If you have a large yard like me, you will have a lot of dealings with lawn mowers, including maintenance.
For example, you may want to know many things about gasoline if you are new to lawn mowers. Is ethanol free gas better for a lawn mower?
In this article, I will talk about gasoline and lawn mowers. Here are some of the advantages of ethanol gas over ethanol free gas:
- Ethanol fuel burns cleaner and more efficiently.
- It also helps to increase the octane rating in the gas.
However, since ethanol can absorb water from the air, it is important to ensure that the ethanol is blended into your fuel in moderation. Water-attracting alcohols in blended fuels can cause problems for your engine.
However, once you know what it entails, you can easily prevent this from causing any damage.
Ethanol is a chemical used to prepare many alcoholic beverages (excluding the water content). It can be blended with gasoline as it helps to increase the octane rating and aids the fuel in burning more effectively.
Reason Why Ethanol is Added to Fuel
There are several reasons why ethanol is added to fuel. For years, refiners combined ethanol in fuel because it burns cleaner than pore gas.
Currently, there are federal regulations that have required these refiners to make use of more amounts of ethanol to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.
As such, most of the gasoline in the United States is blended with 10% ethanol. Newer automobiles have even been constructed and advertised as capable of making use of 15% ethanol.
Problems Caused by Ethanol in Gasoline
Regardless of the advantages of ethanol in fuel, there are still some disadvantages of having ethanol in your fuel. With time, ethanol absorbs moisture from the air, and this water further sewerages and drops along with the ethanol to the bottom of the fuel tank.
Once this occurs, it may lead to:
- Engine damage start
- Corrosion
- Stalling
However, those who may experience these kinds of problems allow the fuel to sit in the engine for a very long period without being used.
People who use their cars or trucks daily do not experience this issue, especially if they use an ethanol additive, treatment or fuel stabilizer.
Among consumers, there is a constant debate on what type of gasoline is the best for their engine. Is it pure oil (fossil fuel), pure ethanol or E10.
When in gas stations, there is always the need to point out that they see pure oil or ethanol free oil. Why is this so?
Many people argue about whether gas that has been mixed with ethanol or made of pure ethanol is better than pure oil.
Below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using ethanol free gasoline:
Advantages of Ethanol Free Gas
It improves mileage
Some reports have shown that oil mixed with ethanol has less fuel efficiency. Since energy-rich pure gasoline has higher energy content, it can deliver more power when burned.
As such, your engine can convert the fuel to produce more kinetic energy resulting in reduced fuel usage and increased performance.
There is less harm to the engine
Gasoline that has been mixed with ethanol can affect your engine negatively, especially older models which have not been designed or built to rub using ethanol-mixed gasoline.
A few of the problems you may encounter when using ethanol mixed gas include:
- Increased vapor pressure leads to vapor lock in the carburetor
- Corrosion and risk in the internal components of the engine due to absorption of water
- Breakdown of old rubber seals
It makes us less dependent on ethanol crops
Due to the US government’s decision to add ethanol to gasoline, farmers’ increased corn cultivation. This, in turn, led to an increase in the price of corn and leasing products.
However, if the gasoline used is pure fuel, there is a high chance that we will become less dependent on these ethanol crops. Once the demand for this crop reduces, the price will also reduce.
Disadvantages of Ethanol Free Gas
It has more harmful emissions
Many people prefer to use alternative energy and gasoline mixed with ethanol because of the harmful emissions from burning ethanol free gas.
This is one of the leading factors contributing to environmental pollution and global warming.
It makes us more dependent on oil from other countries
With the use of ethanol free gas by many individuals, the fuel reserves in the United State will significantly run low. This may cause the nation to seek fuel from other countries.
With the dependence on foreign gas imports, gasoline prices will skyrocket.
It is not ideal for newer, high-compression engines
Most engines have been designed to run on pure ethanol or mixed gasoline.
This is because a high compression ratio needs higher octane levels to prevent pre-ignition (a situation with high stress levels on the engine).
Using regular gasoline on these kinds of engines is not recommended as regular fuels have lower octane ratings than ethanol.
While scientists and technologists are continually looking for ways to produce machines for the improvement of life and to make the world less dependent on the use of fossil fuels but instead alternative forms of energy, pure oil users are at a turning point.
Now, we should all be concerned about ways to help our planet with its limited resources.
FAQs
Is ethanol free gas better for a lawn mower?
There are advantages and disadvantages of using ethanol free gas. With ethanol free gas, you do not have to worry about encountering problems such as the risk of engine damage on your outdoor power equipment.
Whether for your lawn mower, leaf blowers, chainsaws or trimmers, you may incur a lot of repairs on your machine while using ethanol blended gasoline.
It is advised that you use ethanol free gas for your small engine outdoor power equipment.
What is the point of ethanol free gas?
Compared to gasoline mixed with ethanol, ethanol free gas provides better mileage. Ethanol free gas is a much better option for your engine, even if the mileage efficiency has been reduced by 3%.
There have been many complaints about the negative effects of ethanol mixed gas. Since ethanol absorbs water naturally, it can cause damage to some of the internal components of your machine and also lead to rusting of the engine parts.
Does ethanol free gas run better?
Ethanol-free gas provides users with better mileage than fuel with an ethanol mix.