Conversion made simple: E85 kit installer Fuel Flex sees demand rise again
The Idaho Business Review
Fuel Flex International designs and sells systems that enable vehicles to burn standard gasoline or a blend of up to 85 percent ethanol (E85) – a great business last year, when gas cost $4 a gallon.
The Meridian-based company’s sales fell by 50 percent in the first half of this year, from a year earlier, as gas prices plunged from their 2008 highs, co-owner and CEO Alex Conger said. But demand started increasing again in late September 2009.
Fuel Flex sells the Idaho-made kits to about 100 dealers in 43 countries – the company just shipped 200 units to Thailand – but Conger will be the first to tell you that they’re not popular with everyone, all the time.
“When gas is $1.50 a gallon, Americans have a habit of just saying, ‘Life is good,’” he said. “When gas gets to $4 a gallon, people start paying attention to the fact that we are sending billions (of dollars) outside the U.S. every day, and that the ethanol industry has been creating jobs.”
Fuel Flex shipped up to 1,000 units per month as 2008 unfolded, Conger said.
Drivers who believe in the virtues of ethanol and flex-fuel vehicles don’t merely slap the Fuel Flex kit under the hood and drive off. The devices can pay off by increasing engine performance, decreasing emissions, and enabling the driver to choose which fuel to run, he said. The trade-off is that the driver must monitor the kit-equipped vehicle, and on some trips, plan ahead.
The kits enhance the capability of a vehicle’s computer system to recognize that the vehicle is running ethanol, and to adjust accordingly. Fuel Flex recommends that mechanics certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence install the kits. Certified mechanics understand fuel injection systems, on-board diagnostics, and “possibilities,” Conger said.
“They can be proactive and say, ‘Come back in 800 miles to see if the fuel filter has issues from all the junk cleaned out,’” he said. Enlisting a mechanic also enables Fuel Flex to track the kits and “talk technical” with mechanics about them.
The “flex” feature comes in handy in the West.
“There is not E85 on every corner like there is in the Midwest,” Conger said. “I can choose which fuel I want to run.” Where an E85 refueling station is available, a hypothetical 15 to 20 percent price advantage over unleaded gasoline may offset possible fuel mileage loss on E85 while enabling the driver to reap the benefits of the high-ethanol fuel, he said.
Fuel Flex did business with Canyon County recently. The kits installed on sheriff’s vehicles have features including a case that is very resistant to weather, and software that deals better with changes in weather and temperature, he said. The software helps the engine determine the best starting position based on temperature in the engine compartment.
Vehicles running high-ethanol fuels can be harder to start as the temperature drops, because of their higher octane ratings and lower vapor pressures, Conger said. E85 stations sell E70 in winter, typically.
Canyon County has piloted the Fuel Flex kit on 25 of the county’s approximately 65 sheriff’s patrol cars and has been happy with how the kit-equipped cars perform, county Fleet Manager Mark Tolman said. Running E85-compatible vehicles enables Canyon County to save money when refueling, choose the type of fuel to run at a given time, and reduce emissions, he said. The county has installed a dispenser for ethanol blending.
About 50 of the county’s sheriff’s patrol cars now can run E85, as the newer vehicles came from the factory E85-ready. The Fuel Flex kits figure to increase the older cars’ trade-in value by enough to cover all but about $50 of each kit’s $400 price, Tolman said.
Fuel Flex – formed in late 2006 and owned by Gary Ackaret, Curtis Lacy and Conger – makes kits for engines with one to 12 cylinders. The kits are made in Nevada and Idaho. They cost $269 to $499.
