Ethanol Update

BottomLine · Post by **BottomLine** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:14 am

Now that the season is ending for many on the forum I thought it might be a good idea to survey what the ethanol experience has been this season for those with FG tanks. Has anybody experienced any engine problems, tank degradation, etc? It would be good to know the year of your tank. Fortunately, we don't have ethanol in North Florida yet so no local experiences. Thanks. Mike Ford

rnanaples · Post by **rnanaples** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:03 am

Good news for me I am in Lauderdale and my gas supplier told me they had a long conversation with the terminal today. She said what they got out of the conversation is that Florida may never see it on the water or at worst see both available. Bottom line was she said at no time ion the near future did the terminal even forsee having it Yeh quote:Originally posted by BottomLine Now that the season is ending for many on the forum I thought it might be a good idea to survey what the ethanol experience has been this season for those with FG tanks. Has anybody experienced any engine problems, tank degradation, etc? It would be good to know the year of your tank. Fortunately, we don't have ethanol in North Florida yet so no local experiences. Thanks. Mike Ford

franklyprice · Post by **franklyprice** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:24 pm

End of the second season w/E10 and no problems at all but I've always paid close attention to the potential issues and hopefully will be converting to diesel by spring. Also I have strips of Rick's tank soaking in the stuff for well over a year now and no issues(sorry Rick, that was a pretty nice tank). Mine is an '87, Rick's an '85

retman · Post by **retman** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:20 am

Hello from the great white north. Retriever had no issues with fuel this year. I believe she was stored last winter with the tank empty and I have left very little in her this year. Bill Arnold 1988 33 FBC 'Retriever'

amityangler · Post by **amityangler** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:08 pm

No issues at all so far, 1977 conv.

khybskid · Post by **khybskid** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:00 pm

my 73 -35 is going to be on its second year of ethanol and i dont want to jinx myself but like retman i have an empty tank for the winters and i am hoping for another no problem summer. Pete

rnanaples · Post by **rnanaples** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:08 pm

Bill Arnold Rich ARnold are we related 78 33 Sedan quote:Originally posted by retman Hello from the great white north. Retriever had no issues with fuel this year. I believe she was stored last winter with the tank empty and I have left very little in her this year. Bill Arnold 1988 33 FBC 'Retriever'

Rick · Post by **Rick** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 5:11 am

Frank, Good to hear that it's still doing well, but I have no regrets whatsoever. Based on what we saw from Al's tank, they will all need replacing eventually. What we should do is open the tank all the way and check the rivits on the baffles. Or have you already done that ? Rick Ticket 85 SF Falmouth, MA

retman · Post by **retman** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 5:58 am

Rich, unless there is something in my past I'm not aware of I don't think we could be related. My fathers family came from Rockland MA. Bill Arnold 1988 33 FBC 'Retriever'

franklyprice · Post by **franklyprice** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 8:11 pm

Rick, I haven't had time to do anything ,more to the tank yet but someday will have the time.

BECCA ROSE · Post by **BECCA ROSE** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:48 am

I just read that ethanol has showed up at a gas station in Jupiter, Fl. I haven't really followed it to much lately, has it showed up anywhere else in Fl. ? Bill 1988 33 FBC Ipswich, Ma. > ~------- [img]http://www.bertram33.com/photogallery/p ... a_Rose.jpg[/img]

Sean B · Post by **Sean B** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 1:36 pm

It's coming. Sean Burlingham "Island Time" 1987 Bertram 33 SF Melbourne, FL [img]http://www.bertram33.com/photogallery/p ... d_Time.jpg[/img]

captgene · Post by **captgene** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:44 am

$HIT Gene Dugan Boca Raton, Fl. "Nauti Marie" 1989 33 FBC

Sean B · Post by **Sean B** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:14 am

