NO ETHANOL in gas

[PlaneFolks]

As of 5/11 they are still ethanol free. (Kankus/Smile) East Brainerd Rd.

Note: 3 stations along East Brainerd Rd. have gone back to ethanol. They say that gas is in short supply and had to change.

[An Einnseanair]

Thought I'd update this. I just downloaded the Gas Buddy app, and I've been paying a lot more attention to various stations around town.

Kankus/Smile (East Brainerd) DID switch to E10-87 Octane a while back. But recently the signs have indicated that you can purchase 100% gas at 87 Octane, but maybe at a slightly higher price. I'm going to stop there on the way home tonight and check in person.

The Hi-Tech at the corner of Hickory Valley and Shallowford offers both E10 and 100% in 87 Octane, with the 100% costing $0.10 more.

The Tip Top Market on Ringgold Rd just west of I-75 (Exit 1) advertises 100% Gas, but I haven't stopped. Their prices are higher than neighboring stations.

There's a Pure (brand) station downtown at Georgia and 6th. I think all Pure stations sell 100% gas, but I'm not 100% sure.

Those are the ones I've personally observed. THIS SITE supposedly has an up-to-date list of stations that sell ethanol-free gas, and which grades qualify. There are a few stations listed with 87-octane that I'm going to check out.

[Nonlocal]

Not all Pure stations are ethanol free, but I'll add that the one on Dayton Blvd is. I've been going to the Midnite Oil on Bonny Oaks 99% of the time now, and not only are they ethanol free for all grades but their fuel consistently gives me good gas mileage. The Midnite Oil at E. Brainerd Rd. & Gunbarrel is ethanol free as well, but only for premium grades.

[An Einnseanair]

I was told by another source that not all Pure stations are "Pure". And non-local confirms it. Oh, well.

I also stopped and confirmed that the Kankus/Smile on East Brainerd has both E10 and 100% Gas. They did this by getting rid of diesel and putting the E10 in the old diesel tank, so it's only available at pumps 15 and 16. Those handles used to be diesel-green, now they're ethanol-yellow. They're using what I consider unethical advertising, though. The BIG numbers on the sign are the ethanol price ($3.059 as of 8:30pm today) but it's only available at the two pumps. The little numbers are for the 100% price ($3.199). So you're paying $0.14/gal extra for 100% gas, or a little less than 5%. Pure gas gives you about 3% better fuel economy than E10, which is about $0.10 at current prices. So paying the extra for 100% at this station isn't worth it for me.

Slightly off topic, but I've found out that most US stations only have 2 or 3 tanks. Low octane (87 around here) and high octane (93). Mid grades are obtained by mixing varying amounts of gas from the two tanks at the pump. So a station with E10 in 87-octane and 100% gas in 93 octane has the equivalent of E5 at 89 octane. If a station has diesel or separate E10/100% nozzles it's in the third tank.

[Nonlocal]

Actually, I probably should've been a little more specific in regards to Pure stations. My experience is only with two--the one on Dayton Blvd. and the one that was (or is?) on Hixson Pike near Rivermont Elementary. The latter I recall not having ethanol free when I checked a few years ago. However, I'm not 100% sure, so I probably shouldn't have spoken so definitely of Pure's on the whole. However, I am pretty sure the one on Dayton Blvd is only "pure" on the premium grades, so there is still that. Also, interesting observation about the blends of grades, didn't know about that.

[u4icmusic]

Ethanol Free gas (regular) still available at the Hi Tech station on Shallowford Road, about half a mile west of I-75.

[u4icmusic]

The ethanol-free gas is now 20 cents per gallon higher than regular with ethanol. I'm not sure it if is worth the extra cost. It used to be 5 cents higher, then it jumped to 10 cents higher, then 15 cents, and now it is 20 cents extra. It appears to me that the next step will be to eliminate it all together at this Hi-Tech station on Shallowford.

[u4icmusic]

The Hi-Tech on Brainerd Rd that recently opened also has Ethanol free gas, but it Is 30 cents higher per gallon.

[induchman2]

Originally Posted by jwkilgore

Any particular part of town you're interested in? I know of several in the East Brainerd area. A few of them have rather large signs advertising the fact that they don't use ethanol.

Originally, stations bragged about adding ethanol because of the attitudes toward foreign oil. Now, more and more people are figuring out that 1) it can mess up older engines, 2) you get slightly reduced fuel economy on 90/10 (gas/eth) with GREATLY reduced fuel economy on 15/85, 3) ethanol from corn really isn't that "green" because of the fuel used to produce and ship it, and finally, 4) all that corn used to make our cars go means less corn to feed ourselves and livestock, meaning food prices go up. So stations are now bragging about not using ethanol.

An older automobile engine would have to be pre-70's, because Ethanol aka Gasohol has been mixed into the supply since then. It's used to reduce emissions and it does work. However with the high number of gas guzzlers that are still on the road, its effectiveness has been reduced. Ethanol does not destroy engines. It does damage the hoses, which are not built to ethanol standards (ie thicker pvc materiels).

Ethanol was never designed to give good mileage. You'll get 3mpg less in city/hwy driving, but the price is 10-40 cents/gal less, so it's attractive to a lot of people. My flex-fuel Dodge which burns E85 gets 14/20 on Ethanol and 17/23 on gasoline. I save $50 a week in fuel costs - times that by 50 working weeks and that's a considerable savings.

Ethanol cannot be shipped by pipeline, coming by rail and trucks to your station. Corn is not the only grain that makes ethanol. Sugar cane is the primary source. We have a surplus of grain each year that we ship overseas.

If you want ethanol free gasoline for your boat engines or cars, be prepared to pay thru the nose.

[BrianRKelly]

Jays market corner of Shallowford Road and Hickory Valley Road