Sheets Has 88 Octane Gas on Sale For $1.99 A Gallon

[carolinarider09]

From the link below:

The major mid-Atlantic gas station, restaurant and convenience chain with more than 700 locations is reducing the price of its Unleaded 88 gas to $1.99 per gallon this Thanksgiving week, now through Monday, November 27 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Unleaded 88, a fuel blend also known as E15, is 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline, approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in all 2001 and newer vehicles.

Sheetz locations that carry this fuel grade in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/11/20/sheetz-gas-prices-unleaded-88-1-99-thanksgiving-deal/71653557007/

Question:  I have never used E15 fuel in my car or bike.  I don't really think I would like to but, I may just be uneducated.  

So, is there a liability to the use of E15 fuel in my 2003 Valkyrie or my 2015 Goldwing or my 2016 Subpar Forester?  

I know I cannot use it in my 1996 Ford Explorer.  

Any comments are welcome.

Edited to Add:

NOT SURE

[f6john]

It wouldn’t be an issue in any of those unless they are hardly ever driven.

[Chrisj CMA]

I wouldn’t put E-15 in any vehicle that didn’t specifically claim to be safe for higher than 10% alcohol. Certainly not our Valkyries

[Willow]

Most of the stations around me have a notice that they may contain up to 15% ethanol.  I use them regularly in all my Valkyries and other vehicles and have no issues.  As noted, though, most don't sit idle for a long time.

[carolinarider09]

Thanks.  The sitting idle part was not something I was considering.

[Chrisj CMA]

Several articles I’ve read in researching this advises NOT TO USE E-15 in vehicles (cars and light duty trucks)  older than 2001. And NOT to use E-15 in smaller engines like MOTORCYCLES or any vehicle that doesn’t say in its manual that E-15 is ok. Just because a pump says it can contain up to 15 percent doesn’t mean it is 15 percent, so you can get lucky.  Use at your own risk. Long term use of E-15 is expected to damage older and smaller engines.

[Jess from VA]

10 percent corn polluted gasoline is crummy.  15 percent corn polluted gas is 50% more crummy.

I travel 100 miles round trip about quarterly to stock up on NO CORN gasoline (counting 2 Valks, I have around 25 carburetors at my house (small engines), and I only burn no corn in all of them.  My Dodge Ram Promaster 2500 Pentastar engine manual specifically says it can take 15% corn, but I would never put any in it.  It mostly gets no corn gas too, and it runs better and gets better mileage with it, except on trips it may get some 10% corn polluted gas in it (but never 15%). 

BTW, my local Stihl/Echo dealer and small engine repair shop (used by hundreds of local lawn and landscape companies) says corn polluted gas keeps them very busy year round repairing small engines.  He showed me the green gook carburetors it causes.

   

[carolinarider09]

Several articles I’ve read in researching this advises NOT TO USE E-15 in vehicles (cars and light duty trucks)  older than 2001. And NOT to use E-15 in smaller engines like MOTORCYCLES or any vehicle that doesn’t say in its manual that E-15 is ok. Just because a pump says it can contain up to 15 percent doesn’t mean it is 15 percent, so you can get lucky.  Use at your own risk. Long term use of E-15 is expected to damage older and smaller engines.

Thanks for the information.   

[carolinarider09]

10 percent corn polluted gasoline is crummy.  15 percent corn polluted gas is 50% more crummy.

I travel 100 miles round trip about quarterly to stock up on NO CORN gasoline (counting 2 Valks, I have around 25 carburetors at my house (small engines), and I only burn no corn in all of them.  My Dodge Ram Promaster 2500 Pentastar engine manual specifically says it can take 15% corn, but I would never put any in it.  It mostly gets no corn gas too, and it runs better and gets better mileage with it, except on trips it may get some 10% corn polluted gas in it (but never 15%). 

BTW, my local Stihl/Echo dealer and small engine repair shop (used by hundreds of local lawn and landscape companies) says corn polluted gas keeps them very busy year round repairing small engines.  He showed me the green gook carburetors it causes.

   

And Jess, I agree with you.  I would not use it, but, my daughter and grandson were discussing it.  I just needed to provide them some advice. 

[Willow]

Oops!  I think I need to correct myself.  The warning on the pumps I normally use says they may be up to 10% rather than 15%. 

[Chrisj CMA]

Oops!  I think I need to correct myself.  The warning on the pumps I normally use says they may be up to 10% rather than 15%. 

