E85 price spread is 18%

Stopped at the busy Wexford GetGo station today and got a E25 blend. E85 priced $2.59 while E10 was $3.15. Gasoline continues to move upward at a steady pace. Predictions of $5.00 a gallon in 2012 have recently seen in the news. Will E85 pricing improve with gasoline prices moving upward? Maybe. There is speculation in the market with corn prices above $5.00 bushel. I would think some of the Wall Street trading funds will shift towards oil again with the current trend.

My mpg mileage was 32.8 on the way home from the Wexford station. It was 50F on the way home today as a heat wave has settled in the region. This same heat wave has wrecked nordic skiiing conditions in this region.

38 cent per gallon spread!

The Wexford Getgo sells E85 for $2.59 while E10 is $2.97. That is about a 13% spread. I can live with that. Filled a 5 gallon jerry can along with an E27 blends. Got 31.4 mpg on the way home on a day that was 34 degrees with a 20 mph constant wind.

30 cent a gallon spread now

I forgot to mention the price spread remains around 30 cents a gallon. E10=$2.89 while E85 is $2.59

You can't use that!

Stopped at GetGo in Wexford after Ziebart did their annual mainetance on my vehicle. As I pulled in, a Women in a new Cadillac was telling an older women in a GM vehicle you can't use that yellow pump that has E85. The Cadillac owner was surprised to hear from the GM vehicle's owner she had a flex fuel vehicle and it was ok to do so. I pulled up next and let the Cadillac owner know it is ok to use this fuel in my vehicle. She promptly got in her vehicle and drove off.

I got 32.2 mpg on the way home from GetGo at around an E26% value. Temperatures were in the upper 50's on the drive home.

32.1 mpg with nearly E30

Stopped at the Wexford GetGo station today. E85 was $2.54 while E10 was $2.85. Drove home in 44F weather and averaged 32.1 mpg for the 27 mile trip. This is on target for what I have gotten in similar weather. It is fall now and my mileage will decrease compared to the spring and summer months.

Check engine light at LFT of 28.2

I finally received a check engine light when I had a scanguage LFT reading of 28.2. This would represent an ethanol reading of between E56 and E60. This is similar to what two other individuals who drive my type of vehicle have posted. What is interesting, I drove a full day at this ethanol level and on the second day, I received a check engine light due to a too lean condition. This indicates it takes 12-25 miles before the oxygen sensor records the correct ethanol concentration and throws the check engine light.

Getgo has E85 priced at $2.55 while E10 is at $2.88. Drove home with two stops and recorded a 31.9 mpg reading with the temperatures in the upper 40's. Yes it is no longer summer.

GetGo changes their E85 pricing for the better!

GetGo has adjusted their pricing! E85 was $2.35 while E10 was $2.67 today when I stopped in after spending 30 minutes with my Dog at the Cranbery Dog Park. This is the first time I can remember the pricing being different than a dime difference. A pleasant surprise. Now if I can locate an E-85 pump within 10 miles of my home, I am ready to spring for an E-85 conversion kit.

34.5 mpg on E28 blend

The photos report on my E28 blend today. Click on the photo for an enlargement. I got 34.5 mpg. Last weekend I took a trip to Deep Creek, Maryland on a E22 blend and got a similar figure (34.4mpg) despite part of the trip on the Pa Turnpike. If there was an E85 pump within 10 miles of my home here, I would purchase an E85 conversion kit and see if I could break the 30 mpg barrier on E85.

33.0 mpg with E30

I boosted my ethanol content to an estimated 30% at the Wexford GetGo station. I then drove home on the same route as previously used and netted a 33.0mpg. It is in the upper 80's for temperature and the traffic was heavier than usual. Gas was $2.69 while E85 was $2.59.

E25 nets 34.7 mpg

Stopped again at the Wexford GetGo station for a splash blend of 1.25 gallons E85 followed by 3.12 gallons of E10 that filled my tank. Drove home on a slightly different route and netted 34.7 mpg as shown in the photo. This was with my low rolling resistance tires. Temperature was 75F during this drive.

Stopped at the Wexford Getgo for all 1.7gallons of E85 which topped off the tank at near an E20 blend. Then drove home with one stop at the local Staples store. My Ford dash recorded 35.4 mpg for 27.7 miles of driving. I'm pleased with the results. Going in the dealership on Saturday to replace a broken ABS tone ring sensor and other minor mainetance items. I will also pull off my Goodyear Fontera Triple Tread tires and replace them with the low rolling resistance Contential EcoPlus tires that I use in the warmer months.

308 miles later 28.2 mpg

I have not posted many "tank" averages from mid-grade ethanol blending. The photo above reveals a 28.2 mpg average after 308.7 miles of driving on this mid-grade blend. My mileage drops significantly due to my short commute to work and elsewhere as I live in a small town. I even put in .72 gallons ($2.00 worth) of E85 yesterday at the Wexford GetGo station. I have an ethanol blend of somewhere around E27 and have another 90 miles or so before I am empty. No issues with the vehicle. The weather has recently changed with temperatures in the 40's the last three days.

