Ethanol-gas mix is a problem for Franklin

[ketel0ne]

http://www.unionleader.com/article.a...7-c0205ad76ea8

Franklin ? Three city-owned vehicles experienced problems with E10 gasoline, a mixture of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline, since the mandatory changeover to the new fuel earlier this year, said Franklin Fire Chief Scott Clarenbach.

He said that since the first delivery of the new fuel to the city's 10,000-gallon storage tank in May, two police cruisers and one municipal services department vehicle have had to have their gas tanks removed and drained.

"We thought at first that it was water because ethanol attracts water molecules, and if you get enough water in the ethanol, it will sink to the bottom of the gas tank,'' said Clarenbach.

That can happen only if the gas cap isn't tight, he said, because modern fuel systems are closed loops which shut off access to outside air.

But it turned out the problem was that ethanol, which is a solvent, is dissolving the shellac which lines the city's storage tank, creating a sediment problem which was causing plugged fuel injectors.