It can last years, or it can go bad in as little as three months. Its longevity depends on a lot of factors, including: The amount of moisture in the air. Whether the fuel system is sealed.
The Shelf Life of Fuel
Regular gasoline has a shelf life of three to six months, while diesel can last up to a year before it begins to degrade. On the other hand, organic-based Ethanol can lose its combustibility in just one to three months due to oxidation and evaporation.
The drop in fuel economy is because ethanol has lower energy content per gallon than gasoline. E85 also burns faster than regular gasoline because it vaporizes faster. So your engine may eat through E85 faster than regular gasoline.
Cold temperatures make this harder. So the colder the weather, the more time and energy it takes for ethanol to vaporize. Ethanol takes more time than gasoline to vaporize. This is why a car with E85 doesn't necessarily run or idle the best in cold weather until the engine is warmed up.
The short answer is yes. Like all fuels (including gasoline), E85 can go bad if it sits long enough. Here's why: Toluene.
In some cases, using the wrong fuel is harmless. Other times, like if you accidentally put E85 fuel in a car that's not designed for it, you can void your engine warranty or cause costly damage to fuel lines.
E85 flex fuel not only powers your engine but also cleans your engine, fuel lines, and fuel injectors. That's because E85 contains a high amount of ethanol, up to 83%. Ethanol is an excellent cleaner. It clears the engine, fuel lines, and fuel injectors of deposits.
The Disadvantages to using E85.
The main disadvantage to using E85 is the fact that it's less dense than traditional gasoline. This means that your car will need to burn more fuel to get the same amount of distance compared to petrol, this works out to be about a 30% increase in fuel consumption.
E85 Cools Your Engine Better Than Regular Gasoline
It requires lower combustion temperatures. Also, it creates a thermodynamic cooling effect that regular gasoline doesn't offer. This is quite beneficial because E85 helps keep the engine cool.
E85 fuel has a faster ignition time and flame propagation when compared to gasoline. This leads to higher cylinder pressure, as well as increased engine torque and power, gaining up to 20%.
E85 has an octane rating higher than that of regular gasoline's typical rating of 87, or premium gasoline's 91-93. This allows it to be used in higher-compression engines, which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts.
Keeping your gas tank more than half full limits the danger of running out of gas, and it can save you from costly repairs.
Degradation occurs from the get-go but most gas stays fresh for a month or two without issue. However, gas that is more than two month old is generally OK to use with only minor decreases in performance. Gas that is older than a year can cause issues, like engine knocking, sputtering and clogged injectors.
Ethanol can result in contaminating the gasoline in a tank with moisture resulting in poorly burning fuel and premature rusting in the gas tank. Older model car engines and possibly some newer model car engine may be adversely affected by ethanol, resulting in lowered engine reliability and life.
Engines with higher compression ratios and materials that are sensitive to corrosion may experience increased wear and tear if operated on E85 exclusively. Mechanical parts such as fuel pumps, fuel injectors and pistons may be at risk of damage from the higher water content of E85.
Ethanol (E85) automotive fuel is a blend of between 70 and 85 per cent ethanol, with the remainder petrol. It is suitable for use in vehicles that are specifically built or modified to use it. Recent growth in the Australian market for E85 has identified a need to manage the quality of the fuel.
E85 does get less mileage than regular gas, however, it's a matter of crunching the numbers, according to De Haan. He said if E85 is at a 20% discount or greater compared to gasoline, it may be worth it. The fuel can also run in short supply, and sometimes gas stations can have the pump shut off.
It is normally sold as “E85” and is made up of 85% ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline (i.e. it's content). Hence the name E85. It's a popular fuel because it not only burns cleaner than, say your average 91 octane gas, but it also can be a huge performance boost for your engine.
Ethanol scours and scrubs varnish, gum, sludge and dirt deposits out of a fuel system. The deposits will be “held” in suspension in the Ethanol fuel and will eventually wind up in the fuel filter / main jet / fuel injectors, and can choke off an engine's fuel supply.
Ethanol doesn't corrode aluminum. It doesn't corrode anything unless the fuel is water logged. That shouldn't ever happen in a normal vehicle. Ethanol doesn't damage catalytic converters.
Some car owners who use E85 have reported seeing white smoke come out of their exhaust pipe on start up. White smoke is usually bad news, so it's no surprise that some people are concerned about this.
E85 has higher octane than regular gasoline. This means that E85 is a lot better for your car's engine than regular gasoline. It is also a cleaner fuel with lesser harmful emissions. On the downside, E85 burns faster and produces lesser energy than gasoline.
What is the octane rating of E85 compared to gasoline? E85 has an octane rating ranging from 100-105, making it a high performance fuel. In comparison, regular unleaded gasoline has an octane rating of 87.