The Future Of E85 In Australia (not Looking Good)

[r32-25t]

United won't drop it, they have the entire market for e85 and if the only people who are buying are modified car people they done care, cause they are still selling it

[RBrennan25]

Agreed, united have done it correctly. By sponsoring the V8 supercars they've identified their market and really put it in their minds. And also having the same fuel the supercars run on available at the pump adds the extra wank factor.

And now that Caltex are pulling out they have the whole market, and they're gauging it like there's no tomorrow, so I reckon they'll be around for a while

[r32-25t]

They even just opened a new United in rydlemere and have e85 in it

[AngryRB]

whos gives a shit, i'll pay whatever E85 costs, I aint goin back to shit 98 ever.... just get a cheap daily and on weekends squirt the RB and love it!!!!!!! don't feed ya RB less than E85 its cruel..lol...

Edited April 17, 2015 by AngryRB

[iruvyouskyrine]

What are 205 drums worth?

Never looked into it.

But, thought about drums as opposed to pump due to pump being 30mins each way.

I believe it is somewhere between 500-600 bucks for a 40gal drum of Sucrogen E85

[MozzMann]

You cannot legally keep any more than a 20 Litre drum in your suburban house and Shed , unless the law in this regard has changed, Out on Acreage might be a different story depending on the Land classification , 60 Litre Drum might be all you can store. IF you have 205 Litre then the entire scene changes this might even need to be in a Bund walled enclosure quite possibly with water readily available. Some of the semi urban areas can be tricky.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

How about if you have 5 20L jerry cans? I often just fill up 5 jerry cans at a time because I'm too lazy to detour to fill up all the time.

[mattie4270]

You can only get sucrogen delivered to a licenced facility

[MozzMann]

Total in Suburbia is 20 Lit for Mower's and so on , BUT as I said these laws have possibly changed but there are restrictions for volumes based on fire risk.
The hoops I had to jump through to be allowed to Spray Paint at my place, Airbrush graphics with some base background , thinner's and Paint fumes etc.

[luke gtr]

I believe it is somewhere between 500-600 bucks for a 40gal drum of Sucrogen E85

so, $3 a litre.

What about pure ethanol and mixing yourself?

[luke gtr]

You cannot legally keep any more than a 20 Litre drum in your suburban house and Shed , unless the law in this regard has changed, Out on Acreage might be a different story depending on the Land classification , 60 Litre Drum might be all you can store. IF you have 205 Litre then the entire scene changes this might even need to be in a Bund walled enclosure quite possibly with water readily available. Some of the semi urban areas can be tricky.

bummer.

Might be able to keep it at work? (mechanic workshop)

[luke gtr]

Total in Suburbia is 20 Lit for Mower's and so on , BUT as I said these laws have possibly changed but there are restrictions for volumes based on fire risk.

The hoops I had to jump through to be allowed to Spray Paint at my place, Airbrush graphics with some base background , thinner's and Paint fumes etc.

I wonder how pleading ignorance would go?

Might need a fireproof cabinet and bunting.

[Ben C34]

No one knows until something goes wrong.....

Pure ethanol I would be mixing to drink. Not with fuel.

[MozzMann]

well I guess if it's air tight and it's filled to the brim then it should be fine,

Definately not, NEVER fill a 205 Lit drum beyond 200-205 Litres EVER, you must leave expansion room or you could potentially create a massive situation.

If you going to buy fuel in bulk, which is not difficult if your in a rural area get your drum/s fill by a bulk tanker Usually a body truck that often deliver's fuel to several farmer's on the same day.

If your smart you will have a cover for them and prop them up on chunk of 4x2 on one side at 90 deg to a line between the 2 bungs , this way any rain or moisture can drain off the top without the possibility of contaminating your fuel.

If you use a rotary or a quart stroke hand pump this will also limit any water condensation in the drum from being pumped into your car. Many quart stroke pumps have an inbuilt filter and water trap so this shouldn't be a big deal but it is something to be aware of. Before we moved to where we are now I had a 200 Gal above ground tank and could buy petrol for $1.10 or less / Lit from who ever had the best deal on at the time.
Honestly if your not using a LOT of fuel then Drums or Larger are false economy because the fuel can get stale with the volatiles escaping to the atmosphere over time, potential contamination and so on .
If your on the outskirts of town it makes more sense to simply buy fresh fuel from you favourite servo.

Step one would check the local Council rules before you do anything,
And then seek an amicable supplier who can deliver, OR has a depot that you can exchange drums, make sure you have an old light truck tyre that you can drop fresh drums onto from the truck or your trailer and NEVER drop them flat they WILL burst .
I grew up on the Farm dealing with all manner of fuels and Lubricants in bulk, so I do know what I taking about.

[GTRPSI]

Its going to be a hard one.

Running E85 on a car thats stored is a issue as you will need to drain the tank to avoid it absorbing water from the air.

Flex fuel is a issue, a little bit of 98 mixed with E85 drops the E85 content drasictly (not in proportion to how you would think) and can take a tank or 2 of straight E85 to get the ethanol contenet back up again.

Water in E85 makes the flex fuel sensor read higher (more E85) and can cause issues with the flex tune running in the harder tune when the fuel is contaminated with water.

This was all gone over at the SAU flex fuel night a Sabbaddini's last year.

Im thinking if E85 starts becoming hard to find that its time for people to start looking into running 98 with water meth injection.

[BrynDETT]

will be interesting to see how this turns out.. will be a damn shame if united drop it aswell.

[Kinks]

The inputs to E85 (corn -24% over last 12 months)

I hope United keep carrying Ethanol. However, we need to be making it from sugar cane. Making it from corn is retarded. The yield (energy produced burning it vs consumed making it) is only 1.3 - that is you only get a 30% energy benefit. Sugar cane's yield is 8 or higher. You get 8 times (800%) as much energy as you put in to make the fuel. That's why Brazil has done so well with Ethanol fuel, and we can produce sugar cane in QLD so we should be on board. Corn ethanol is a waste of time and ties up land that could be used for something more productive.

[DaRKNT]

United E85 is made from Sorghum isn't it?

[breaker1845]

I hope United keep carrying Ethanol. However, we need to be making it from sugar cane. Making it from corn is retarded. The yield (energy produced burning it vs consumed making it) is only 1.3 - that is you only get a 30% energy benefit. Sugar cane's yield is 8 or higher. You get 8 times (800%) as much energy as you put in to make the fuel. That's why Brazil has done so well with Ethanol fuel, and we can produce sugar cane in QLD so we should be on board. Corn ethanol is a waste of time and ties up land that could be used for something more productive.

Wilmar (Formerly Sucrogren) still produce E85 in like 200 Litre drums as far as I know. Don't know how much they supply or produce though.

[Dan_J]

i do wonder what the V8 supercars and other commercial racing are running for fuel? i'm sure if the demand is bumped back up with proof and commercial promoting of E85 as a reliable fuel it will coax the masses to see the fuel from a better perception

Edited April 19, 2015 by Dan_J