Customers with boats and older cars now can purchase ethanol-free gasoline from Aloha Petroleum’s retail gas location in Kahalu’u, Hawaii—a 7-Eleven at 47-515 Kamehameha Hwy.

 

Hawaii had mandated 
that 85% of  retail gasoline in the had to be blended with 10% ethanol as of April 2, 2006. But after the mandate went into effect, boaters and fishermen started having problems with ethanol in their fiberglass fuel tanks and marine engines.


 

To combat the problem, Aloha Petroleum met with the State of Hawaii Department of Business Economic Development & Tourism and State Representative Dwight Takamine about offering ethanol-free gasoline to meet the needs of the boaters and those with older cars.

 

Aloha Petroleum now offers Aloha Classic Gasoline, formulated for boat engines and other small motors that are not designed to operate with ethanol-blended gasoline. The fuel has a minimum 89-octane rating and contains a detergent additive, the Honolulu Advertiser reported.  

“We have many customers on the windward side who use ethanol-free gas for their boats, older cars and lawn mowers,” Richard Parry, president and and CEO of Aloha Petroleum told the Honolulu Advertiser. “We wanted to make it convenient for them to fill up with 89 octane fuel, which won’t clog carburetors or damage marine fuel tanks.”

Aloha has been selling the ethanol-free blend in Waianae and in Mountain View on the Big Island since last year and at small boat harbors since 2007.