View Full Version : Bought my first E-85 yesterday.
BuckyThreadkiller
06-02-2011, 11:52am
Had to fill up the rental car on the way to the airport.
The Impala had one of those yellow gas caps and E85 was $2.99
That's about the only advantage I see to it.
ChasC5
06-02-2011, 11:53am
Had to fill up the rental car on the way to the airport.
The Impala had one of those yellow gas caps and E85 was $2.99
That's about the only advantage I see to it.
But did you drive it like you stole it? :D
Defib1961
06-02-2011, 11:55am
Greenie!!!!!
The problem is that E85 has about 27% less power per gallon than regular gas and about 20% less than the E10 we now get about everywhere. Consequently, the inital savings is eaten up by lower gas mileage, but the grain farmers love it and our food prices are up.
Isn't our government clever?
BuckyThreadkiller
06-02-2011, 1:04pm
The problem is that E85 has about 27% less power per gallon than regular gas and about 20% less than the E10 we now get about everywhere. Consequently, the inital savings is eaten up by lower gas mileage, but the grain farmers love it and our food prices are up.
Isn't our government clever?
It's only going to get worse - I was at a meeting of cattle industry movers and shakers who expect prices to triple at retail and margins to get razor thin over the next five years because of the fact that corn is going into fuel stocks and not forage. Feed prices are going nuts. Same thing will be happening to poultry and pork.
prospero63
06-02-2011, 1:21pm
It's only going to get worse - I was at a meeting of cattle industry movers and shakers who expect prices to triple at retail and margins to get razor thin over the next five years because of the fact that corn is going into fuel stocks and not forage. Feed prices are going nuts. Same thing will be happening to poultry and pork.
Yup. And if I understand it*, sugar is a better crop for fuel to begin with, but since the country is largely a corn producer, that's what folks are doing instead of going with the more efficient choice.
*I could be wrong, I read this quite some time back and couldn't begin to find the article if I had to...
Omega Man
06-02-2011, 1:45pm
It's only going to get worse - I was at a meeting of cattle industry movers and shakers who expect prices to triple at retail and margins to get razor thin over the next five years because of the fact that corn is going into fuel stocks and not forage. Feed prices are going nuts. Same thing will be happening to poultry and pork.
Everyone from the midwest says that corn is NOT going to fuel yet they can't explain why feed stock is getting more and more expensive.
Thanks for actually finding a good use fo E85. Filling a rental car.
The next guy who gets it is HOSED! :rofl:
Montehall
06-02-2011, 2:54pm
what's really amazing is that corn is not even a natural food for cows. grass is.
stop feeding the cows corn, and start feeding them grass again.
problem solved.
BuckyThreadkiller
06-02-2011, 2:59pm
what's really amazing is that corn is not even a natural food for cows. grass is.
stop feeding the cows corn, and start feeding them grass again.
problem solved.
Not nearly enough grass out there for the amount of cows.
Montehall
06-02-2011, 3:04pm
grass goes a whole lot further in a cow then corn does.
but yes, there would still be a defecit.
what's really amazing is that corn is not even a natural food for cows. grass is.
stop feeding the cows corn, and start feeding them grass again.
problem solved.
Yes, but corn's high in stratch and make them fatten up quicker.
Montehall
06-02-2011, 3:09pm
Yes, but corn's high in stratch and make them fatten up quicker.
So do hormones and genetic alterations.
none of which is good for the creature.
But I will digress on that issue.
and ironically enough, the starch turns into sugar which makes the cows "hot" and causes them to burn more calories which means they need to eat more corn.
So do hormones and genetic alterations.
none of which is good for the creature.
But I will digress on that issue.
and ironically enough, the starch turns into sugar which makes the cows "hot" and causes them to burn more calories which means they need to eat more corn.
Plus, farmers can make more money per acre with corn than grass.
A classic Catch 22.
I rented an E85 prepped wImpala a couple of weeks ago. I filled it with good 'le regular when it was time to return the car. Don't know of many stations in Cow Hampshire that sell E85.
C5SilverBullet
06-02-2011, 5:53pm
I ran 1 tank of E85 through my F150. Mileage went from an average of 19, to an average of 13. F that.
BuckyThreadkiller
06-02-2011, 7:02pm
grass goes a whole lot further in a cow then corn does.
but yes, there would still be a defecit.
Figure 5 acres an animal - you need grazing land twice the size of Texas. Corn is a lot more efficient to grow.
Mark C5
06-02-2011, 7:10pm
Blaming high corn prices and the resulting higher food prices on ethanol production is inaccurate. The corn used in the production of ethanol is not the same as the corn we use for food and food products. Sweet corn is used for food and fuel corn is used for ethanol production.
Fuel corn is cheaper and easier for the farmers to grow. It doesn't require as much fertilizer or pesticide as sweet corn. Fuel corn is not as sensitive to weather conditions as sweet corn. Also, after the ethanol producers are done with fuel corn the remaining product is turned into livestock feed. Therefore the profit margin is higher for fuel corn than for sweet corn. Add to that the ethanol producers are so far willing to pay top prices to ensure the farmers produce enough fuel corn.
But that is not what keeps corn prices high or corn supply low. The real culprit are the farm subsidies. It's the subsidies which cause the farmers to have to make a choice of whether to grow fuel or sweet corn. They are only allotted a certain amount of acreage to be planted in corn, regardless of type. If they exceed that acreage they lose their subsidy. Yep, we are still paying farmers to NOT grow crops, even when that crop is in short supply.
Makes a lot of sense to me ............. not!
Blaming high corn prices and the resulting higher food prices on ethanol production is inaccurate. The corn used in the production of ethanol is not the same as the corn we use for food and food products. Sweet corn is used for food and fuel corn is used for ethanol production.
Fuel corn is cheaper and easier for the farmers to grow. It doesn't require as much fertilizer or pesticide as sweet corn. Fuel corn is not as sensitive to weather conditions as sweet corn. Also, after the ethanol producers are done with fuel corn the remaining product is turned into livestock feed. Therefore the profit margin is higher for fuel corn than for sweet corn. Add to that the ethanol producers are so far willing to pay top prices to ensure the farmers produce enough fuel corn.
But that is not what keeps corn prices high or corn supply low. The real culprit are the farm subsidies. It's the subsidies which cause the farmers to have to make a choice of whether to grow fuel or sweet corn. They are only allotted a certain amount of acreage to be planted in corn, regardless of type. If they exceed that acreage they lose their subsidy. Yep, we are still paying farmers to NOT grow crops, even when that crop is in short supply.
Makes a lot of sense to me ............. not!
There's a lot the Gov does that doesn't make sense any more, but the lobbies are still there for price support.
The prob isn't the corn for direct public consumption, it's the corn that feeds the chicken, hog and cattle industry that is going for ethanol.
TexasBulldog
06-02-2011, 7:59pm
I ran 1 tank of E85 through my F150. Mileage went from an average of 19, to an average of 13. F that.
i agree. At first i saw it $1.03 cheaper than 89 octane (regular) but the mileage was SO BAD and it did feel less punchy so screw that.
It just didn't seem worth it.
I just wanted to try it though, lesson learned.
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.