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I started putting ethanol free gas in my car for a couple of months...then price spread went to .75 cents and started back with 10% ethanol...now car has overheated..we changed thermostat and radiator and still overheating...hoping we can siphon gas out and put ethanol free in and it will stop overheating problem??? It has never had any overheating before this. Do you think we have a chance?? of correcting problem?? or have we messed up computer..2001 LHS Chrysler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drover
Overheating has nothing to do with ethanol-free versus E10. The coolant system is a closed system that is not affected by the fuel.
drover is right. it is just a coincidence that you started overheating after switching back. i am betting you have a bad head gasket.
Overheating has nothing to do with ethanol-free versus E10. The coolant system is a closed system that is not affected by the fuel.
not 100% true.. But, you are correct in saying that the problem has nothing to do with the fuel.
Ethanol DOES burn hotter than regular gasoline.. so, your engine will run hotter on an ethanol blend vs regular gas.. But.. That temperature difference is nowhere near enough to cause a car to start overheating.
I'm not a chemist, but i'd say we're talking a couple of degrees difference between E-10 and 'regular' gas. At most.
not 100% true.. But, you are correct in saying that the problem has nothing to do with the fuel.
Ethanol DOES burn hotter than regular gasoline.. so, your engine will run hotter on an ethanol blend vs regular gas.. But.. That temperature difference is nowhere near enough to cause a car to start overheating.
I'm not a chemist, but i'd say we're talking a couple of degrees difference between E-10 and 'regular' gas. At most.
no it doesnt. ethanol burns colder than gasoline does, which is why there is less energy per gallon of ethanol than gasoline. and the temperature different is not a couple of degrees either, but rather substantially more than that, more like 100 degrees.
I can assume that everybody knows this thread started in 2011. Obviously the OP won't be reading anything new.
Ethanol does not burn hotter, it burns cooler. For gas, the BTU rating, depending on formulation, is 114,000BTUs, E10 is 105-111,000 BTUs, and E85 is 86,000BTUs, all depending on formulation. Ethanol is a great solvent therefore is a good fuel system cleaner. It is corrosive so should not be used in any of the older vehicles not rated for ethanol. The stoic ratio for gasoline is 14.5-14.7:1 while ethanol is 9:1 so the air fuel ratio is wrong in our engines for it to be used as a fuel but the dimwits in DC seem to think using a food for fuel is smart. Engines can be configured to burn straight ethanol like they do in Brazil but you cannot use gasoline in one that's so designed. It requires a minimum compression ratio of 12.5:1 and a recalibration of the A/F. Ethanol is hygroscopic meaning it absorbs water out of the air. It is not a long life fuel. As of todays date, there are zero motor oils in the US formulated to handle the water/condensate that comes with using E85 or the solvent properties of the fuel as some it will be washed into the oil. Seal life will be shorter as will gasket materials. Ethanol can be a fuel source. This nation is not setup to deal with it and I doubt it ever is. The fuels you buy and the availability as well as price are NOT subject to demand. The availability and price are 100% political. Don't like the price, don't hammer the oil companies, look to the morons in DC. If it were a free and open market we'd be having wells drilled just off of our Gulf shores and Kailfornia and not buying crude from folks that hate us. The oil is HERE. An expected 3000 year supply of it and that's considering NO genesis of the supplies which is proving to actual and real as dead wells in Texas are again pumping. All we need is DC to get the hell outa the way and let free market work. What a boost to jobs that would be. But I digress.
I can assume that everybody knows this thread started in 2011. Obviously the OP won't be reading anything new.
Ethanol does not burn hotter, it burns cooler. For gas, the BTU rating, depending on formulation, is 114,000BTUs, E10 is 105-111,000 BTUs, and E85 is 86,000BTUs, all depending on formulation. Ethanol is a great solvent therefore is a good fuel system cleaner. It is corrosive so should not be used in any of the older vehicles not rated for ethanol. The stoic ratio for gasoline is 14.5-14.7:1 while ethanol is 9:1 so the air fuel ratio is wrong in our engines for it to be used as a fuel but the dimwits in DC seem to think using a food for fuel is smart. Engines can be configured to burn straight ethanol like they do in Brazil but you cannot use gasoline in one that's so designed. It requires a minimum compression ratio of 12.5:1 and a recalibration of the A/F. Ethanol is hygroscopic meaning it absorbs water out of the air. It is not a long life fuel. As of todays date, there are zero motor oils in the US formulated to handle the water/condensate that comes with using E85 or the solvent properties of the fuel as some it will be washed into the oil. Seal life will be shorter as will gasket materials. Ethanol can be a fuel source. This nation is not setup to deal with it and I doubt it ever is. The fuels you buy and the availability as well as price are NOT subject to demand. The availability and price are 100% political. Don't like the price, don't hammer the oil companies, look to the morons in DC. If it were a free and open market we'd be having wells drilled just off of our Gulf shores and Kailfornia and not buying crude from folks that hate us. The oil is HERE. An expected 3000 year supply of it and that's considering NO genesis of the supplies which is proving to actual and real as dead wells in Texas are again pumping. All we need is DC to get the hell outa the way and let free market work. What a boost to jobs that would be. But I digress.
the bolded part is mostly wrong. you can run engines using straight ethanol on any compression ratio you can run gasoline on. in fact henry ford built the model T engine to run on gasoline or ethanol, and that engine had something like a 4.5:1 compression ratio(iirc). and you can run any gasoline engine on ethanol if you like, but as you noted the a/f ratio needs to be corrected.
that is easy enough with a bit of programming on the ECU, and a flex fuel sensor that calculates how much ethanol is in the fuel, and sends that information to the ECU.
I am wondering if I should go ahead and start using E85 to save money on gas. I've had my Tahoe for almost a year and have only used regular gas. I haven't even noticed any E85 gas stations in my area. Can I really save a lot more by using only E85? Can you mix regular and E85? Any other Chevy owners use E85? If so, any feedback?
E85 is more for lower emissions, not for saving $. i think overall, at best you break even. But i don't see why bother.
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