Since the president's State of the Union address, in which he vowed to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, the media has picked up on our growing use of ethanol, and now we're daily hearing of the benefits of using E-85 in our vehicles.
I've been using E-85 off and on for a couple years in my Chevy Tahoe, and as far as I can determine, there are two good reasons to promote this alcohol blend. It burns cleanly, thereby spewing fewer pollutants into our air, and it should benefit the local farm economy. But we also hear how much money we're saving by purchasing the "cheaper" ethanol blend. This is where I draw the line between fact and fiction.
Every vehicle performs differently, but talk with anyone who has tried E-85 and they will tell how their fuel efficiency plummets. In my Tahoe the mileage typically drops from 16 mpg with gasoline to 11 or 12 mpg on E-85. If E-85 would cost 70 cents less per gallon than gasoline, I would break even. It typically costs only 40 cents less, which means I am spending more money to run E-85. If you think it is a shock to fill up your tank with gasoline, wait until you see how often you need to fill with E-85.
Most importantly, I am not convinced that increased use of ethanol will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It must first be demonstrated that the production of a single gallon of ethanol does not consume more fossil fuel energy than it produces. So far, that issue is still open to debate.
Den Pluimer
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