That makes more sense. Thanks for the clarification.

[f6john]

So am I to understand that some of you think e-15 put in your vehicle between now and Monday will muck up your engines?

[Chrisj CMA]

So am I to understand that some of you think e-15 put in your vehicle between now and Monday will muck up your engines?

I wouldn’t put that in any vehicle I own. Well, under extreme circumstances I may fill up with E-15 in my truck since it’s rated up to E-85. But I hate ethanol!!

[da prez]

 I use Stihl power tools. When I bought them ,  I was informed and given the manuals to not use E15 fuel. The  warranty would be voided.  It is also recommended to use mid-grade fuel.  Stihl two cycle  is also pushed. The last two  Stihl products I bought had an extended warranty (two year coverage) just by buying a six pack of their oil.
  I have a 2001 GMC Sierra , one night in a hurry , I put E15 in it. Within 10 miles , I noticed the difference. Cold weather and the fuel did not work in my truck.

                                                       da prez

[Serk]

As far as small engines, especially 2 stroke, I only use this (Or something similar):

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/husqvarna-pre-mix-pre-blended-2-cycle-fuel-1-qt

Premixed 2 cycle fuel, no corn, stabilizers already added in it.

And as a testimony to it, my chainsaw had saw unused for a few years, my parents had a small tree sized branch fall in their front yard and needed chopped up before the city would pick it up - took my chainsaw over, put some fuel from a can of the above that'd been sitting for a few years in the saw, and it started up in a few pulls and ran beautifully...

I like putting unpolluted gas in my carbureted vehicles, but I don't go way out of the way to get it, and try to not let them sit for TOO long unused... (Extended hospital stays aside, ugh...)

[cookiedough]

IMO never use more than E10 in anything and for small engines 91 octane NON ethanol NO E10 at all.

I tried that E85 stuff for giggles on a newer chevy silverado E85 capable for 1 week.  NEVER again.  Truck shifted horribly jerking tranny 1st to 3rd gears and ran like crap, not to mention the 13 vs. 16 avg mpg, so 3 less mpg.  So NOT worth it.

[f6john]

I actually have tires on my Corvette that are at least 8 years old and I still drive it!!! I tried e85 in my Titan and other than the aforementioned dismal fuel mileage I could not tell the difference in driveability. The truck now has 205,000 miles with no  ill  effects. I know ethanol was/is a political gimmick but it’s not the end of the world even if you use it in a small engine on occasion. Of course your results may vary.

[Foozle]

IMO never use more than E10 in anything and for small engines 91 octane NON ethanol NO E10 at all.

I tried that E85 stuff for giggles on a newer chevy silverado E85 capable for 1 week.  NEVER again.  Truck shifted horribly jerking tranny 1st to 3rd gears and ran like crap, not to mention the 13 vs. 16 avg mpg, so 3 less mpg.  So NOT worth it.

This mirrors my own experience re: small engines.  Due to the lack of availability of ethanol-free "recreational" gas in my area, I switched over to rechargeable, battery-powered versions of all my yard tools.  Before, it was the same story every spring:  disassemble the carburetor and clean before use - even if the tank was drained before storage (also, I never had good luck with Sta-Bil).  For this reason, I replaced a nice Honda self-propelled mower I expected to keep forever.  The older I get, the less I like wrenchin.'

[F6Dave]

The biggest problem with ethanol is that it loves water. Ethanol blends are 'hygroscopic' and absorb moisture from the air. 10% blends can hold a bit of water but too much will trigger phase separation and the water, being heavier than oil, will drop to the bottom of the fuel tank.

This is especially bad for boats, which is why marinas sell ethanol free gasoline. It's also bad for power equipment because they tend to be stored for long periods, giving the ethanol more time to absorb water. If you can't get pure gasoline for your power equipment it's best to drain the tank before storing or, believe it or not, fill it completely. That's because a tank filled to the cap has less surface area exposed to the atmosphere.

I saw ethanol at work with my own eyes several years ago. My old BMW R-100 had been sitting for months and refused to start. Those Bing carbs have easily accessible bowls held on by a spring clip, so I popped one off to have a look at the fuel. At the bottom were blobs of water! And that's where the pickup tube was drawing its 'fuel' from, so no wonder it wouldn't start. I dumped the fuel from the bowls and drained some from the tank to get all the separated water out, after which the bike started up just fine.

Luckily I now have a Murphy Express nearby which carries ethanol free gasoline. That's all I ever put in my bikes and mowers.