Ethanol may be hurting your engines

Ethanol may be hurting your engines

If you’ve looked closely at your neighborhood gas pumps, you may have noticed that a few of them have stickers warning you that there’s now a percentage of ethanol in your gas. It’s becoming increasingly common. But is it safe for your engines?

Although the Web is teeming with complaints from car owners who say ethanol damaged their engines, ethanol producers and automakers say it’s safe to use in cars. But smaller engines — the two-cycle utility engines in lawnmowers, chain saws and outboard boat motors — are another story.

There have been a multitude of reports from small-engine mechanics and repairmen who report almost half of the engines they repair these days have been damaged by ethanol. They report the ethanol either eats up the insides of the engine and the rubber gaskets or rusts the engine and especially the carburetor.

Auto mechanics say the same thing happens in car engines, but since they are most sophisticated than smaller engines they are less likely to be affected.

Biofuel researchers are also looking into the fact while ethanol laced gasoline may be cheaper to produce, vehicles may also get fewer miles to the gallon.