This product may contain 10% Ethanol ???

So I try to always put Shell Vpower premium in my car and I notice that some Shell stations have posted “This product may contain 10 ethanol.”

That statement to me says that it does contain ethanol

So my question is, when you see that sign would that include the premium Vpower high end gas that I pay and extra .35c a gallon more for to also contain ethanol, or is it strictly in the regular gas?

Yeah, uh, I am pretty sure Ethanol has been in all US gasoline for, ah, quite a while now...?

Yep, been in v-power 93 for like a decade, maybe NC didn't require it to be specifically labelled or something, but here it has says 10% ethanol on the pumps for as long as I can remember

Originally Posted by SunnyandRich

Yeah, uh, I am pretty sure Ethanol has been in all US gasoline for, ah, quite a while now...?

As Sunny says: virtually all gasoline in the contiguous 48 has ethanol in it. There are a few (a couple in Granite Falls, wherever that is, etc.) that have non-ethanol 93 octane: http://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=NC

It's a crazy patchwork of state and federal regulations. All gas is not created equal. I'm not anti-regulation per se, but I do pity the guys and gals who have to somehow keep all the requirements straight and ship the right stuff to the right locations.

Originally Posted by BEEMRNUT

So I try to always put Shell Vpower premium in my car and I notice that some Shell stations have posted “This product may contain 10 ethanol.”

That statement to me says that it does contain ethanol

So my question is, when you see that sign would that include the premium Vpower high end gas that I pay and extra .35c a gallon more for to also contain ethanol, or is it strictly in the regular gas?

The same thing happens at Costco, but the 10% label is posted under the regular pump, not the premium pump. I asked a store manager, he said the premium gas there had no ethanol. I didn't quite believe him though.

Originally Posted by dtc100

The same thing happens at Costco, but the 10% label is posted under the regular pump, not the premium pump. I asked a store manager, he said the premium gas there had no ethanol. I didn't quite believe him though.

I wouldn't either.

http://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=CA

Tom

In these parts of Texas, if the local small-chain gas stations carry ethanol-free gas they tend to advertise it. There are a few gas stations that have big signs posted. Others I've discovered through word of mouth. As I see it, if I'm running 10% ethanol, the engine should be able to absorb it without impact. Especially if I'm primarily doing daily-drive commutes. If I knew I was headed for the track, I'd do the research in advance and find the closest 100% ethanol free station. Otherwise, fill as fill can.

In the US, I'd assume 10% ethanol in fuel unless otherwise advertised or specifically labelled. The pure-gas website is a good resource to find petrol without ethanol.

Very interesting, my question came up because not all the shells post the sign, so I thought only the ones with it had it. I guess I learned something that's been ancient news.

Our owner's manual (at least mine) contains the encouraging statement that fuels containing 10% ethanol "will not void the applicable warranties with respect to defects in materials or workmanship."

Originally Posted by ProfessorCook

It's a crazy patchwork of state and federal regulations. All gas is not created equal. I'm not anti-regulation per se, but I do pity the guys and gals who have to somehow keep all the requirements straight and ship the right stuff to the right locations.

That's the main reason gas is so expensive anymore. Each 'region' has it's own blend and if it get's below freezing, there's another blend for that.

3 blends are all we need, left coast, the rest of the country and north cold weather.

In MA all gasoline must contain 10% ethanol by law. There is no 100% gasoline here any more.

Originally Posted by Thunder Dump

In MA all gasoline must contain 10% ethanol by law. There is no 100% gasoline here any more.

I think this applies to all gas sold in the lower 48. With the ban on MTBE, ethanol seems to be the only approved oxygenate that can be added to gasoline. Even Sunoco 100 octane unleaded pump gas has 9.5% ethanol ( http://www.racegas.com/fuel/19 ). It seems the only variable is how much ethanol gets added, not whether it is added. I wouldn't trust stickers on pumps (or gas station managers, for that matter) to decide ethanol content. Absent an explicit 'no ethanol content' statement by the refiner/distributor, expect there to be some ethanol content in the gas.

