I bought an E85 flex fuel truck and will use 200+ gallon of E85 per month in coles county.
--Bill Graham
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I live in Charleston and drive an E85 FFV and will use 100+ gallons of E85 per month.
--Paul Wikoff

I live in Charleston and purchased a flex fuel truck and will use 150+ gallons per month.
--Adam Davis

I also meant to mention above that I use E85 in a couple of older farm tractors (which have been properly adjusted) which will add another 100+ gallons per month. On top of this we also use a 30% mixture in my wifes car which adds another 50 gallons per month.
--Adam Davis

I live in Teutopolis, but work in Coles County. I'm sure you can figure out the daily mileage.... Bring on E85...

I have been buying e85 at other stations in Illinois. I would use it more often if it was available here. Let's burn corn instead of Middle Eastern Oil. I burn about 120-150 gal fuel per month in my FFV Truck.

we live in Charleston and have two Chevy's that can both run on E85.
--Farmer

I live in Mattoon and have a mini-van that will burn e-85. I would use over 100 gallons a month. Lets get a E-85 pump in Mattoon.

I do not currently own an E85 vehicle, but in the next 1-2 years I plan to trade my car in for one that will take E85. Since I commute to work everyday, I would use approximately 100 gallons per month. My husband also commutes to work, so that would be another 100 gallons.
--Lora Lawson

I own a flex fuel S10 pickup and would use 150+ gallons per month.

Coles County residents need options! Most newer cars are now able to run on E85. Illinois should be a leader in this type of fuel.
--Benny
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We have been burning 385 for 2 yrs. We get a little less gas mileage, but the 30 to 40 cent a gal difference makes is worth it. All the hip that was in the paper against it was allot of bull. The author and reporter of that article should be held suspect.
--Al
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I am the owner of a 2004 GMC and can only get e85 when I am in Effingham, I live in Charleston
--H. Crackel
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I will use 125-150 gallon of e85 if I have access to an e85 pump in Coles County.
--H. Crackel
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I drive back and forth to Champaign/Urbana almost everyday. Even with my car's good gas mileage, I wind up purchasing around 100 gallons of gas every month on average. If there was an e85 pump in town, I would use it constantly! Plus, I would feel better about doing something healthy for our environment. Please let me know about further meetings and ways to help.
--Martha A. Mills
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At a minimum, I use 136 gallons of gas a month. I work in Coles County and purchase my gas here. I would be an avid supporter.
--Linda Blake

Although I don't use a lot of fuel on a regular basis, I would be interested in this option and would fully support it.
--Jody Tissier
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I have an explorer and I will probably use 60 to 100 gallons of e85 a month.

Sunrise Ag Service started selling E85 at their fuel stations in 2003. It's been quite sucsessful. you can visit their website at www.sunriseagservice.com for more info.
--alan jenkins

I don't have a need at the moment. However, my mother just got a new car that can use E85. Her drive to work and back is from Shelbyville to Charleston.
--Benny
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With gas prices reaching $3 per gallon, why not use something Coles County grows to give the consumers a choice. E85 may be the solution the US needs to reduce our dependence on OPEC for oil.Coles county needs to keep up with advances in technology and bringing in E85 could help that and possibly stimulate our local economy.

I support the E85 fuel in this area. I believe the demand might be greater than we can realize. I would use it for my lawn mowers and equipment as well as my vehicle. I also have two grown children with vehicles that are compatible.
--Sharon Johnson

I support and demand E-85. I have used it several times, buying in Decatur and Marshall. I would like to see it in Coles Co ASAP! I live in Mattoon and would use 25-75 gal/mo in my 2000 S-10 (and mowers, etc if it is compatable).
HOWEVER, last weekend I intended to fill up again in Marshall (Jiffy), but it was $3.39/gallon! NO WAY! This was the only time I declined to buy it (regardless of price). I realize the market is too small yet to stablize, but demand will only dwindle further at those prices. It must be at least somewhat competitive with regular gasoline (especially with getting worse fuel economy in most FFV vehicles) or demand will not increase. Possibly the problem may be solved by increasing supply, with more ethanol refineries (using corn or switchgrass).
--Steve Lane
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Steve, thank you for posting your E85 demand. Also, thanks for the concern about price. A short term artificial price hike began due to the phase out of the fuel additive MBTE, which was replaced by ethanol. Though the futures and rack prices of ethanol surged, just recently they began falling back down. Pump prices delayed in reflecting the increased price, and will for a short time (couple weeks) delay reflecting the decreased price. Now that more ethanol plants are being constructed and producing, the price should fall. Please check on the "Links" page for a link to Illinois E85 stations and prices.

Also, there are 2 E85 pumps in Marshall. One sells E85 now for $3.29, the other sells for $2.99/gal. In addition, if you predominantly use E85 the state of Illinois will give you a tax credit of $450/yr (also on the "Links" page).

Thank you,
Coles E85

We get E85 delivered to our Coles County farm in our bulk tank, so we are it now. That was the only way we knew to be able to use E85.
--Another Farmer

Edited by Coles E85:

One local farm family uses 1100 gallons of ethanol per year on their farm (about 100 gallons/mo of E85 equivalent).

If it sold cheaper in town than delivered, that's about 100 gallons/mo of E85 that they could purchase.

-Submitted by a Coles County farm family

I am all for E85 in coles county, but I hope it is cheap enough to make up for the major loss of fuel milage I am losing in my Ford Explorer!
Michael Conner, Lerna

Posted by Coles E85:

Michael, if you are using E85 now you may want to have your fuel filter changed. Regular gasoline is very dirty compared to E85. E85 fuel cleans a dirty tank and engine, which then may clog a fuel filter. This could decrease performance and fuel milage considerably. Experience shows about a 15% decrease in fuel economy (2 to 3 gallons for an Explorer) with E85 fuel in a clean fuel system.

A 15% lower price of E85 to unleaded should make up for lower fuel economy. However, even at the same price they are about equal because you can get up to a $450/yr. Tax Rebate from Illinois for using E85 fuel. Make sure to keep your receipts and apply by Dec. 31. The very good news recently is that many new ethanol plants will be opening soon (including a likely new ethanol plant near Charleston), which will help to steady or decrease the price of E85, while gasoline prices continue to skyrocket.

**If you are using E85 fuel, how many gallons per month do you expect to need to fuel your Explorer?**

Thank you for your post.

-Coles E85
--Coles E85
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**Reminder: Watch tonight's State of the Union Address for a likely important announcement regarding ethanol fuel! --Coles E85 moderator 1/23/07

Posted by Coles E85:

Eastern Illinois University used 56,692 gallons of gasoline in 2006. There are currently 19 fleet vehicles that are E85 capable FFV’s. This information is validated by the employees that manage the fleet. If each of these were to use 500 gallons per year, conservatively, this would equate to roughly 9,500 gallons. This equates to roughly 11,000 gallons of E85, due to the common 15% decrease in fuel economy, made up for by lower prices and the up to $450 IL Tax Rebate.

If E85 were to be readily accessible and economically advantageous for the University to use, at this time they could use 11,000 gallons of E85. Also, the University has 5 more FFV’s coming this year, to add to that total. Starting July 1, 2007, all fleet vehicles that the University will purchase will be E85 capable FFV’s.

--Coles E85
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