31.0 mpg 86.5 miles later

This photos is what the Ford Dash readout is reporting on mileage a day after my latest GetGo fillup. Nice to know your mileage doesn't tank after using ethanol blends. This mileage figure will drop during the week due to my mulitple short trips and cold starts.

33.1 mpg on approximately E22 mixture

I returned to the Wexford GetGo station for more E85 (1.15 gallons) and E10 (5.2 gallons). The drive home included three stops including one of 80 minutes. The temperature was 64F while last week was 80F. The dime difference (e85=$2.75 while e10=$2.85) continued.

35.7 mpg on E25

Yes I did obtain 35.7 mpg on E25 on my drive home from the Wexford GetGo station. The difference between today and others is related to the warm 80+ day. Here is photo:

E20 study finds no drivability issues with NFFV

A just released study out of Rochester found not issue with 10 different Non-flexible fuel vehicles that ran this blend for 100,000 miles each! This study is being utilized by the Federal Government's Department of Energy in an attempt to justify the upward boost of permitted ethanol blending from 10% to 15%. What is the wait? I'm currently driving a E230 blend in my vehicle. The weather is spring like and I'm going to be changing my winter tires for the low rolling resistance tires sometime in the next few weeks.

20% spread of E85 on the Turnpike

Stopped at the Sunoco station on the Pa. Turnpike and was shocked to find the E85 price decreased to $2.28 while the E10 increased to $2.84. That is a 20% price spread. I promptly put in $5.00 worth of E85 and the rest of E10. When I arrived home after skiing in the Laurel Highlands, my Ford dash mileage read 28.4 mpg. This includes driving in the AM when temperatures were in the mid-teens and on the way home when the temperatures were in the low 40's. Got to love the 20% price spread which is similar to what the many of the station in the corn belt offer.

2005 Escape Hybrid improved MPG with E20

This link:
http://www.mda.state.mn.us/~/media/Files/renewable/ethanol/e20drivability.ashx

reveals improved mileage 23.7 to 24.4 mpg (4%) with E20 usage over a full year of testing. This testing occurred in Minnesota which is known to have real winter weather. This is similar to what I have frequently experienced in that E20 blends do not significantly alter mpg. I doubt the gasoline only lovers would be swayed by this small change.

A 46 cent difference only 16 miles away from GetGo

I stopped at the Sunoco Station on the Pa. Turnpike today on my way to the Nordic Ski area. What a surprise, E85 was $2.31 while unleaded was $2.77. My Ford dash indicated a 29.0 mpg average when I pulled in. I promptly added .43 gallons of E85 ($1.00 worth) to 1.65 gallons of unleaded (around a 25% ethanol blend). 42 miles later at the bottom of the Mountains, my Ford Dash again read 29.0 mpg. The mileage then dropped driving up the mountains where a 10 degreee difference existed in temperature. By the way, the ski area has received 100 inches of snow this month!

A dime difference again.

Stopped in today at GetGo and mixed a low ethanol blend of around 23% with E85 at $2.63 and E0 at $2.73. Drove home in the snow at around 30F and recorded 29.6mpg. Another day another dime differnce. Sounds like another recording.

Another visit to GetGo, another dime less for E85

The title sums it up. GetGo in Wexford keeps the E85 priced 10 cents a gallon less than gasoline no matter what the price. I can remember The Drunken Swede bitching about the poor price spread in his area (Northern Indiana) and this is even worse. Anyway, after filling up with a blend around E25, I drove home and my Ford Dash read 30.7 mpg. Temperature was 31F and it was dark during the ride home.

Long drive into Michigan nets varying mileage

I recently returned from a long weekend of driving into and out of Michigan. I skied the 50K Vasa race which is quite a challenge for a weekend warrior such as myself. It took me 3 hours 30 minutes to cover 31 miles of rolling hills-some very steep. This was "only" about one hour slower than the winning time. Any ways, I ran a mostly E10 or E0 into Michigan and average around 28 mpg. Leaving Michigan I ran mostly an E20-25 blend with gas mileage between 27 and 29 mpg. I did drive several miles per hour faster going into Michigan but the difference between the E20 blends and E10 blends in regards of mileage remain non-signficant. I'm going to keep using ethanol blends as often as I can.

Projected snowfall of plus 10 inches

There is a current Winter Storm that is projected to dump 10 inches in my area and 20 inches in the higher elevations (ski areas) east of Pittsburgh. The storm should end around noon on Saturday and make driving interesting that day. My trip to the ski area and back (167 miles) netted me 28.3 mpg on a day that started at zero and ended in the low 20's. Just added 1 gallon of E85 to 4.75 gallons of gasoline via the red jerry can(s) that have been sitting in the garage for several weeks waiting to be used. Likely to travel to another ski area on Sunday and will report back on mileage.

