E85 Fuel May Bite the Dust after Underwriters Laboratories Gives Thumbs-down

By Tom Randall

October 31, 2006

Approximately 1,000 gasoline stations nationwide, that have spent anywhere from $15,000 to $75,000 per station to install tanks and pumps to sell E85 (a gasoline blend with 85 percent ethanol) will likely find themselves in violation of the law. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has refused to certify E85 fueling systems because they have found that ethanol degrades the fueling equipment, according to the Detroit Free Press. Michigan Petroleum Association president, Mark Griffin, said of the decision, "Somebody asked if we are heading toward a train wreck. Well, I don't know."

Comments:

1. Obviously, the train wreck is here. If E85 is harmful to commercial tanks and pumps, it seems likely that it can't be too good for your car, either. 2. The only companies making cars that can run on E85 are the American "Big Three." Foreign manufacturers have refused, because they found E85 to get approximately 30 percent less mileage. 3. E85 was little more than a marketing scam in the first place, promoted by ethanol manufacturers and Detroit automakers. 4. E85 was promoted by some as a way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It won't. The only practical way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, in the near term, is to tap our own reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Outer Continental shelf.

Link:

According to the Free Press article, many state and local fire codes require that E85 pumps use "listed" equipment. Without the UL approval, it is feared that many pumps will be shut down. Read "E85 pumps lose UL safety rating — Stations may have to halt sales of fuel" here. ... ... there is more ...

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/ BUSINESS01/610190316/1014/BUSINESS01

Tom Randall may be contacted at: Winningreen LLC 3712 N. Broadway – PMB 279 Chicago, IL 60613 Phone: 773-857-5086