Edit: If you go to the Sunoco web site, the only gas they sell that is ethanol-free is the leaded gas. Leaded gas can not be sold for on highway use in the U.S.

The only ethanol free pumps I know of are at marinas. Since ethanol attracts water molecules, gas pumps for marine use tend to be ethanol free.

Originally Posted by anE934fun

I think this applies to all gas sold in the lower 48. With the ban on MTBE, ethanol seems to be the only approved oxygenate that can be added to gasoline. Even Sunoco 100 octane unleaded pump gas has 9.5% ethanol ( http://www.racegas.com/fuel/19 ). It seems the only variable is how much ethanol gets added, not whether it is added. I wouldn't trust stickers on pumps (or gas station managers, for that matter) to decide ethanol content. Absent an explicit 'no ethanol content' statement by the refiner/distributor, expect there to be some ethanol content in the gas.

Edit: If you go to the Sunoco web site, the only gas they sell that is ethanol-free is the leaded gas. Leaded gas can not be sold for on highway use in the U.S.

I'm not aware that all places must sell oxygenated fuels, only those sold in larger metropolitan areas are required. Thus, you'll notice that the largest cities tend to have few, if any places with non-ethanol fuel. On the other hand, smaller cities and rural areas have non-ethanol fuel.

I fill up with the no-ethanol stuff whenever possible. I don't care if the owner's manual says 10% ethanol is acceptable- it's still not ideal.

Originally Posted by dtc100

The same thing happens at Costco, but the 10% label is posted under the regular pump, not the premium pump. I asked a store manager, he said the premium gas there had no ethanol. I didn't quite believe him though.

He's full of $hit.

Originally Posted by Thunder Dump

In MA all gasoline must contain 10% ethanol by law. There is no 100% gasoline here any more.

Here in CA too.

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

I'm not aware that all places must sell oxygenated fuels, only those sold in larger metropolitan areas are required. Thus, you'll notice that the largest cities tend to have few, if any places with non-ethanol fuel. On the other hand, smaller cities and rural areas have non-ethanol fuel.

I fill up with the no-ethanol stuff whenever possible. I don't care if the owner's manual says 10% ethanol is acceptable- it's still not ideal.

It depends on the state you live in and some states break it down by certian county requirements as well. It's a clusterfcuk patchwork of government regulation:

Originally Posted by TJPark01

It depends on the state you live in and some states break it down by certian county requirements as well. It's a clusterfcuk patchwork of government regulation:

Yeah, thats the map I remember seeing months ago! I drive/live mostly in rural VA/NC/SC so hence the ease of finding non-oxygenated and/or no-ethanol fuel.

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

Yeah, thats the map I remember seeing months ago! I drive/live mostly in rural VA/NC/SC so hence the ease of finding non-oxygenated and/or no-ethanol fuel.

For modern cars I think it's not much to be concerned about.

http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pages/chan...line-iv-manual

Originally Posted by TJPark01

snip...

It depends on the state you live in and some states break it down by certian county requirements as well. It's a clusterfcuk patchwork of government regulation:

I am curious regarding what is actually sold in the areas where there is no legal requirement driving ethanol content. For example (based on the map), most of Illinois does not have a requirement for ethanol content. The area around Chicago requires ethanol content. If the area that does not require ethanol content is supplied from the same refiner/pipeline that supplies Chicago, I would be skeptical of any claim that there is no ethanol in their gasoline. It becomes problematic to turn on/off the ethanol spigot unless ethanol is added at the point of distribution. Adding ethanol at the point of distribution would seem to require some significant storage capacity. I wonder if there are any E9X forum participants who work in the distribution end of the business? I would be curious to learn how the varying ethanol content requirements are met. The patchwork of different requirements would seem to be a significant logistical challenge and I wonder how it is handled day-to-day.