An effort to raise the 10% limit on ethanol in gasoline has misfired with Wisconsin engine makers Briggs & Stratton Corp., Mercury Marine, and the maker of Evinrude outboard engines.

Testing has not yet shown whether higher levels of the fuel additive are acceptable and safe, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, a Chicago-based trade group, said Monday in a Washington, D.C., news conference.

Increasing the ethanol blend to 15%, currently being considered by the Environmental Protection Agency, could damage or ruin millions of small engines and possibly worsen air pollution, according to the engine manufacturers.

Engine performance and overheating are among the problems, since most boats, lawn mowers and other outdoor power products haven’t been designed to run on 15% ethanol.

“As of now, we are finding a lot of issues,” said Laura Timm, spokeswoman for Briggs & Stratton, the world’s largest manufacturer of small gasoline engines.

Ethanol is a fuel additive made from corn. The EPA is considering raising the maximum allowable amount of ethanol in most motor fuel from the current 10% blend to a 15% blend.

It’s a common-sense solution to economic, energy and environmental challenges, according to Growth Energy, an ethanol industry trade group that’s petitioned the government for the change.
Savings already

By using 10% ethanol in gasoline, the United States has reduced its need for foreign oil by billions of gallons a year. Raising the blend to 15% would save an additional 7 billion gallons of gasoline a year and would create thousands of jobs at ethanol refineries, according to Growth Energy.

Keeping the ethanol content of blended gas at 10% could be disastrous for ethanol producers, since the limit has placed a ceiling on their markets.

Already, ethanol plants have closed in Wisconsin and other states because of an oversupply of the fuel additive.

“This economic ripple could turn into a tidal wave consuming ethanol producers and (grain) farmers across the country,” Growth Energy said in a written statement.

Cars and trucks on the road today can run on higher blends of ethanol without modifications, according to Growth Energy.

But the higher blends could be disastrous for millions of small gasoline engines not designed to run on the fuel.

Unlike vehicles, small engines lack sophisticated fuel systems that compensate for higher amounts of ethanol. As a result, the small engines can overheat, malfunction and be permanently damaged when burning ethanol blends greater than 10%, according to the manufacturers.

The damage would not be covered by many warranties, according to small-engine trade associations.

There is technical and anecdotal evidence that even 10% ethanol blends have damaged boat engines, the National Marine Manufacturers Association said.

Increasing the blend to 15% or more could have catastrophic effects on engines designed, tested and calibrated for fuel containing not more than 10% ethanol, the association said in a written statement.

“We completely and wholeheartedly support their view,” said Steve Fleming, spokesman for Mercury Marine, a Fond du Lac-based division of Brunswick Corp.