ethanol free?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Wild one

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Posts
13,718
Reaction score
23,373
Ram Year
14 Sport
Engine
5.7
Since some members questioned my memory banks (as do I frequently), here are some pics from Holiday Station in far north suburbs of Minneapolis, MN.

Note non-alcohol gasoline is ILLEGAL for on-road cars and trucks. This station carries 91 octane with and without alcohol, as does Kwik Trip.

There are NO Top Tier gasoline stickers anywhere on the pump island. I looked all over it. I wrote Holiday to ask why, because they're still on Top Tier's list.
Recall I wrote to Kwik Trip, and shortly after they took their name off the list indefinitely.

View attachment 511020View attachment 511021
I think that's about the time my truck would start identifying itself as a 4 wheel motorcycle :Big Laugh: :Big Laugh: :Big Laugh:
 

HEMIMANN

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Dec 7, 2020
Posts
6,797
Reaction score
17,079
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Ram Year
2017 2500 Laramie Crew Cab
Engine
6.4L HEMI
Yep - it says nothing about enforcement. Nor have I encountered any.

I'm ambivalent about it, because I use 89 octane in the Hemi. That always has 10% ethanol anyway.
But the little engines always always always get only pure gas. Plus stabilizer. I've never had any fuel related problem with any of my small engines, unlike the cheapskates that like to b*i*t*c*h when they destroy their engines. Which, of course, happens exactly when you need to use them.
 

Sherman Bird

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2019
Posts
1,501
Reaction score
2,222
Location
Houston, Texas
Ram Year
1998
Engine
5.2
Since some members questioned my memory banks (as do I frequently), here are some pics from Holiday Station in far north suburbs of Minneapolis, MN.

Note non-alcohol gasoline is ILLEGAL for on-road cars and trucks. This station carries 91 octane with and without alcohol, as does Kwik Trip.

There are NO Top Tier gasoline stickers anywhere on the pump island. I looked all over it. I wrote Holiday to ask why, because they're still on Top Tier's list.
Recall I wrote to Kwik Trip, and shortly after they took their name off the list indefinitely.

View attachment 511020View attachment 511021
What about Granny Clampet's home brew? Oh, that's right, it's for Rheumatism! ;)
 

HEMIMANN

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Dec 7, 2020
Posts
6,797
Reaction score
17,079
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Ram Year
2017 2500 Laramie Crew Cab
Engine
6.4L HEMI
What about Granny Clampet's home brew? Oh, that's right, it's for Rheumatism! ;)

Reminds of prohibition era and bath tub gin - the mob killing people with "denatured" alcohol (i.e. methanol). Many people had their own still in the basement.
 

Wild one

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Posts
13,718
Reaction score
23,373
Ram Year
14 Sport
Engine
5.7
Reminds of prohibition era and bath tub gin - the mob killing people with "denatured" alcohol (i.e. methanol). Many people had their own still in the basement.
Holy crap you must be older then the Dinosaurs if you remember the prohibition era,lol. Just razzing ya :cheers: :Big Laugh:
 

HEMIMANN

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Dec 7, 2020
Posts
6,797
Reaction score
17,079
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Ram Year
2017 2500 Laramie Crew Cab
Engine
6.4L HEMI
Holy crap you must be older then the Dinosaurs if you remember the prohibition era,lol. Just razzing ya :cheers: :Big Laugh:

I remember going to my buddy's farm house and being shown his grampa's old still, and where they used to cut up poached deer. Times were really tough then.
 

jejb

Military
Joined
Apr 7, 2020
Posts
1,569
Reaction score
1,438
Location
NW Arkansas
Ram Year
2022
Engine
6.7 Cummins
Since some members questioned my memory banks (as do I frequently), here are some pics from Holiday Station in far north suburbs of Minneapolis, MN.

Note non-alcohol gasoline is ILLEGAL for on-road cars and trucks. This station carries 91 octane with and without alcohol, as does Kwik Trip.
I lived in MN for 35 years. I think they were the first state to mandate ethanol in fuel. It was very hard to find non-E fuel up there after that kicked in. Here in Arkansas, pretty much every other station has at least one non-E fuel. And some stations have all 3 grades of non-E. Good to see it's more available up there now.
 

retired

Votes republican and identifies as a he/him
Joined
Aug 19, 2020
Posts
2,172
Reaction score
2,778
Location
montana
Ram Year
2020
Engine
6.4
Since some members questioned my memory banks (as do I frequently), here are some pics from Holiday Station in far north suburbs of Minneapolis, MN.

Note non-alcohol gasoline is ILLEGAL for on-road cars and trucks. This station carries 91 octane with and without alcohol, as does Kwik Trip.

