Ethanol effects

[motoman]

The reading talked about ethanol already mixed in gas accepting a certain amount of water which would remain mixed (the 3 of them) up to the point of a "phase shift" at which point some ethanol fell out of ?solution? and existed along side ethanol gas with water in water form. The article did find idling irregularities due to the water.

Regarding tank storage. I don't know if the underground tanks are moisture proof or if the turnovers are enough to avoid taking on moisture. Also if the tanks are turned over quickly maybe evaporation can not take place. A fuller tank gives less room for evaporation.

Prior to this topic I only avoided gas stations where tankers were filling them because of stirred up dirt which I read can plug a car filter with one fill. I forgot to mention a site selling a gas station filter for about $35 which can be used to determine water % before filling. Chance may have told us about this one,

 

[motoman]

isn't it the evaporation that causes the problems in the carburetors? leaving the nasty deposits behind to do their damage?

I hear ya...but the article stressed scouring of existing deposits. I know that alcohol is a great cleaner with a rag. The other point made was that ethanol is a kind of electrolyte which helps one kind of material to be "robbed" (like ?aluminum?) and deposited elsewhere ( ? like brass ? or casting alloy?) Think anode in hot water tank. This is the process used in plating chrome bumpers etc. And what goes on inside a lead acid battery, except we reverse the deposits with charging. We can't reverse the process in carbs (I guess) , only select best materials.

 

[jakewells]

i never have problems of water in my fuel i use one of these when i fill my mowers and other equipment
2.5 GPM Fuel Filter Funnel - 3950482 | Tractor Supply Company

 

[chance123]

Someone PM'd me but I accidently deleted it. That fuel test kit is $8.00. Resend your PM.

 

[motoman]

OH, and just to keep this discussion going.. ethanol is an octane booster so (in this thread) it's true the higher octane gas has more (or different ) ethanol. The dragsters develop 2000 hp with a close relative (nitro), I think.

Also water is not always the bad guy . Doesn't your car feel strong on cold damp days? The Corvair Spyder (4 cyl) air cooled turbocharged loved injection of alcohol and water to tame detonation. The new direct injection car engines develop their extra ?25%? HP through more advance, higher comp and COOLER intake charge. So what? So nuthin...just fun. :laughing:

 

[Carscw]

OH, and just to keep this discussion going.. ethanol is an octane booster so (in this thread) it's true the higher octane gas has more (or different ) ethanol. The dragsters develop 2000 hp with a close relative (nitro), I think.

Also water is not always the bad guy . Doesn't your car feel strong on cold damp days? The Corvair Spyder (4 cyl) air cooled turbocharged loved injection of alcohol and water to tame detonation. The new direct injection car engines develop their extra ?25%? HP through more advance, higher comp and COOLER intake charge. So what? So nuthin...just fun. :laughing:

Your car feels strong on cold days because the gas is cold. A old drag racing trick was to coil the fuel line in a bucket and cover it with ice.

Sent from my iPhone using LMF

 

[chance123]

OH, and just to keep this discussion going.. ethanol is an octane booster so (in this thread) it's true the higher octane gas has more (or different ) ethanol. The dragsters develop 2000 hp with a close relative (nitro), I think.

Also water is not always the bad guy . Doesn't your car feel strong on cold damp days? The Corvair Spyder (4 cyl) air cooled turbocharged loved injection of alcohol and water to tame detonation. The new direct injection car engines develop their extra ?25%? HP through more advance, higher comp and COOLER intake charge. So what? So nuthin...just fun. :laughing:

Yes Indy cars run on it too. When they rarely catch fire, you can hardly see the flame and no smoke because of the "clean" burn of that fuel. I "think" what happens when water is injected into an engine is the water instantly expands as it turns into steam therefore creating higher compression. I used to take a spray bottle and spray water into an old 2 stroke motorcycle air intake to remove the carbon.