On May 21, 4:36 am, Rick Courtright <rcourtri... DeleteThis @iname.com> wrote:
....
> Not to belittle your efforts and whatever interesting results may come
> from them, but I haven't seen anything that really convinces me you've
> improved upon your previous lot in life. How 'bout some numbers?
>
> Rick
Rick, I don't have all those numbers. I, like you, approach these
matters with a "show me" attitude. Even if I had the numbers, you
should not be persuaded by them. It is characteristic of this
wonderful medium we are using that you shouldn't trust anybody. You
have no way of knowing that I am not a teen-aged boy making all this
up for the pleasure of fooling you.
Actually, I am very old, a retired physics professor who is worried
about the world my grandchildren will live in. We are not running out
of oil, but we are running out of cheap oil. When gasoline goes to
$15 per gallon, we won't be driving around very much unless we have an
alternative to gasoline. You won't be getting food at your supermarket
trucked all the way across the country. You may have to move out into
the coutryside to live near a farmer who will sell you part of his
crop. Our world is going to change drastically. The population of
the US and the world is likely to shrink.
So that is why I am interested in the potential of biofuels to
mitigate the disaster that awaits us. I cannot persuade you to use
ethanol. I am not that powerful. What I can do is to point you to
sources you may trust slightly that will make you willing to try some
things for yourself. You will be the best witness to their truth.
First, google "ethanol Brazil" and read their 30-year history.
Brazil is requiring gas stations to provide ethanol/gasoline at 24%
concentration even for unmodified cars. There are many flex-fuel cars
there that can burn E85. Brazil produces ethanol from sugar cane at
about 83 cents per gallon. (We could too, someday.) Sugar cane is a
much better feedstock than corn.
Next, google "E85 Albany NY". You will see a list of gas stations in
the state that sell E85. Notice that there are several sources that
an ordinary person cannot buy from; "no public access". That is
because the state of NY has fleets of vehicles that run on E85 and
they use these depots to keep them running.
Then look online for the acronym NYSERDA, which stands for NYS Energy
Research and Development Agency, and you will find, if you look hard
enough, that NYS will subsidize you, the gas station owner, with many
thousands of dollars to install an E85 pump.
I understand that Minnesota has gone much farther than NY to push for
ethanol use, but NY is where I live and what I know more about.
There are some states that have no E85 stations. If your state has
none, you may not be able to do the experiment I am going to
describe. It is what I did. I'm glad I did.
If your car is no longer under warranty, you may be bold enough to try
putting a little E85 into its tank. My experiment found that a
concentration of 40% (E40) is too much; my check-engine light came
on after 70 miles. I wasn't worried, because I had seen on YouTube a
breakdown (by a college lab) of an engine that had run 102,000 miles
on straight E85 without any conversion attempt, and it was fine.
(Alcohol burns cooler than gasoline, so the threat of engine burnout
because of fuel leanness was reduced.)
I just added a few gallons of E10 to reduce the concentration to E29.
Within a few miles, the light went out.
You don't have to do this with a full tank, as I did. If you are more
cautious, you can try with a smaller amount, as long as you can
estimate how much gasoline is in your tank when you add the E85.
I was surprised at how peppy my car seemed to be. It is an old car --
1999 Outback -- but it seemed to be young again and eager to run. I
wish I had measured its 0-60 time before, but it was too late. Maybe
somone else has a 1999 OB with 150,000 miles on it, well maintained,
and will do this measwurement. Otherwise, I'll do it some day. It is
not trivial to change fuels, because you always have some of the old
fuel left in the tank diluting what you put in.
I didn't expect the improvement in performance, or I would have made
the "before" measurements.
Since then I have learned (and you can verify online) that E85 has an
octane rating of 104 -- a fuel with higher octane than premium but
costing less than regular. If you search around a bit, you will find
other people who report an improvement in performance. In fact, 100%
methanol is a racing fuel. But even in my old car, the ECU is smart
enough to advance the timing a lot so as to take advantage of the
higher octane.
You will get lower mpg's, but if the price of E85 is like what I am
paying -- 25% less than regular -- you will likely be getting more
miles per dollar. We are still in the early days of E85.
Now I have converted my car to flex-fuel with a little box that
streches the pulse to the fuel injectors. I am up to E60 now, and the
next fill will take me close enough to call it E85. (See
Change2E85.com. Their converter is now EPA approved, they say. Their
customer service is excellent.) The conversion is reversible, so if I
buy a new car, I will move the converter to it.
This post is long enough now. If you are as motivated as I am to
solve the liquid fuel problem we are facing, you will take a chance,
try my experiment, and draw your own conclusions. You are your best
persuader.
Uncle Ben
>> Stay informed about: Ethanol conversion? 
FAQ
Search
Profile
Private Messages
Log in
