Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (January 1995)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Fri, 06 Jan 95 15:54:19 pst
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         puusital@mv.us.adobe.com
Subject:      Re: Alcohol in gas

Charles Vaughan sez:

>I wrote that in Seattle BP blends ethanol in the winter for CO reduction air >pollution control. Our Vanagon stalls and has poor power on this mixture (I >think it is 10% ethanol). We also use Chevron and Texaco and they are >blending something and we haven't had a problem...

If I'm not mistaken, all wintertime gas in Seattle -like many major cities - is required by law to be an oxygenated ethanol blend. In any case, just to confuse matters, I consistently run BP, Arco, Chevron, & Texaco in my bus (whichever happens to be nearest/cheapest when the need arises) with no problem.

And to bring up something that was discussed the last time we had a go at this, it is supposedly quite common for the gas coming out of Brand X's pump to have been manufactured by Brand Y. If you try to envision a system that gets gas distributed to all stations in a region on an as needed basis, this seems very plausible.

For example, when all the Shell stations in WA switched to BP, do you suppose that the gas actually stopped coming from a Shell refinery somewhere and started coming from a BP refinery somewhere else? I doubt it.

If anything, I bet the station you patronize has more to do with fuel quality than the brand name on the sign. For example, are the pumps new and in good working order and dispensing the indicated volume, or are the aging hoses dissolving into your gas tank? Are the tanks new, or is rust and dirt and water being pumped in your bus (while gas leaks into the groundwater)? Do they buy from a reputable supplier or from a cheapo distributor that secretly cuts the gas with methanol or runs a haul of gas after a haul of diesel without cleaning the tanks? Etc.

Paul puusital@adobe.com


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.