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Convenience-Store Chain to Add High-Ethanol Fuel at Other Sites

Posted on: Thursday, 13 October 2005, 18:00 CDT

By Julie M. McKinnon, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Oct. 13--For the past few weeks, the Sterling store on Toledo's West Alexis Road has been the only northwest Ohio gas station offering 85 percent ethanol fuel.

The fuel has been selling fairly well and yesterday cost 40 cents a gallon less than regular unleaded.

By next year, though, the Toledo store likely won't be the only local station selling E85.

Sterling Stores LLC of Wauseon is considering adding a pump with the fuel at two stations in the Toledo area and two or three in surrounding areas, said Brian Koenig, president. The chain has 29 Sterling stores, mostly in northwest Ohio.

"We've been pleased with it," Mr. Koenig said of E85.

New owners of the Marathon station in Antwerp, Ohio, meanwhile, are planning to add E85 too, but it was unclear yesterday when that will be.

E85 is made from 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline and is suited only for certain cars and trucks. It often costs considerably less than regular unleaded, but it isn't supposed to improve gas mileage.

The fuel remains a small but growing percentage of the business at the Toledo Sterling, which first offered it in early September. Sales equate to roughly 5 percent of those of regular unleaded gasoline, Mr. Koenig said.

Laura Creamer of Point Place didn't stop to fill up her Ford Explorer until the station added E85. Now, she rarely gets fuel anywhere else, she said. "When I do, I buy the bare minimum, like $10 worth," Ms. Creamer said.

Although she said her sport utility vehicle gets better mileage with the alternative fuel, typically mileage from E85 is 5 percent to 15 percent less than with unleaded gasoline.

Retired Temperance area farmer Norman Selfe said he estimated that, with the usual 40-cents-a-gallon difference in price, costs for unleaded and E85 would be roughly equivalent even if mileage on his Chrysler Voyager minivan dropped 20 percent with the alternative fuel.

Most important, he favors buying E85 because it supports local corn farmers, he said. The fuel is derived from corn. "If it works out, I think we should," Mr. Selfe said.

E85 is recommended for use in a limited number of vehicles, and although Toledo-made Jeeps are not among them, an estimated 6,000 Lucas County drivers can use the fuel in place of regular unleaded. Putting E85 in vehicles not engineered for it, however, could cause performance problems and engine damage.

To determine if a vehicle can use E85, experts say, check the owner's manual or visit the Web site www.E85Fuel.com, which lists models and other information needed to determine compatibility.

For Explorers, Voyagers, and other models, E85 only can be used with certain engine types from certain years, and a specified digit from the vehicle identification number usually helps differentiate them.

Nick Dehabey, of Sylvania, said the cheaper price drew him to filling up his GMC Yukon XL with E85 at the Toledo Sterling store. Yesterday, E85 cost $2.179 a gallon, regular unleaded $2.579.

"This thing, it eats up the gas," Mr. Dehabey said of his vehicle.

Mr. Koenig said Sterling will assess other stations in the next three months to determine where E85 may be added. Like kerosene, E85 has to be pumped from a separate tank, so, he said, "We can't put it at every location."

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

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Source: The Blade

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