91 Octane, ethanol free...

[Wallike]

Question to all you oil & gas gurus out there. I chose to use 91 octane, ethanol free for all my lawn toys and old two cycle Force outboard motor.
So this morning when I pulled the pump handle and pushed the button I asked myself "Am I really getting 91 octane, and is it really ethanol free?"
How do I know I'm not getting 88 and ethanol and paying extra for it?

 

[Slappy]

Taste. Ethanol imparts a slight but detectable nutty flavor. Oxygen will cause rapid deterioration in aroma so it's best to take a sample directly from the nozzle into your mouth.

Otherwise, just blind trust in the supplier, station and state inspection.

 

[Captain Ahab]

My guess is huge fines if caught and a scar on the business is enough to deter such shenanigans.

 

[shorthairsrus]

the first few ounces have whatever button the last guy pushed.

My Evinrude wants 87 and no 02 - unstable and hot please 91 is just a buzz kill top end loses mph -- lawn mowers and snowblowers like the 91 Plus you wonder how old the fuel is. Has it been sitting for months.

- - - Updated - - -

Remember when they tested the accuracy of the gallons. How many places in fargo were shorting the number of gallons pumped and then some of pumps and then some were long. Some were really went overboard. How much money did they lose.

I wonder how careful they are -- i bet the pumps that say no 02 - i bet some of them have it.

 

[johnr]

I have always wondered this too.

More often than not the general public gets swindled, and never even knows it.

 

[espringers]

short, i gotta ask... do you have extra large fingers? or do you talk into your phone instead of typing? or do you start drinking at 8 AM?

 

[lunkerslayer]

 

[Allen]

I don't recall the schedule, but every gas pump out there has a seal on it that is dated for when it was last inspected. If the seal is broken, the operator of that station had better have a damn good reason for it.

Same thing goes for what's in the tank. The state takes licensing of those allowed to mix fuel to a specified level quite seriously.

 

[guywhofishes]

O2?

 

[tikkalover]

The N.D. Public Service Commission requires that the pumps be tested for their volume accuracy, making sure that when the pump reads 1 gallon, you are actually getting 1 gallon. There should be a sticker on the pump with the date circles scratched out when the pump was tested. I believe that company, that is hired to test the pump, also takes samples of the gas and those are sent in to be tested. I don't know how often the gas pumps are tested, but at our anhydrous sites the meters are required to be tested every year.

 

[eyexer]

The N.D. Public Service Commission requires that the pumps be tested for their volume accuracy, making sure that when the pump reads 1 gallon, you are actually getting 1 gallon. There should be a sticker on the pump with the date circles scratched out when the pump was tested. I believe that company, that is hired to test the pump, also takes samples of the gas and those are sent in to be tested. I don't know how often the gas pumps are tested, but at our anhydrous sites the meters are required to be tested every year.

Annually

 

[SDMF]

O2?

Oxygenated Gasoline.

 

[guywhofishes]

Oxygenated Gasoline.

I figured so, but don’t recall the molecular oxygen label (O2) being used to denote oxygenates.

 

[Slappy]

How do I know I'm not getting 88 and ethanol and paying extra for it?

Google search "ethanol test kit". Might start doing some verification since I buy non ethanol for everything but the pickup.

 

[SDMF]

I figured so, but don’t recall the molecular oxygen label (O2) being used to denote oxygenates.

You're the only one here sciencing.

 

[NDwalleyes]

I avoid pumps that blend fuels to dispense 10%, 85% or whatever. When I fill my boat, I hit the Cenex that has a separate premium pump that only pumps premium. Like someone said, what ever is in that hose prior to your filling-up is going in your tank. Ethanol is the devil to outboards and small engines.

 

[USMCDI]

I avoid pumps that blend fuels to dispense 10%, 85% or whatever. When I fill my boat, I hit the Cenex that has a separate premium pump that only pumps premium. Like someone said, what ever is in that hose prior to your filling-up is going in your tank. Ethanol is the devil to outboards and small engines.

I used to think the same thing, I have bulk tanks in my yard, one for fuel, one for 87 and one for premium. The only thing I use the premium for is hot rods and the boat because of the shelf life and how long those things sit as ethanol shelf life is supposed to be around 6 months vice a year for premium but if you think that "fresh" premium is really new gas, I have news for you. The volume of 87 with ethanol that gets pumped vs the volume of premium that gets pumped is very lop sided, I think it's safe to say that premium gas is way older and closer to its "shelf storage life" than any ethanol out there.

 

[NDwalleyes]

I used to think the same thing, I have bulk tanks in my yard, one for fuel, one for 87 and one for premium. The only thing I use the premium for is hot rods and the boat because of the shelf life and how long those things sit as ethanol shelf life is supposed to be around 6 months vice a year for premium but if you think that "fresh" premium is really new gas, I have news for you. The volume of 87 with ethanol that gets pumped vs the volume of premium that gets pumped is very lop sided, I think it's safe to say that premium gas is way older and closer to its "shelf storage life" than any ethanol out there.

Nah...the premium pump at Cenex on West Divide in Bismarck gets enough use to keep it fresh. Pretty consistent use.

 

[riverview]

ive had good luck at cenex west in dvl buying premo for my boats, every Bjornson's station sells non ethanol regular for 15 cents more and my toyota tundra gets 4 to 5 mpg better on reg premium than fuel with 10 percent ethanal. ethanol is garbage for a engine and we shouldn't be subsidizing it.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

Ethanol sucks, plain and simple.