Locals expressing mixed emotions about ethanol

Now that ethanol has become more and more common in gas pumps nationwide, many locals who work with smaller gas-powered engines have mixed emotions about the corn-based fuel additive.
Small engines include those that power lawn mowers and other yard work implements, such as trimmers, edgers, leaf blowers and chainsaws. Some of the smallest of the small engines, known as two-cycle engines, require a mixture of gas and special oil in the gas tank.
This is where the addition of ethanol can be problematic, some say.
“Ethanol will turn loose in the oil,” said Loyd Plunkett of Shawnee’s Plunkett Lawn Mower Repair. “That’s where they’re having problems.”
Plunkett said the ethanol will force the oil to “settle out” of the gasoline, and this can lead to dried out cylinders in engines. The engines should still perform as expected with ethanol in the gas, but users should agitate or shake the tank to keep the oil mixed in, Plunkett said.
For several months, ethanol has been added to gasoline in many pumps across the nation. The mixture is designed to make filling your vehicles a little more affordable, as well as contribute to cleaner air.
Earlier this month, a new Oklahoma law took effect that requires stations selling the gas/ethanol blend to not only disclose the presence of the mixture, but also the amount of ethanol in the gas. The typical mix is 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline, and the fuel is often called E10 for this reason.
Randy Vanwinkle, who works at Brandon’s Small Engine Repair, LLC, in Shawnee, said he has noticed a difference in engine performance since the addition of ethanol.
“You can see a difference,” he said. “It’s really killing the diaphragms and the hoses.”
What Vanwinkle mentioned is similar to a description contained in a list of “Dangers and Precautions Necessary With E10 Ethanol-Blended Gasoline,” which may be viewed at www.evinrude-parts.com. The list deals specifically with two-cycle, or “two-stroke” marine engines, which also require a mixture of gas and special oil in the fuel tank.
According to the Web site’s list of precautions, ethanol can cause wear to plastic and rubber engine parts and can dry them out. Ethanol will make the parts “dry and brittle,” and because it is a cleaning and drying solution, “it will clean the oil right off the internal components of a two-stroke.”
Whether or not improvements to the mix can be made, and whether or not such improvements lessen the effects to engines remains to be seen, Vanwinkle said.
“Time will tell,” he said.
While some blame ethanol for engine problems, others seem to be having a trouble-free relationship with the fuel mix.
“I have never had any trouble with any small gas engine,” said Clay McElroy, owner and operator of Clay’s Lawn Maintenance in Shawnee. “Knock on wood, I’ve never had any trouble with anything, as far as ethanol is concerned.”
McElroy has been in the lawn care business for himself for eight years. In that same amount of time he has been using a gas-powered edger that now runs better than ever, he said.
McElroy said it is his belief that if the fuel mixture remains at 15 percent or less ethanol, and the engines running on the fuel are properly maintained, problems should not arise.
McElroy’s experience in lawn care includes serving as superintendent of Shawnee Country Club and supervisor of grounds work at Oklahoma Baptist University.
Barbara Barnes, of Shawnee’s R&B Lawn Care & Landscaping, has a different opinion of ethanol. She blames the fuel additive for poor equipment performance and higher operating costs.
“We’ve had lots of problems,” Barnes said. “There is a big difference, I think.”
The company’s commercial lawn mowers are taking a blow, she said, and have required numerous fuel filter changes. The mowers also seem to perform badly when the fuel tanks are only half empty and go through fuel faster, Barnes said.
“The ethanol makes it run out faster, I’ll guarantee you that,” she said.
Once the tanks are half empty, the mowers begin to sputter, Barnes said.
Now that her mowers are requiring fill-ups more often, profits are taking a hit, she said. In the past two years, the company’s profits have gone down 260 percent, Barnes said, and instead of passing that cost on by raising rates the company has tried to acquire more customers.
Barnes said she cannot say for certain that ethanol is to blame for her recent problems, but said there does seem to be a connection with ethanol hitting the market and the beginning of her woes.
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Jason Smith may be reached at 214-3932 or william.j.smith@news-star.com.
SNS Staff Writer Kim Morava and the Associated Press contributed to this article.