Boat guys have had fun with ethanol.
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@WarDamnEagle Ethanol IS a solvent. I believe you are mixing up solvent and solubility. It is also soluble in H20, solubility. When it absorbs too much water it becomes over saturated and "phase separates" and creates a layer of gunk in the tank. I do not know for certain as to wether gas or ethanol is a stronger solvent. My guess is ethanol is stronger do to the alchohol.
The solvent part: A solvent has the ability to dissolve other things. Ethanol is used as a solvent in cosmetics and many other industries. If you have ever looked at old gas tanks or gas lines they will have a natural varnish in them. The ethanol acts as a solvent and cleans that varnish off of the metal and it clogs your fuel system. It will also eat rubber lines that are not harmed by pure gas. Hence the need for ethanol compatible hoses. That is a very different than phase separation which involves ethanols affinity with water (solubility).
Bottom line, ethanol is not stable, especially in an environment with high humidity and condensation.
The solvent part: A solvent has the ability to dissolve other things. Ethanol is used as a solvent in cosmetics and many other industries. If you have ever looked at old gas tanks or gas lines they will have a natural varnish in them. The ethanol acts as a solvent and cleans that varnish off of the metal and it clogs your fuel system. It will also eat rubber lines that are not harmed by pure gas. Hence the need for ethanol compatible hoses. That is a very different than phase separation which involves ethanols affinity with water (solubility).
Bottom line, ethanol is not stable, especially in an environment with high humidity and condensation.
Emac, not to belabor this discussion as it's a very complicated subject. I never said ethanol isn't a solvent. I was just pointing out that gasoline is a much better solvent for varnish/waxy substances. Alcohols are funny substances in that they have high affinity for both organics and aqueous molecules.
I will throw a plug in for ethanol even though, as I already said, I'm not a fan. Water has almost zero miscibility in non ethanol gasoline. Therefore, any condensation (and there will always be some regardless of fuel type) accumulates on the bottom of your tank and will eventually rust the tank if and when the coating fails. That will not typically happen with ethanol fuel. Even if the ethanol separates from the mixture it will still keep the water in solution and will protect the tank. Not a big deal either way in modern tanks that are adequately coated internally. When people see a lot of "water" in the bottom of a tank of ethanol fuel, what they are really seeing is mostly ethanol with some water. It's completely miscible up to 95% ethanol but will look 100% like water. The separation of the water and ethanol from the gasoline occurs when too much water is added. Up until that point there will be zero accumulation of water in the tank. Bottom line, if you start with a cleanish tank, only use ethanol fuel and don't pour water in the tank you will never have any water accumulation on the bottom.
Anyway, interesting subject.