Another visit, another dime less for E85

Stopped at the GetGo station in Wexford for another fill of E85. This time I put in 1.74 gallons of E85 with 5.7 gallons of E0. I saw two other vehicles filling with E85 while I was there. It was busy. On the way home, I drove the same route but stopped at three places opposed to a straight drive home. My Ford dash reported a 27.9 mpg average on the way home. It was no higher than 21 F on the way home with little or no wind. Driving out to the ski area on Sunday and will report back on my mileage at the nearly 25% ethanol blend.

GetGo E85 pricing continues to be 10 cents less.

On the way back from nordic skiing in the Mountains East of Pittsburgh, I made a slight detour to stop at the Wexford, Pa. GetGo for E85. Ethanol pricing remains 10 cents less than E10 ($2.69) and this was true last month when I stopped. I filled a red Jerry can of E85 and took it home for splash blending. The trip home with an E20 blend yielded 32.2 mpg on the Ford Dash. This is similiar to other readings I have obtained.

Trip thru Michigan fueled by E25-30 blends.

I stopped at the Iron Mt. Michigan Freedom Express station on US2, Meijer stations in Gaylord, Traverse City and Birch Run for splash blending of ethanol. Most of my splash blending attempts resulted in upper E20 blends as reflected by the scanguage values of lft of 13-14. My mileage varied depending upon a variety of factors. I had readings of 29.8 and just under 28during this trip. The price spread at Iron Mt. was 11% while the Meijer's stations offerred a 14% spread. No cold start issues or other. I have to travel 27 miles miles one way to find the nearest E85 pump in southwestern Pa. I will bring home a red Jerry can filled with this so I can continue E20 blending.

Fillup prior to leaving Wisconsin for Pennsylvania

I just added 2.5 gallons of E85 to 5.85 gallons of E10 to my tank. My Ford Dash readout reported 28.4mpg while the scanguage reported 29.7 mpg for the last tank. This was in 11-22 degree weather and about 90% of it on two lane state highways (traveling to nordic ski areas) with a 55 mph speed limit. The local E85 pump carried a price of $2.39 while E10 was $2.79. I leaving on Monday for Pa with a likely stop in Michigan.

Good (mpg) mileage report

Today's high was between 18-22 degrees when I was driving to and from a nordic ski area. Total trip mileage was 55 miles and my scanguage reported 30.7 mpg today while the Ford dash reported a 29.8 mpg average since I fillup the other day. All this on a low E20 blend of fuel. A similar drive during warmer (60 F or above) and no snowcovered roads would likely net a 3-6 mpg improvement. I almost always can exceed the 30 mpg figure running E15-25 blends of fuel.

New fillup at station with 20% price spread.

Coming back from a nordic ski outing just south of Rhinelander, WI I stopped at the Trigs Shell station and was presented with a surprise; 20% price spread. E85 was $2.24 while E10 was $2.79. I promptly filled 1.72 gallons of E85 to 5 gallons of E10 and my vehicle now has a low 20% ethanol blend in it. I averaged 29.8 mpg on the 39 mile trip to the family house. I had averaged 27.7 mpg on the previous tank of fuel.

Long drive brings weather issues and poor mileage

A long drive that brought a wide range of weather conditions. Lite drizzle in Pennsylvania, freezing rain for a section in Ohio, dry blowing snow in Indiana, sunny skis in the Chicago area, subzero temperatures and snow in Northern Wisconsin and Michigan. The one constant was the 20 mph north and northwest winds. This killed my mileage and produce worst ever "mpg" figures. This induced an additional 300-500 rpm in my vheicle at similar vehicle speeds. Never before have I had long interstate drives with sub 25 mpg. During this trip I began with around a 30% ethanol concentration. 60 miles into the trip, I added 1 gallon of E0. 220 miles into the trip I added 7.5 gallons of E10 and the mileage (MPG) dropped an additonal 1.5 mpg! Nearly 400 miles into the trip, I mixed a blend of E85 with E10 to obtain an added fuel blend of around E20. My mileage actually increased nearly 1.3 mpg. I later stopped where one could add premixed E20 (Renew Station in Cedar Grove, WI) and my mileage increased another .3 mpg. Finally, in Northern Wisconsin, I returned to a 27 mpg+ figures despite temperatures dropping below zero. The heavily forested land blocked the winds and my rpms returned to near normal levels.
One might conclude from this report that my vehicle runs well on the E20 mixture and produces improved mileage when compared to E0 or even E30. My sweet spot must be E15-E25 mixtures. The Renew station's E20 pump sure makes life easier to mix ethanol blends.