OK, I'm getting annoyed...

Massachusetts only has ONE distributor of E-85, to my knowledge. I went there with a 5 gallon jug that I've used for race fuel, but the attendant would not let me fill it. He said I can only pump directly into the car...

So I came back 2 days later on empty and went to fill up... again he stopped me, this time because my car is not a flex fuel vehicle and the EPA does not allow it.

He said he sympathizes with me, but he's not willing to lose his job/license for something like this. He said if I could find a container that is EPA certified to hold E-85, he would let me pump into it.

I spent a few hours today googing, and calling various resellers of ethanol products online to determine if the containers they use had any documentation to prove they are certified... none of them could.

So apparently, there are no certified containers to hold E-85, and this gas station is not going to budge. I know I could put a Flex Fuel badge on my car but they've already seen my car twice now, I doubt they'd fall for it.

Can anyone help me figure this out? Short of finding a friend with a Flex Fuel vehicle and then draining their tank, there really doesn't seem to be a way for me to get E-85.

 

Stick the flex fuel badge on the car. He's off the hook as long as the car says flex fuel on it.

 

Doesnt work like that.. They have a list they refer to and if your car isnt on the list they can refuse to let you pump it int he car..

 

There are two stations in Boston. I've never used E85 so I've never gone to either. It's my suspicion that all of the E85 stations will be gone in less than 2 years. It's a completely useless form of alternative energy. Yes, it makes good power but so does race fuel!

 

Interesting that they are so strict. Do the attendants refer to the list everytime they fill up a car on E85? I've never had a problem with getting E85 anywhere I've gone.

 

It's Massachusetts. On paper we're super cool and liberal but in practice we get no E85, and when artist Shepard Fairey comes here and gets arrested.

 

i think that's crap. Do you know how many people have retrofitted their honda's, toyotas, etc etc here in the midwest... just to run E85? I've even known people who just ran the stuff cuz it was cheaper. Not much harm done, just a MIL until their next fill up with regular 87+

 

Yeah, you pay 14.00/gal and ill stick with the 1.50/gal E-85..

 

We have seen several stations here that are strict.. Others dont care at all what you pump it into.. The stations are privately owned so i guess some owners more hungry for $$ then others..

Mike

 

I just remembered. Couple months ago we got new "Green" (like earth friendly) gas cans at AutoZone. They have a holographic sticker on the front, and a really weird green and black nozzle. It says right on the sticker "For Gasoline with 10-90% Ethanol Content). So with it saying that right on it, I would suppose you can use it for E-85 since most E-85 has only a 75-80% ethanol content.

 

Thanks, I'll check that out. I wonder if it meant 10/90 ethanol/gasoline.

 

You need the yellow gas cap lol!!

 

I'd be on the verge of station rage if they tried to pull that crap with me here.

-E

 

All Gasoline since I think 1985 has had at least up to 10% Ethanol in it. However plastics used for gas cans probably weren't made for alcohol, therefore degrading the plastic. Newer gas cans have to withstand 70% or more due to the fact that of E-85 being readily available.

I dont see any problem with filling a container with E-85... if they fail to sell it to you, I would ask for their corporate number. Normally they wont want their General/District Manager up their a**es, and hope you shut up... will let you fill up.

 

And this is why my eBay "flex fuel" sticker is on it's way. Maybe I need to try and find one of those yellow gas caps too. (Thinking about this more seriously, I wonder whether they're interchangeable across manufacturers? Given that they still do a gas cap seal test here in Illinois for emissions testing, I suspect there might be a standard of some sort.)

I can fill up at any number of stations here in the midwest without being hassled; Gas City in particular has retrofitted just about every station in the Chicago area to feed E-85 (Verasun) to every pump, in addition to 89 and 92 octane (there's a few exceptions where they still have only a standalone pump for it, but they've really bought into it company-wide). Of course, Gas City also sells 100-octane unleaded at a standalone pump too, so they're kind of a cool company in general.