Driving through Minnesota I saw several E85 (ethanol-85%) stations.

Minnesota gets really cold. Does E85 gel in the winter? Any special precautions need to be taken for E85 car?

 

I wouldn't think so. After all, ethanol is alcohol and freezes at like -230 degrees F. I can't imagine adding 15% gasoline to it would have any impact.

 

You might be thinking of biodiesel, which does have cold weather issues.

As the previous post states, ethanol is the same alcohol in beer. You ever put a beer in the freezer?

 

i think you are confusing E85 with B85 and B10...which are hard to find. One is alcohol and the other is diesel.

 

I have....and it turns into a beer slurpee that foams all over the place when you open it!!! But then again, beer is only 3-5% alcohol in most cases and it is the water in beer that freezes. I think a more accurate comparison would be putting hard liquor in the freezer. Put a bottle of Vodka in the freezer and all you get is cold vodka (and that's only about 40% alcohol. E85 is 85% alcohol and Ethanol has a freezing point of -114C (about -237F).

I agree, you are probably thinking about Diesel or Biodiesel in terms of gelling or thickening.

 

Yes I are dummy.

Of course alchohol doesn't gel. Good way to avoid using "additives" to prevent line freeze.. Just use ethanol instead.

 

Any reason why truckers could not use ethanol to keep air lines from freezing? I watched "ICE ROAD TRUCKERS" last season ( was that filmed in Minnesota? ) and freezing air lines was a big problem. I think they were using methanol, or some form which is poisionous. Ethanol ( in pure form ) isn't.

An "Ice Road" I was on in MN recently.
Had -40 WCF last night.
-John

 

It doesn't gel, but it is harder to light up. That's why in the winter E85 is really E70.

 

About the E70 part... E70 is a possibility... but not a certainty.
-John

 

What? You're not alluding to weird numbers, now, are you?