There are NO Top Tier gasoline stickers anywhere on the pump island. I looked all over it. I wrote Holiday to ask why, because they're still on Top Tier's list.
Recall I wrote to Kwik Trip, and shortly after they took their name off the list indefinitely.

View attachment 511020View attachment 511021
when I look at the wording it really never says it is illegal to put it in your road vehicle, I would think for it to have any teeth it would need to say specifically it is illegal and list a code annotated. looking at the Mn statutes it really never mentions a penalty or even lists a code violation for the end user only the distributor and station owner. I guess one thing to consider is how stale does ethanol free gas get when they don't sell very much of it? https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/239.791/pdf https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/239/pdf
 

HEMIMANN

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Dec 7, 2020
Posts
6,797
Reaction score
17,079
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Ram Year
2017 2500 Laramie Crew Cab
Engine
6.4L HEMI
I lived in MN for 35 years. I think they were the first state to mandate ethanol in fuel. It was very hard to find non-E fuel up there after that kicked in. Here in Arkansas, pretty much every other station has at least one non-E fuel. And some stations have all 3 grades of non-E. Good to see it's more available up there now.

I should really move. I had no retirement plans because my last corporation retired a bunch of us early. So I'm kind of sitting around up here waiting for wife to retire, messing around with my equipment. Not even sure where I'd go anymore. All the ancestors stayed here & croaked in the bad winters.

So we deal with the technical nonsense as best we can. Really appreciate this forum. BITOG not so much. lol
 

jejb

Military
Joined
Apr 7, 2020
Posts
1,569
Reaction score
1,438
Location
NW Arkansas
Ram Year
2022
Engine
6.7 Cummins
I should really move. I had no retirement plans because my last corporation retired a bunch of us early. So I'm kind of sitting around up here waiting for wife to retire, messing around with my equipment. Not even sure where I'd go anymore. All the ancestors stayed here & croaked in the bad winters.

So we deal with the technical nonsense as best we can. Really appreciate this forum. BITOG not so much. lol
Been in Arkansas 17 years now. Love it down here. Still get all 4 seasons, but a much better balance. I'm out washing my dirt bike this morning, and will be continuing the ceramic coating of my new Ram this afternoon. Going fishing tomorrow. Out a boat!

I have friends and family stuck up there too. Seems like it's always the wife that refuses to leave friends and family behind.
 

HEMIMANN

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Dec 7, 2020
Posts
6,797
Reaction score
17,079
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Ram Year
2017 2500 Laramie Crew Cab
Engine
6.4L HEMI
Been in Arkansas 17 years now. Love it down here. Still get all 4 seasons, but a much better balance. I'm out washing my dirt bike this morning, and will be continuing the ceramic coating of my new Ram this afternoon. Going fishing tomorrow. Out a boat!

I have friends and family stuck up there too. Seems like it's always the wife that refuses to leave friends and family behind.

Summers, though?
 

jejb

Military
Joined
Apr 7, 2020
Posts
1,569
Reaction score
1,438
Location
NW Arkansas
Ram Year
2022
Engine
6.7 Cummins
Summers, though?
Summers are not horrible. For sure we see lots of 90's, and a few 100's. But I'm in the very NW corner of Ark, so it's not as bad as further south. I generally spend 6 weeks every summer up in MN and WI, fishing and visiting. That is the best time to be up there, IMO.

In the hot weather, you just learn to get outdoor things done early and/or late in the day. I tell folks from up north "I'd rather sweat than shiver". ;)
 

Sherman Bird

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2019
Posts
1,501
Reaction score
2,222
Location
Houston, Texas
Ram Year
1998
Engine
5.2
Summers are not horrible. For sure we see lots of 90's, and a few 100's. But I'm in the very NW corner of Ark, so it's not as bad as further south. I generally spend 6 weeks every summer up in MN and WI, fishing and visiting. That is the best time to be up there, IMO.

In the hot weather, you just learn to get outdoor things done early and/or late in the day. I tell folks from up north "I'd rather sweat than shiver". ;)
My late paternal grandfather was born and raised just south of Buffalo, New York, in a small community, on a farm near the Lake Erie coast. In his early 20's, with his recent bride and an infant, they made their way to South Texas near Harlingen.
The average temperature there in summer was generally over 95-is with high humidity.
That old man would mow his 2 acres using a push type mower in the heat of the day... to my amazement. I onetime discussed his apparent immunity to the oppressive heat. He told me about having dealt with lake effect blizzards, etc. from the winters he'd endured in the cold. He told me that he didn't miss the cold one bit, and he could more easily get comfortable in the heat than he could in the brutal cold.
Now that I'm in my late 60's and was born and raised here in Houston, Texas, and given the recent winter freezes we've endured.... I get it. Grandpa lived to 90.
 
