Why Use Blended Ethanol?

I started asking myself that question several years ago and came up with some conclusions you may find interesting.  Most folks who pull up to the pump for a fill up give little consideration to the labels and stickers they find there.  I was just like that, too.

The only labels that seemed to make sense were the price and octance labels.  I had heard from my performance car friends that the higher the octane the better the car ran.  Wasn’t too hard to figure out that the lower the price the better my wallet was!

A few years ago I started seeing “Blended with 10% Ethanol” labels appearing on gas pumps all over the country.  Like a lot of people I gave it little thought and avoided using it because of some vague “it might not be good for the car” thought that kept going through my head.  Nothing scientific, you understand, more like the herd instinct at the coffee machine in the morning!

Over the years it’s become obvious that using blended-ethanol fuel in your vehicle is a good thing.  All vehicle manufacturers support its use and new vehicles are for the most part approved for the new E85 fuel.  They’re called “FlexFuel” vehicles.

There are even some folks who run their older vehicles on varying blends of E85 and regular gas.  Apparently with success.  Your mileage may vary so exercise some caution in that area.

So what are the main reasons for using blended-ethanol fuels?

• It’s good for the environment.  Less pollution means cleaner air and that’s just good for all of us.
• 10 tank fills of 10% blended-ethanol fuel means 1 less barrel of oil that has to be imported.
• 1 tank fill of E85 85% blended-ethanol fuel means 1 less barrel of oil that has to be imported.

So there you go.  It’s good for your health, it’s good for your pocket book, it’s good for the country and it’s good for the environment.  For me, I’m going to keep on filling the tank with blended-ethanol fuel and enjoy the savings, the clean air and a better economy.  You should, too.