Weeeeeeelll. I don't know. It just seems the waters are a bit muddier for me on this than a simple yes/no.
First off, if THAT site is trying to sell "alcohol detectors", I think, at least for people that read, they sorta missed the boat. If their "detector" was so good then why was no result given for Ethanol Shield? And, for FORMULA X2 it says "likely ethanol"....whaaa? I mean jeesh! they were VERY specific with many of the other brands! So, I'm left asking....Does it DETECT or doesn't it?
Anyway, on to the ALCOHOLS.
I say alcohols (plural) because there are a few. Ethyl, Methyl, Propyl (propanol) and Butyl (butanol).
Now, I am NOT the PROFESSOR here as chawk_man says occasionally...sometimes. :~)
But, I did do some reading in an effort to understand and possibly defend my old friend SEA FOAM. A product I have used SUCCESSFULLY for many years and that others have used and recommended for DECADES.
Like I say, I don't know all that much but what I discern, from some of the documentation on alcohols, is that there are CRITICAL differences in the make up of alcohol that CAN make one more suitable and less harmful to engines than another.
I think we, at least most interested parties, can AGREE that the major drawbacks to having alcohol....any alcohol.....in our fuel tanks, comes down to two things. Corrosiveness to certain material and the ability for alcohol to attract moisture from the atmosphere.
The last, called HYGROSCOPICITY, can be bad if the fuel is left setting for A GIVEN length of time. Alcohol will attract or hygroscope water into the fuel tank out of the atmosphere and, indeed, out of the fuel that is already in there and mix with it (miscibility).
DEFINITELY BAD,,,,but ONLY if we let it sit for an INORDINATE amount of time.
This can be alleviated somewhat by using different compounds of alcohol. There are four separate ISOMETRIC compounds of Butanol, for instance, and the n-Butanol isomer compound is MUCH less miscible with water than the others. I found nothing about isomers in Propanol (the form of alcohol used in Sea-Foam) yet... but that doesn't mean that there isn't something similar associated with it. Just that my "research" is incomplete at this point.
Lets move on the the corrosive "problem". Ironically, the harm, from alcohol, to certain manufactured materials in and on our engines, comes from the SOLVENT properties associated with alcohol. But that solvent is EXACTLY why we are putting it in the tank in the first place! We WANT the solvent!....We NEED the solvent!
Primarily to soften and cause the breakup of harmful deposits occurring on valves and pistons. HECK, without the solvents, we might AS WELL be putting water in there! And, WATER WORKS! I've used it for years to "decarbonize" engines. I've said THAT right here on this forum several times. But....
.....I digress.
Yes, the solvents in alcohol can be bad but the engine manufacturers have been upgrading materials for years because of the advent of biogas as a motorfuel and the IMMEDIATE rot of fuel line and vacuum hose has been pretty much eliminated as a result. That doesn't mean you won't pay a penalty for using ethanol sometime down the road (lake?) but the discussion here is the use of SEA FOAM.
In addition, you may notice that the chart says SEA FOAM utilizes PROPANOL (isopropyl alcohol) as opposed to Ethyl or Methyl. Propanol is a derivative of FOSSIL Fuel. They distill it from the same stuff gasoline and natural gas comes from. Does that make it MORE suitable for putting in an engine than the others? I don't know. That is a good question and one I may pursue. When I have time.
Lately I have been a vocal advocate of LUCAS OIL PRODUCTS simply because I am aware of the SCIENCE that goes in to their manufacture and how EFFECTIVE they have been for me. So, I don't use Sea Foam as much as I did before. But, would I STOP because I suddenly realize it contains alcohol? Probably not.
When I used SEA FOAM regularly it was only to "dose" a fuel system that had been showing problems. It was typically for one tank of fuel only and that was burned immediately and not allowed to sit. I never used it to routinely put in at each fuel fill. And, I don't use LUCAS like that either. I use it to DOSE a full tank of gas every third fill up on my GDI car. I do use their synthetic oil modifier along with the PENNZOIL PLATINUM PLUS oil at EVERY oil change. I do it on the GDI engine ONLY in an attempt to keep the carbonizing of the intake valve stems from taking hold. So, if anyone reading this (that has been able to stay awake) has any comments on THAT practice, I would be glad to hear them.
