Has anyone tried running and or making ethanol? Stills are available on e-bay and other cyber space sources. Can my weeds and grass clippings produce much ethanol? It takes close to twice as much ethanol to get the same btu's as gasoline. But, couldn't a smaller displacement engine be built with high compression to make some serious HP and somewhat make up the larger fuel consumption? Saw a Harley Sportster once on the street running alcohol and it was trick! Saw some fuel stations around Ill that sold ethanol but not here in Ca. Wouldn't it make some sense to make limited use vehicles we are interested in to burn ethanol? Your thoughts or experiences - for some you may like the book my bro in law just wrote - check out, www.fortycars.com
theres a thread on this somewhere if you can find it.. http://home.earthlink.net/~arkansasbiofuels/id21.html i keep this link around just in case i get the notion once again, it has some forms and stuff needed to produce your own if needed, although i wouldnt buy there stills since one can be made for about $50 but the site has some good stuff on it...
One thing about alcohol, is you can't just leave it in the tank after the day is done. You need to design the tank so you can empty it all. Otherwise you will find a bunch of water in the tank by morning. There's a lot of neat stuff about alcohol, but there's also a lot of pain in the ass. Lawn clipping might not work well, but there is some new design yeasts that will not only process corn mash, but also the corn stalks. You want a farm product that ferments fast. Corn, Beets, and sugar cane being the top crops.
It would seem rodders back east (USA) could easily run a still with all the wood laying around. Every year I clean up 10 acres in Mich and burn wood from the property for days (on the sly in a barrel). I keep thinking all this generated heat could be brewing ethanol. I have seen sites in cyber space explaning the brewing process - isn't there a HAMBer out there running a cool ride on this stuff?? Isn't it ok to get S America to make a plentiful supply from sugar cane- lets deal with some allies in S America (generate some jobs there) verses getting oil from people in an Arab country that want to kill us. We could then subsidise purchased ethanol with home brew.
How do the late model vehicles(new Chevs and Fords) that advertise running ethanol keep from draining the tanks daily?
The only thing I've found so far that makes enough alcohol cheaply is distilling molasses. The problem is the quantity. You can buy a ton of molasses cheap, and you water it down on a 2 to 1 ratio, giving you 4000lbs of material. I think that makes about 500 gallons of rum. High proof rum. The only reason I don't do this is the logistics. No55mad, those are flex fuel vehicles and they can run on E85, which of course is 15% gas and 85% alcohol.
They really are designed to run 15% gasoline 85% alcohol mix max. Not pure alcohol. The gasoline is able to compensate for the water. It's the best way to go. For my truck I installed one of those aircraft drains in the bottom of the tank. Since the water is heavier, you can drain the tank until the water goes away and you get fuel. It's not much daily, about a small glass like what you use to drink your orange juice in the morning.
what you need to do is to do a search and read the many threads already on here about ehtanol and e85. as for recardo's misinformation, well it's just that misinformation. There are quite a few threads about it on here as well as elsewhere on the net. You are better off with e85 since it makes it easier to start, a pure alcohol motor can be a pain to start.
Most of the gas stations around here have some kind of sticker on em advertising ethanol something or other and it makes my dads 91 ford with a 460 get horrible mileage
In Houston that would probably not be E85, as that is mostly up north in the farm states. If I had a 460, gas mileage would not even be one of my interests. That engine is designed to kill dinosaurs by the hour. If you do run ethanol for the first time after years of gas, at 15% or more, you probably want to change the fuel filter after just a short time, as the ethanol is a very good cleaner.
There are a few ethanol/e85 threads on here... Ethanol...Whaddya Know? Alternative Fules? Fuel for $1.50-E85 anybody? how do you feel about Ethanol? E85, Ethanol Conversion Alternative Fuels for our Vintage Cars? E-85 ethanol for fuel? E85 powered 1957 Cadillac El Dorado Biarritz! School me on Alcohol fuels.... Ethanol...how brazil gave the stink eye to OPEC Cellulosic Ethanol: Like making bootleg whiskey...(the US giving OPEC the bird??) 10% Ethanol at the pump???? OT: E85 conversion kits Anyone running E85 in their hot rod or race motor??? Ethanol E85, for us? Whats the deal with Ethanol E-85 Update.... ethanol for old cars anybody run E-85 in their rod?
Well, I'm planning to manufacture some ethanol soon, but it's for self fueling needs and I want to soak some cherries. As to using 100% or E85 in passenger cars, nobody is doing that back here yet. . But we have a Limited Sprint Car oval track division running it rather than methanol. Other than completely cleaning the fuel system after every weekend of racing with gasoline, ethanol seems to work great in this app. Jan
It should be mentioned that in the USA it is both a federal crime and a state crime (all 50) to distill even one drop of ethanol without the proper permits (tough to get). This isn't something to take too lightly, illicit distillers are busted every day and the penalties are punitive. (everything from asset forfeiture to spending time in a PITA prison). Regardless of your intended purpose, ethanol is booze and that's exactly how the law sees it. Simply owning a usable alcohol still is a crime....not trying to be an alarmist, but having been in the (booze production) industry, I know just how hard they come down on folks doing this at home... AFAIK, New Zealand is one of very few countries that allow home distilling. Be safe.
Trying what I can right now, broke my back a while ago and experimenting on pain relief with my local Doc. Oxycontin 60mg was fun but all I could do was lay there and dribble on myself.
I saw a road test of a flex fuel Tahoe. they did 0-60 times and gas mileage on gas and then E85. 0-60 actually improved with E85, which sort of shocked me. I didn't think you'd be able to make more power than gas until you had higher compression. But of course gas mileage dropped. E85 is harder to tune on that gas, it has a narrower acceptable air/fuel sweet spot than gas does. And the stuff from the pumps smells like cheap tequila. I think in one of those posts that zman linked to I've posted a ethanol materials compatability chart. Its corrosive to alot of stuff, aluminum included.
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