My experience of filling E85 fuel: The most unusual visit to a pump

E85 is India's cheapest petrol blend, but very few vehicles can use it. Curious about its real-world benefits, I filled it in a flex-fuel bike and had an unexpectedly unusual experience.

In Short

• E85 costs Rs 20 less as compared to E20 in Delhi
• The attendant at the pump confirmed multiple times before filling E85
• It took 30-40 minutes to fill E85 in the Suzuki Gixxer flex fuel

I never thought that I would be writing about my experience of filling fuel at a petrol pump. So, why am I doing that? Because the fuel I filled has garnered a lot of attention. It is the cheapest petrol blend one can buy, but many cannot fill it. If this clue is not enough, I am talking about E85.

Filled E85 in what?

Currently, there are not a lot of vehicles in which you can fill E85. What is E85? Well, it is 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol. The standard petrol currently is E20. If we talk about cars, only one has been launched recently, which is the Maruti Suzuki WagonR flex fuel. For bikes, we currently have three: the Suzuki Gixxer SF 250 flex fuel, Hero Splendor+ Flex Fuel and Hero HF Deluxe flex fuel. I filled E85 in the Gixxer flex fuel.

Why I filled E85?

The primary reason for doing that was to test the drop in mileage with E85 as compared to E20. Yes, the bike, being a flex-fuel vehicle, can take any blend from 20 per cent to 85 per cent ethanol. Because ethanol has around 30 per cent lower energy content than petrol, there is a drop in mileage, which is estimated to be about 20-30 per cent.

The test we are doing is to identify whether E85 is cheaper to run or E20. E85 in Delhi costs Rs 82 per litre compared to E20, which is priced at Rs 102 per litre. After the test, we will be able to answer whether the Rs 20 lower price of E85 can offset the drop in mileage, or whether E20 is actually cheaper to run. In short, E85 costs less, but you will end up consuming more fuel.

How was my experience of filling E85?

We first tested the efficiency of the Gixxer with E20 petrol and then went to get E85. We kept just enough E20 petrol to reach the Pusa Road Indian Oil pump in Delhi, the only petrol pump in Delhi that offers E85 fuel. However, because there was so little fuel left and we had to cover around 25km from our office to the pump, the bike ran out of fuel about a kilometre away from it, and I had to drag the bike to the station.

When I reached the pump to fill E85 fuel, I asked the attendant for E85. The worker first confirmed whether I was sure about getting E85. He then looked all around the bike, and I showed him the E85 sticker on the Gixxer's tank to confirm that it was compatible. The worker's apprehension made it seem as though I had come to get something extremely rare.

Now comes the interesting part. This was the most unusual fuel-filling experience I have ever had. Before the pump attendant started filling the fuel, he brought a register and asked for my details. He wanted my name and contact number. In his register, I could see the names of people who had filled E85 before me. Not even 10 names were on the list, which is understandable. There are barely any E85 vehicles available, so who is going to fill E85?

What I am unable to figure out is why they are keeping track of everyone who fills E85. Will someone call to confirm if I really filled it? Will someone contact me to ask what E85 fuel is like? I am not sure, but it is definitely unusual.

When the pump attendant tried to fill the fuel, he faced some issues. He then went to get the dispenser started, which is understandable because who is coming to fill E85 on a bright sunny Thursday? Then the dispenser was unable to show the fuel price. It was also not able to reset to zero before filling. After waiting for almost 30-40 minutes, the attendant was finally able to fill E85 in the Gixxer.

What was funny was that because the E85 dispenser lane was empty and only I was the only one there to fill that fuel, many people came into the E85 line hoping to skip the queue next to me and save a few minutes. Not so good news for them, they could not get fuel because you cannot simply put E85 into an E10 or E20 vehicle. The attendant had to explain this to everyone who tried to save time by joining the E85 line.

Did we end up saving money by using E85, despite its lower mileage? Does E85 behave differently in terms of performance compared to E20? We will delve into all of this in a different story. But for now, this was my most unusual visit to a petrol pump.

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