Briggs allows use of E10 in their engines without modification. Has slightly higher octane, which doesn't do anything as these are already low compression engines. E10 has less heat (BTU's) than gasoline, so you'll get poorer fuel economy (maybe 5%-10%). Briggs specifically does not recommend E85 and states usage could be grounds for warranty denial. To run E85 you would need to rejet carburetor (richer) and replace all elastomers (rubbers) and plastics in the fuel system. Ideally, you would also want to raise compression ratio by milling head or replacing piston with some type of pop-up. Also, advancing ignition 3 to 5 degrees would be necessary. If you do all of this correctly, you should be able to run E85 with as much or more horsepower than stock. You will own a highly modified engine which means no warranty. Also, your per gallon fuel economy will be down approximately 35% due to the much lower heat content of ethanol. Actual thermal efficiency should be about same as gasoline engine. Going a step further, I wouldn't even think about running any type of methanol blend. Performance is similar to ethanol, but meth is much more corrosive to aluminum and Zamac components common in small engines. As little as 0.5% meth has been found to be highly reactive with zinc alloy die cast parts.

I'm not sure how America's need for automotive fuel (petroleum based) has anything to do with slash/burn practices in South America for ethanol production - Brazil however has converted to ethanol. Sempra Energy uses natural gas powered vehicles and I knew someone who had a taxicab business using all Ford hydrogen powered vehicles (until 9/11 when he went bankrupt). I recommend Steve Solomon's book Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times and also Super Nutrition Gardening by William Peavy. I have learned the fine points to consider in a small suburban garden: greatest yield per acre: summer squash, winter squash, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, musk melons, onions, followed by carrots, beets; which varieties are the most productive, which seed companies do germination testing, cold storage, etc. There is also information regarding the cost of vegetables, i.e. which are more valuable to grow (tomatoes are at the top of the list). I can still get 10 lbs. of Idaho russet potatoes at an ethnic store for $1.29 (up from 99 cents), why grow them myself? Eggs are still $1.49/dozen at Trader Joes so I'll skip chicken husbandry for now. I'm also looking at the shortest number of days until harvest, some of the vegetables take over 100 days but cultivars are available that are ready in 1/2 - 3/4 of that length of time. The longer to harvest, the more nutrients are absorbed though. Then storage is a consideration - putting food by is becoming a resurrected skill. Dehydrating, canning, freezing and cellaring (alas, few cellars here in Southern California); winter squash keep well, but summer squash do not. Some hard shell melons keep for several months, fruit and certain tomatoes can be dried, etc. Three years ago I too put in many dwarf fruit trees with staggered harvest dates, except for flowers that attract beneficials if I can't eat it I generally don't plant it. There are also changes for the worse in the nutritional content of agribusiness produce - not only the farming practices but selection for various conveniences and profitability are traded for nutrient content. Not only are we lucky that we know how to garden, we are also lucky to live in California not only for the year round gardening but there are many organic farms here. We can supplement our own gardens produce by shopping at farmers markets, the majority of the produce is reasonably locally grown. Happy Earth Day everyone!

Hi Again. Here in the aftermarket many of the Hybrid vehicles are just now starting to show up for regular servicing now that many have had their warranties expire. First I have sold NO HV Battery assemblies. If the battery, the inverter, and especially the Prius transaxle has failed people simply trade the car in. I'm still the only shop in the county that has had formal training on these cars, and has invested in the factory scan tools to service them, as well as the rest of each manufactures fleet. Your lost key fob? I could have handled that, but otherwise you would have a 20+ mile one way trip to the nearest dealer. http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2006/10/prius_mileage_1.html Just google "real prius" and you will quickly see a google drop down list that suggests gas mileage. That link above was the first one that came up. Compare that number he quotes to the fact that my 2007 Mustang GT Convertible California Special consistently gets 29mpg with the top down on the highway. Next week I'll be out of town instructing a basic Hybrid class for a well know franchise based chain store. Most of those shops don't allow their techs to get involved with anything more than tires, alignments (one of the special things I have to teach with these cars) and basic fluid services. Anything else and the cars typically require the O.E. scan tool and only the dealers *(mandatory for them), and top shops like mine have stepped up and made the investment in those. Come back in about two years and we will see just how big of an impact these cars are having when the inevitable repairs start multiplying.

Ah the old gas deisel debate ! I shall jump in, Firstly, there are some RV forums on the web that dissect this argument pretty good. I have a 1 ton utility bed gmc w/ the 8.1L gas currently and have had deisel work trucks before. The big thing people don't look at is that while deisels can give you some phenomenal mpg, this is unloaded. Load the truck down and/or drive faster than 70mph and that deisel mpg drops more dramatically than a gas. My 8.1L gas pickuper got about 12mpg then I added another 5000 lbs and I'm down to around 10 mpg. Guys I know that have deisel work trucks got up to 20 mpg empty but when they added the utility bed, pipe racks and all the parts they are down to maybe 14mpg. Everyone wants a deisel and the dealers won't discount, nobody wanted the big gas and I got a really good deal. Deisel engine in a pickup is at least $5000.00 more plus the dealers won't deal. The way I figger you have to drive at least 100k miles to break even, but I always get rid of my trucks just before 100k. Used to be that co's w/ large fleets of trucks bought deisels because there was less maintenance, just replace oil and fuel filters but it's the same way w/ gas now, most don't need anything until 100k. I say you are either a gas man or a deisel man, just don't try to say that deisel's make more sense economically. You need to do the math, also consider more stopping for fuel w/ a gas, so check the tank size. Also deisel is not as readily available as gas, when I had a deisel I had to make sure to keep it filled because the stations that carried deisel closed down after 10 p.m. Shouldn't be a problem touring out on the interstate however.