Where in Northern Illinois to buy gas...

[Guest Teamsterdug]

Where in Northern Illinois (more specifically the Chicago Metro area) can you buy gas that is not 10% ethanol blend? Every gas station within miles of my house has labels on the pumps that state "up to 10% ethanol blend". Is there a particular brand that is purely petroleum based around here. Or for that matter...anywhere?

Thanks for any help!

[Guest imported_Irongang]

I think that according to Illinois law ALL gas in IL has to be ethanol blend - gotta keep the corn lobby happy. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

[Guest Teamsterdug]

How about in Northern Indiana then? Any "Hoosiers" out there know if you can get gas without ethanol there?

[Guest stude8]

You might try going "North Of Zee Border" to southern Wisconsin outside of metro Milwaukee fresh air zone, they used to sell "Agricultural" fuel for tractors around McFarland that was corn free. My friend used to bring it back from the lake visits in jerry cans for his old iron in Chicago. I know around Lake Geneva it is no longer available. Stude8

[Guest Teamsterdug]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to investigate that avenue. I'm up north every week anyway and will ask around while there.

[Dave@Moon]

Iowa had the same "ethanol only" policy 25 years ago. (Actually it was a tax break that made the only "pure" petroleum out there [Conoco at the time] about 5 cents more per gallon--this is back when people still looked at the price and 5 cents mattered.) I ran my 1960 Falcon on nothing but gasohol there for 3 years (25-30,000 miles) with absolutely no consequences. Cars and farm equipment <span style="font-style: italic">much</span> older than mine were running along just fine at the time, and likely ever since.

It's <span style="font-style: italic">methanol</span>, when it's added to gasoline, that can be injurious to older gasket compounds and rubber pieces. <span style="font-style: italic">Ethanol</span> is being added to gasoline to add oxygen to the mix, and thereby make for a cleaner burn. It will be used in increasing quantities now that MTBE use has been thoroughly discredited. As far as I've been informed so far, it's nearly innocuous in healthy antique cars.

(And only "nearly innocuous" because some older aftermarket internal gas tank coating compounds are seriously unstable with ethanol, and form a hopeless goo that ruins your entire fuel system. If you had you gas tank treated more than 3 or 5 years ago, and have <span style="font-style: italic">never</span> run a tank of this stuff through as yet, you may have some ethanol issues to deal with.)

[Guest Teamsterdug]

Thanks for the input Dave. Appreciate it.

[Guest stude8]

The biggest concern about "Gas-a-hol" for me is its lower boiling point causing it to be more susceptable to vapor locking on a warm day. My 1930 fuel pump only develops about 3 or 4 LBS/in2 pressure, albeit the line to carb is only 18 inches long but it exposes the fuel to considerably less pressure than a fuel injected modern system (45 LBS/in2) so boiling point is a big factor. I had a hidden electric booster pump which came in handy once or twice to clear vapor problems in extreme heat soak situation (Toll plaza pay station lineup and 101 degrees day, yeah I know, I should have stayed home). Stude8

[Dave@Moon]

At 166 degrees Fahrenheit, the boiling point of ethanol is actually higher than most of the components of what today makes up "gasoline" (some of which begin to boil at 90 degrees and most of whom will boil dry at around 180--at atmospheric pressure). The boiling point of gasoline has been lowered since the mid-1990's because lighter distillation fractions are being used; partly due to fuel injection needs, partly (possibly) due to additive adjustments, and (probably) to lower production costs and/or produce fuel more efficiently.