion was one of the engineers from the original LT1 engine design team at Bowling Green. He stated that there would be no detrimental effects on the C7 as a result of using the recommended fuels listed in the owner's manual, including ethanol blended fuels. The indication that ethanol blended fuels, of 15% or less, are harmful to the C7's fuel system and engine was summarily dismissed. He further emphasized the fact that the vehicle was designed to run on said fuels and that there were, in fact, some inherent advantages in terms of moisture absorbency, increased combustion efficiency and, as a result, a slight decrease in HC and CO emissions. These are facts that I was already aware of but it was good to hear someone in "authority" dispel some of the misinformation surrounding this subject.

Dale, in short, don't worry about using 91 to 93 octane, Top Tier, ethanol blended fuel of 15% or less. It will not harm your vehicle. Just my opinion, and that of a GM engineer. I know that there are others who will disagree, just the joys of living in a free country.

Best regards
Ross

 

[Cobravenomous]

Ethanol may be less harmful for new automobiles…….but there’s many articles that state it is not good for small engines…….

What is Ethanol Free Gas & Where to Find it Near Me

Ethanol fuel, a gas additive, is everywhere! Nowadays, the gas you pump from almost every gas station contains a blend of gasoline and ethanol. The percentage of ethanol blend is indicated by the E number. For example E10 means the gas mixture contains 90% gas and 10% ethanol. In automobiles...

www.husqvarna.com

 

[Murray20c8]

Ethanol may be less harmful for new automobiles…….but there’s many articles that state it is not good for small engines…….

What is Ethanol Free Gas & Where to Find it Near Me

Ethanol fuel, a gas additive, is everywhere! Nowadays, the gas you pump from almost every gas station contains a blend of gasoline and ethanol. The percentage of ethanol blend is indicated by the E number. For example E10 means the gas mixture contains 90% gas and 10% ethanol. In automobiles...

www.husqvarna.com

I have a Go Kart that absolutely agrees with you. I had to replace the carb because I used regular fuel in it.
Now I go to Shell for it's premium. ALL C.T. fuels contain ethanol now. Everyone of their suppliers blend ethanol in all their fuels.
One of our members had an email conversation with C.T. where they first state there wasn't ethanol in premium, but retracted that a couple of days later and said there was. I now use Seafoam in the fuel when I can't get Shell premium

 

[Murray20c8]

Shell's Sarnia refinery now seems to add ethanol.
So who knows. Perhaps seafoam will go in all my small engine fuels.

"To meet federal regulations for ultra-low sulphur diesel that came into effect on June 1, 2006, SMC signed a 20-year agreement with Suncor Energy Products Inc. which saw Suncor designing, constructing, and operating another hydrotreater. This hydrotreater is used by both Shell and Suncor to reduce the amount of sulphur in our diesel, resulting in environmental benefits for the Sarnia area.

This hydrotreater also allowed Shell to meet tighter gasoline sulphur regulations that came into effect in 2020. As well, in 2020, the refinery converted its terminal to E10 gasoline (gasoline with ethanol) to comply with future federal clean fuel standard requirements."