OP
OP
dhay13

dhay13

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Posts
3,212
Reaction score
2,792
Ram Year
2018
Engine
2500 6.4L Hemi 4.10's 'Off-Road'
So I always hear how service stations only make pennies on a gallon of gas? A new Sheetz went in about 3 weeks ago and was .40/gallon cheaper than all other stations so all the rest in town dropped their prices to match. All grades were 3.39, including ethanol free. Last week they raised the higher grades and ethanol free but regular is still 3.39. Drive a few miles away to the next town and it's 3.79.

So this morning on the local news they said Sheetz was dropping diesel prices by .50/gallon. IF they are only making pennies on a gallon how can they be doing this? Guessing we have been lied to and they are making much more per gallon?
 

HEMIMANN

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Dec 7, 2020
Posts
6,797
Reaction score
17,079
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Ram Year
2017 2500 Laramie Crew Cab
Engine
6.4L HEMI
Dunno - there is a federal law in U.S. that makes selling below cost illegal. Can't recall the name, Sherman Act, maybe. Anyway, this was in direct response to Rockefeller underpricing in new areas to drive competition out of business, then buying them up for pennies on the dollar. Basically, end-capatilism monopolization.

As I've stated with Top Tier certification, the only way to ensure we get what we pay for is enforcement, and that is purposely hidden from us. I can't imagine why. lol Lying, cheating, and stealing is a baseline human behavior.
 

06 Dodge

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2022
Posts
1,900
Reaction score
1,781
Location
Forest Grove, Oregon
Ram Year
2022
Engine
6.7L CTD
So I always hear how service stations only make pennies on a gallon of gas? A new Sheetz went in about 3 weeks ago and was .40/gallon cheaper than all other stations so all the rest in town dropped their prices to match. All grades were 3.39, including ethanol free. Last week they raised the higher grades and ethanol free but regular is still 3.39. Drive a few miles away to the next town and it's 3.79.

So this morning on the local news they said Sheetz was dropping diesel prices by .50/gallon. IF they are only making pennies on a gallon how can they be doing this? Guessing we have been lied to and they are making much more per gallon?
Its called the more you buy the lower the price they have to pay, also the further they are from fuel rack the more they have to pay for the fuel delivery or it could be the stations in other towns are not passing the lower cost to the customer right away, I see that happen often at several local stations
 

mdc1990zr1

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Posts
212
Reaction score
389
Location
Conshohocken, PA
Ram Year
2016
Engine
Hemi 5.7
The turbo 6.5 Liter GM engines of the 90's had a light sensitive sensor in the injector pump.... seems as it used infra red for fuel timing control. Owners would put the red farm fuel into the tank.... and, wonder of wonders, the truck would die and not run until the fuel had been replaced and the system purged and bled of the red fuel!
I currently own a 1998 6.5TD and because of the diesel going to low sulfur and ultra low sulfur diesel, I mix some 2-stroke oil in my diesel fuel to add some lubricity that the old injection pump needed but the new diesel lacks. Most of the 2-stroke oil is blueish for my boat injection pump, but when I use the Motul oil for my KTM dirt bike, it is red. I hope I never get dipped, because I will have made my own red-dyed diesel and have some explaining to do.
 

06 Dodge

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2022
Posts
1,900
Reaction score
1,781
Location
Forest Grove, Oregon
Ram Year
2022
Engine
6.7L CTD
I currently own a 1998 6.5TD and because of the diesel going to low sulfur and ultra low sulfur diesel, I mix some 2-stroke oil in my diesel fuel to add some lubricity that the old injection pump needed but the new diesel lacks. Most of the 2-stroke oil is blueish for my boat injection pump, but when I use the Motul oil for my KTM dirt bike, it is red. I hope I never get dipped, because I will have made my own red-dyed diesel and have some explaining to do.
Yes you would have some explaining to do, I had a neighbor back in the mid 90's who was caught with red fuel in his semi, that cost him a lot of $$$ he claimed it was caused by the fuel additive he was using IIRC it was called Ed's Red or some weird name like that...
 

HEMIMANN

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Dec 7, 2020
Posts
6,797
Reaction score
17,079
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Ram Year
2017 2500 Laramie Crew Cab
Engine
6.4L HEMI
Yep. Now the red dye is only to tell if you didn't pay the extra on-road taxes. Fuel is otherwise identical.
 

Fediej

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Mar 3, 2022
Posts
372
Reaction score
503
Location
Wisconsin
Ram Year
2017
Engine
EcoDiesel
If non-ethanol was illegal to use (in Wisconsin), pretty sure it would be posted as such. Like they do with E-15...
 

Attachments

  • 20230114_151513.jpg
    20230114_151513.jpg
    114.9 KB · Views: 5
  • 20230114_151459.jpg
    20230114_151459.jpg
    91.4 KB · Views: 5
Top