Don’t fall for the bogus claims about ethanol made by these fuel system “cleaners.”
The following was updated on 11/14/19.
From the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
Snake Oil (noun): Something that is sold as medicine but that is not really useful or helpful in any way.
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I am not a “car guy”
Spend a few minutes browsing the automotive section at your local Wal-Mart and you’re bound to come across products that use anti-ethanol warnings to try and scare you into pulling out your wallet and buying them.
I was at Wal-Mart the other day and came across a shelf packed with fuel system cleaners — at least, I think that’s what they’re called. I’m not a car guy or a gearhead, which is actually the main reason I’m writing this.
Several of these products used dire warnings about ethanol as their main selling point.
There was “Safeguard Ethanol” from Lucas Oil, which promised to “prevent corrosion and degradation in Ethanol based fuels.”
There was also STP “Fuel System Cleaner for Ethanol Fuels” that claimed to “remove ethanol fuel deposits.”
And don’t forget about Valvoline’s “Nitro Shot” to “counteract the negative effects of ethanol in gasoline” and “remove moisture from your fuel tank.”
“Oh my gosh,” I thought to myself. “Ethanol is literally eating my car and the only way to stop it is to dump this stuff into the fuel tank!”
The Facts
Actually, I didn’t think that, but I imagine a lot of consumers do, unfortunately.
Since I work for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA), I knew that the ethanol-related claims made by these products were bogus. Name a wild claim about ethanol – that it takes food off our tables, it’s subsidized by the taxpayers, it’s destroying the planet – and I’ve seen it and did my best to debunk it.
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But like I said, I’m not a car guy or a gearhead. I can also see why others might be skeptical when someone like me – a non-gearhead working for MCGA – tells you that these products are bogus.
So don’t take my word for it, listen to someone like Hoon Ge, a chemical engineer with 30 years in the petroleum industry who founded MEG Corp, a leading fuel consulting company. Ge says products like the ones discussed above do no more to protect your fueling system than using gasoline from Holiday or Super America.
“They are using ethanol as a scare tactic,” Ge said.
When it comes to corrosion and rust that these products blame on ethanol, Ge says gasoline already has a corrosion specification it must meet and additives are added at the refinery to help protect the pipeline. A blend of 10-15 percent ethanol won’t change anything (all Minnesota gasoline is blended with 10 percent ethanol).
How about the common claim that “ethanol gums up” your engine?
“Ethanol does not produce any more gums or varnish than gasoline,” Ge said.
And if you want to remove moisture from your fuel tank like the Nitro Shot product claims it can accomplish, you can’t do any better than using ethanol.
“There is nothing an additive can do better than 10 percent ethanol when it comes to removing moisture,” Ge said. “The ethanol is taking care of it.”
The big picture
It’s hard enough fighting back against agenda-driven attacks on ethanol from the oil industry, politicians and even fellow farmers. Products that target the unknowing consumer who just wants to ensure his car survives another year make getting the facts out about ethanol even more difficult.
All of us who understand the truth about ethanol need to continue discrediting the myths and misinformation out there, even if it feels that sometimes we’re constantly banging our heads against our steering wheel.
If people still refuse to believe us, hopefully they believe someone like Hoon Ge:
“All of these additives make claims of cleaning deposits, restoring lost power, etc.,” Ge said. “This is done by keeping injectors clean. If you buy top tier gasoline from Holiday, Kwik Trip, Shell, BP, Exxon and SuperAmierca, you do not need any of these additives. These stations include a detergent package at market price to address deposits and keep injectors clean.”
Written by Adam Czech, MCGA