Getting pumped up for E-10 fuel
It's going to be a new year for Oregon drivers, in more ways than one.
A new Oregon law is soon to take effect that will drastically change the gas you buy at the pump.
2008 signals a big change for motorists in Oregon--even if most don't realize it at first.
You'll see the big change at the gas pump. Starting January 15Th, gas stations in nine northwest Oregon counties will have to sell blended fuel that's ten percent ethanol. It's called E-10.
"It's the fuel that runs in any gas car. There's no conversion needed to run 10% ethanol," says manager Alan Twigg of Sequential Biofuels in Eugene. The station near I-5 has been selling the E-10 blend since they opened in September 2006.
E-10 blended fuel will replace regular gas. The rest of the state will be phased in over the next nine months as part of a new law. It's the best selling gas already at Sequential.
Twigg tells KVAL, "Pure ethanol has really high octane, up around 110. So adding 10% ethanol to the gasoline will boost it about 2 octane points."
Local mechanics say the conversion to E-10 fuel shouldn't pose too many problems for your car or pick-up, but you may need a fuel filter change.
Owner Dustin Rinehart of Peak Performance Automotive in Eugene explains, "Running ethanol will clean rust and scales out of the fuel system and run it through the fuel filter, so I'd say initially, you'll have to change your fuel filter a little more frequently."
Plus with today's fuel injection systems controlled by computers, your gas mileage may suffer a little. Rinehart says, "If you have a car that gets 400 miles to a tank, you may get 360 to 370 miles to the tank instead of the 400."
However, advocates say E-10 will help the environment and hopefully lower the price of motor fuel. Under the law passed this year by the Legislature, the renewable fuel standard for ethanol kicks in when Oregon's ethanol production has the capacity to hit 40 million gallons a year. The state achieved that goal this summer when Pacific Ethanol began production at the Port of Morrow.
By April 15Th--Lane, Linn, Benton and other western Oregon counties will join the E-10 fuel conversion. All counties east of the Cascades will finish the conversion in September.
A new Oregon law is soon to take effect that will drastically change the gas you buy at the pump.
2008 signals a big change for motorists in Oregon--even if most don't realize it at first.
You'll see the big change at the gas pump. Starting January 15Th, gas stations in nine northwest Oregon counties will have to sell blended fuel that's ten percent ethanol. It's called E-10.
"It's the fuel that runs in any gas car. There's no conversion needed to run 10% ethanol," says manager Alan Twigg of Sequential Biofuels in Eugene. The station near I-5 has been selling the E-10 blend since they opened in September 2006.
E-10 blended fuel will replace regular gas. The rest of the state will be phased in over the next nine months as part of a new law. It's the best selling gas already at Sequential.
Twigg tells KVAL, "Pure ethanol has really high octane, up around 110. So adding 10% ethanol to the gasoline will boost it about 2 octane points."
Local mechanics say the conversion to E-10 fuel shouldn't pose too many problems for your car or pick-up, but you may need a fuel filter change.
Owner Dustin Rinehart of Peak Performance Automotive in Eugene explains, "Running ethanol will clean rust and scales out of the fuel system and run it through the fuel filter, so I'd say initially, you'll have to change your fuel filter a little more frequently."
Plus with today's fuel injection systems controlled by computers, your gas mileage may suffer a little. Rinehart says, "If you have a car that gets 400 miles to a tank, you may get 360 to 370 miles to the tank instead of the 400."
However, advocates say E-10 will help the environment and hopefully lower the price of motor fuel. Under the law passed this year by the Legislature, the renewable fuel standard for ethanol kicks in when Oregon's ethanol production has the capacity to hit 40 million gallons a year. The state achieved that goal this summer when Pacific Ethanol began production at the Port of Morrow.
By April 15Th--Lane, Linn, Benton and other western Oregon counties will join the E-10 fuel conversion. All counties east of the Cascades will finish the conversion in September.
