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Quality E85 in Bay Area/NorCal (Recent Issue)

blueskies925

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Hey y'all, so I've been on E85 for almost a year now, mostly been getting it at the Concord Chevron. I've been to a few others (Berkeley, Sunol, Brentwood), but I haven't tested their E85, never thought I had a real reason to considering I previously thought that California had some of the best E85, but apparently not. Recently checked my Pearson Fuels app to see there is a new station in Walnut Creek even closer to me (Kwik-Serv or something like that), I was ecstatic! Until, I get there and some Hellcat guy tells me the E85 is bad here and shows me himself after doing a test. I figured, maybe it just wasn't accurate for that day or the way he did it lol, this was over a week ago. I went to go test for myself today, and sadly it was around 70%, more or less.. I've never heard of these lower numbers anywhere here. So I went straight back to Concord to test and compare, and Concord was almost 90%! What gives?! I thought they're both Pearson Fuels? Anyways, just wanted to give a heads up for anyone else on E85 here and that I won't be going back to Walnut Creek anytime soon, and if others have tested elsewhere in the Bay Area or NorCal stations, please do share your results and recommendations. Thanks!
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Kermitz

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Hey y'all, so I've been on E85 for almost a year now, mostly been getting it at the Concord Chevron. I've been to a few others (Berkeley, Sunol, Brentwood), but I haven't tested their E85, never thought I had a real reason to considering I previously thought that California had some of the best E85, but apparently not. Recently checked my Pearson Fuels app to see there is a new station in Walnut Creek even closer to me (Kwik-Serv or something like that), I was ecstatic! Until, I get there and some Hellcat guy tells me the E85 is bad here and shows me himself after doing a test. I figured, maybe it just wasn't accurate for that day or the way he did it lol, this was over a week ago. I went to go test for myself today, and sadly it was around 70%, more or less.. I've never heard of these lower numbers anywhere here. So I went straight back to Concord to test and compare, and Concord was almost 90%! What gives?! I thought they're both Pearson Fuels? Anyways, just wanted to give a heads up for anyone else on E85 here and that I won't be going back to Walnut Creek anytime soon, and if others have tested elsewhere in the Bay Area or NorCal stations, please do share your results and recommendations. Thanks!
It's always good to check.
Most likely the underground tank at the gas station was previously used for gasoline and it wasn't fully empty when put into E85 service. It will eventually dilute the next few deliveries.
 

Slopoke

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When I was running E85, I'd get mine at a Chevron on A street in Hayward. It's just a few blocks to the west of 880. It was always 85 percent as read by my ethanol gauge.
 
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blueskies925

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Agreed...it’s a crapshoot sometimes.

add to that, you cant even do a drive to socal for lack of e85 on the I-5 🤨
Never considered taking my stang out to SoCal, guess now I can't..

It's always good to check.
Most likely the underground tank at the gas station was previously used for gasoline and it wasn't fully empty when put into E85 service. It will eventually dilute the next few deliveries.
That makes sense! I'll give it another shot a month from now and test it, hopefully it's good by then!

When I was running E85, I'd get mine at a Chevron on A street in Hayward. It's just a few blocks to the west of 880. It was always 85 percent as read by my ethanol gauge.
Oh nice! I haven't been there, but good to know that one is legit if I ever need to stop by!

I'll definitely be testing every other place I go to now just to be safe.
 

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Slopoke

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Never considered taking my stang out to SoCal, guess now I can't..
You can find E85, but you'll have to use 99 and top off in Fresno. Then top off again in Burbank. Once in So Cal, E85 is more readily available compared to the Bay Area. If you want to do a trek across I-80 going east, that's another story. Once you get to Sacramento, the E85 fuel maps don't show any until you get to Green River Wyoming. That's a major reason why I opt not to go E85 in my Mustang.
 

Biggus Dickus

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Strange - everyplace and every time I've checked in So Cal it's been 85% minimum. Usually it is closer to 90%.
 

Lightknight0

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If you're in the Sacramento area, you can try the Shell at 1515 South River Road. Last 2 times I tested it (only waited 5 minutes for it to settle) it was around 85% (last time I tested it was about a week ago and a few weeks before that). The e85 is a little murky when I tested it though (not sure if it matters):
20210511_201952.jpg
 

526 HRSE

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If you have Proflex Commander, you don't have to worry about where e85 is. I purposely run a mix at 60%.
 

Dave2013M3

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Don't know what to say, E85 in Cali has to be true E85 or its taxed like regular gasoline.
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