E10 Ethanol Blend Reduces Moped Exhaust Emissions

I recently ran across an interesting study from Denmark on the exhaust emissions from mopeds. Mopeds are evidently fairly common in Denmark so they were looking at ways to reduce harmful emissions from them.

The study was conducted by the Technical University of Denmark and measured how ethanol blended gasoline reduced the emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, smoke and particulate matter. The results showed that all emissions were reduced with introduction of ethanol but the most striking change was in the levels of particulate matter. E10 reduced the amount of particulate matter by up to 75%.

Emission from a Moped Fuelled by Gasoline/Ethanol Mixtures

This study may not seem all that relevant since mopeds aren't all that popular in the United States but the engine in the moped tested is of the same basic type as found in many pieces of small hand held equipment such as string trimmers and chain saws. And since the users of these types of equipment are forced to breath the pollutants they emit, any product that reduces the amount of harmful pollutants emitted should be considered.

MTD Products Fuel Recommendations

MTD manufactures outdoor power equipment under many names including Cub Cadet, Cub Cadet Commercial, Cub Cadet Yanmar, Troy-Bilt, White Outdoor, Yard-Man, Yard Machines, Bolens, Arnold, GardenWay, MTD Pro and MTD Gold. In the support section of their site a question and answer section and one question deals with what type of gasoline should be used.

It is recommended that customers use unleaded gasoline in the 84-90 octane range and avoid using gasoline with more than 10% alcohol.

Source : MTD Products Website

RedMax Fuel Recommendations

RedMax is a maker of commercial grade outdoor equipment such as chainsaws, string trimmers, blowers, etc. In their warranty statement they say that gasoline containing up to 10% ethanol is acceptable.

Only use gasolines which contain 89 octane or Higher. Gasohol which contains a maximum 10% ethanol (grain alcohol) or 15% MTBE (methyl/tertiary/butyl/ether) is also approved.

Source : RedMax Warranty Statement

Echo Outdoor Power Equipment Fuel Recommendations

Echo Outdoor Power Equipment makes commercial quality power equipment such as string trimmers, blowers, etc. On their website, in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section is their recommendations on fuel.

Gasoline – Use 89 Octane [(R+M)/2] (mid-grade or higher) gasoline or gasohol known to be good quality.
Gasoline may contain up to 10% Ethyl (grain) alcohol (ethanol) or 15% MTBE (methyl teriary-butyl ether).

Source : Echo Website

Stihl Fuel Recommendations

Stihl is a maker of small hand held equipment such as chainsaws, string trimmers, blowers, etc. In the Frequently Asked Questions section of the Stihl website there is a question on the use of ethanol blended fuel.

Will a 10% (E10) blend of ethanol hurt my chain saw, trimmer, or blower?

All STIHL gasoline powered engines are OK for use with up to a 10% (E10) blend of ethanol in gasoline.

Source : Stihl FAQ

Using E10 Unleaded In Snowmobiles

Lately there have been several news articles from the North East claiming that use of ethanol blended gasoline in snowmobiles was causing problems. It is hard to understand the difficulties they are having since other parts of the country have used ethanol blended fuel for some time. And examples of E10 being used successfully aren't hard to find.

For instance the Yellowstone National Park was looking for ways to reduce pollution within the park and after studying the situation concluded that the use of E10 in snowmobiles operated within the park would help cut emissions. The two-stroke engines common to snowmobiles typically emit several times more pollutants four-stroke motors. The use of E10 and low emission lubricating oil was found to reduce emission substantially.

Estimates based on the amount of fuel consumed in the 1997-1998 season suggest that use of low-pollution products by the rental machines (which are estimated to have traveled nearly 5 million miles) probably reduced emission of hydrocarbons (primarily unburned fuel and lubrication oil) by as much as 84 tons, and carbon monoxide by about 120 tons. This was a reduction of 16 percent in hydrocarbon emissions and 9 percent in carbon monoxide.

As a result the park started using E10 along with low emission lubricating oil in it's fleet of 100 snowmobiles in 1997. And the snowmobile rental agencies that operate within the park adopted E10 as well.

Project findings caused West Yellowstone snowmobile and snowcoach rental agencies to voluntarily use E-10 and bio-based lube oils to reduce emissions and increase power. The fleet operators experienced a 60 percent reduction in required maintenance calls, avoided carburetor freezing, and had better power and fuel economy.

The use of E10 may be new to the North East but it has been used successfully in other regions of the country with similar climates for some time.

Source : Montana Department of Environmental Quality

Kohler Fuel Recommendations

Kohler is a company with many business interests. Although perhaps more well known for making bathroom fixtures, they also make small engines that can be found on numerous brands of lawn care equipment and some commercial equipment applications.

In the frequently asked questions section of their website they say that use of E10 is acceptable.

What fuel is recommended for my engine?

Unleaded regular gasoline with a pump sticker octane rating of 87 or higher can be used. If you are required to use oxygenated fuel, blends containing a maximum of 10% ethanol or 15% MTBE are acceptable. Fuels with higher concentrations and methanol blends are not recommended.

Source : Kohler

Honda Power Equipment's Fuel Recommendations

Besides making cars Honda also makes small engines for use lawn mowers, generators, snow blowers etc. And just like their cars Honda small engines have a good reputation for reliability.

According to their website ethanol blended fuels are allowed.

What fuel should I use in my Honda engine?

Honda engines are designed and certified to run on regular unleaded gasoline.

Gasoline is allowed, by regulation, to contain a variety of additives. The same regulation limits how much of some additives, such as alcohol, can be included in the fuel and still allow it to be sold as gasoline. If you look in a Honda product owner’s manual, you will see that a maximum of 10% ethanol is allowed in gasoline (other oxygenates are also listed). Honda engines are designed for good performance and efficient operation using gasoline containing from 0 to 10% ethanol.

Source : Honda

Briggs & Straton Fuel Recommendations

Briggs & Straton is one of the largest makers of small engines. Their engines can be found on power equipment such as lawn mowers, pressure washer, snow blowers, etc. According to their website E10 unleaded is allowed in all four stroke and two stroke engines.

All 4 stroke cycle spark ignited engines

• Gasoline with up to 10% ethanol (gasohol) or up to 15% MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether), is acceptable.

All 2 stroke cycle spark ignited engines

• Gasoline with up to 10% ethanol (gasohol) or up to 15% MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether), is acceptable.

Source : Briggs & Straton