From 12/13/2007 news story: .............................. Florida ready to pump ethanol Producers seek greater presence in Sunshine State BY PHILIP BRASHER GANNETT NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON - Struggling ethanol producers soon could have a vast new market to reduce a developing glut of the fuel -- Florida and other parts of the fast-growing Southeast. State officials in the Southeast are moving to alter fuel-quality standards that have discouraged refiners from adding ethanol to gasoline sold in the region. Agriculture departments typically set the gasoline rules, and most of them in the Southeast -- including in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee -- are taking steps to ease their rules. Standards can be relaxed without harming engine performance, officials say, and adding ethanol to gasoline could save motorists money. A gallon of ethanol is about 40 to 45 cents cheaper than a gallon of gasoline in the region, which translates to several pennies cheaper at the pump for a typical gasoline-ethanol blend. "That's our goal. Give them a quality product, save a few dollars and be patriotic," said Tommy Irvin, Georgia's agriculture commissioner. Some Murphy Oil service stations outside Wal-Mart stores in Brevard County sell gasoline that contains 10 percent ethanol, a blend known as E10. Florida is the big prize for the ethanol industry. It is the third-largest gasoline market in the country, consuming 8.7 billion gallons a year. State officials in Florida held a hearing this month on an appeal from the ethanol industry and several oil companies, including BP and ExxonMobil, to relax that state's rules. Several oil companies are preparing tanks in Florida to handle ethanol. A second hearing is scheduled next week. Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, calls Florida the "last big frontier" for ethanol and predicts it will be used throughout the state by next summer. He thinks use in the Southeast will help increase falling ethanol prices. Six other states -- Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee -- consume 19.5 billion gallons of gasoline annually. Together with Florida, those states could use 2.8 billion gallons of ethanol a year -- about 40 percent of the ethanol industry's current production capacity -- if all the gasoline in the region were to contain 10 percent ethanol, the E10 blend. "I think you'll see everybody moving to ethanol blends," said Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association. "This isn't necessarily a long process. Tennessee was able to do this in a matter of weeks, not months." It's a matter of some urgency for the ethanol industry. Ethanol prices have plummeted in recent months, as a glut started to develop. Plans for a number of new distilleries have been canceled, but 73 new plants already are under construction around the country, and 10 existing facilities are being expanded, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. When completed, those projects will nearly double the industry's annual production capacity to 13.5 billion gallons by the end of 2009. Oil companies are fighting the ethanol industry's efforts to get Congress to require increased use of ethanol even as they seek to use the additive in the Southeast. Oil companies don't mind adding ethanol to gasoline, but they just don't want to be required to do so, industry officials say. A small amount of ethanol is being sold in the Southeast now. Shell stations, for example, mix ethanol with gasoline in the Atlanta area. Arkansas-based Murphy Oil Co. recently started selling ethanol blends at some Wal-Mart stores in Florida, including in the Melbourne and Orlando areas. But other oil companies want changes in the state fuel standards to ensure that their gasoline won't fail state inspections if ethanol is added. The rules at issue regulate the volatility of gasoline to protect engines from vapor lock and other problem. The standards are stricter in the South because of the region's hot summers. Oil companies want the fuel rules changed so that they don't have to make special blends of gasoline for mixing with ethanol, which increases the vapor pressure of the fuel. The state agriculture department in Tennessee changed its rules on an emergency basis so that companies could start adding ethanol. "When the product gets to retail and consumers, you'll have more people expecting it and wanting it," said Randy Jennings, the Tennessee agency's biofuels administrator. Other states, including Georgia and North Carolina, are in the process of changing their rules. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue last week, urging them to change their standards. "Blending ethanol in Florida's fuel supply is a great opportunity to lower prices at the pump, extend the fuel supply, and reduce the need for imported foreign petroleum," Grassley wrote. Officials with the Florida agriculture department say they are evaluating the appeal from oil companies for a more significant rule change than the agency has proposed. "There's been considerable capital investments made by our industry based on the fact that they want to move forward" in using ethanol, said Dave Mica of the Florida Petroleum Council. In northern Florida, a biofuel distributor in Lake City, American Homegrown Fuel Corp., sells ethanol-blended gasoline for 9 cents lower than the cost of conventional gasoline in the area. "If big oil would embrace it, you'd be amazed how quickly everyone in the public would love it," said Charles Civis, a company official. He said he is skeptical that major oil companies would use ethanol, however. There is no significant ethanol production in the Southeast, except for a new Tate & Lyle plant in Tennessee that can produce 67 million gallons a year, so most of the corn-derived fuel will have to be shipped into the state, either by truck, rail or barge. Ethanol now is being brought by rail to Tampa. Kloza said some ethanol also could be imported either from Brazil or through Caribbean countries, which can qualify for an exemption from the 54-cent-a-gallon tariff on ethanol exported to the United States. Two additional ethanol plants, each capable of producing 100 million gallons a year, are under construction in Tennessee and Georgia. Sean Burlingham "Island Time" 1987 Bertram 33 SF Melbourne, FL [img]http://www.bertram33.com/photogallery/p ... d_Time.jpg[/img]

captgene · Post by **captgene** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:43 am

ScumBags! I hope the Marine Industry makes a stink. But I bet they don't have the $ to pay the lobbyists. Gene Dugan Boca Raton, Fl. "Nauti Marie" 1989 33 FBC