Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

So now that Amoco Ultimate no longer exists, and all gases have 10% ethanol in them, and most all gases have large amounts of Nitrogen-based or other detergeants, what is the best fuel to be running in small engines? All of the gas companies have gone to skimping on the quality of gas in order to help improve their margins, but I'm sure that some above others have better or worse chemical make-up for use in small engines. I understand that some of this has to be based on speculation because the gas companies do not release any information on what chemicals they add to the gas; they only say "it's better".

Personal Experience: when I used Amoco Regular in my Pontiac Bonneville '98, my gas mileage was about 6 mi/gal higher than when they switched to BP Invigorate Regular.

I was told (no, I do not have a reference, appreciate it if anyone has one either way) that the 10% ethanol sticker means UP TO 10%, that the gas company can lower the amount based on availability. With the way corn prices jumped, I would not be surprised if it was less.

Bill_H wrote:

Ethanol

[edit] United States

In the United States, ethanol is sometimes added to gasoline but sold without an indication that it is a component.

In several states, ethanol is added by law to a minimum level which is currently 5.9%. Most fuel pumps display a sticker stating that the fuel may contain up to 10% ethanol, an intentional disparity which allows the minimum level to be raised over time without requiring modification of the literature/labelling. The bill^{[citation needed]} which was being debated at the time the disclosure of the presence of ethanol in the fuel was mandated has recently passed.

Last month, the maximum was raised to 15%.