Alcohol (FUEL)
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 797
Likes: 0
From: Bedford Ma.
Originally Posted by JoBy
They add 5% or 10% ethanol and that 'should' be safe for any vehicle.
Ethanol is not at all as corrosive as Methanol.
Ethanol is the stuff you drink on weekends.
Ethanol is not at all as corrosive as Methanol.
Ethanol is the stuff you drink on weekends.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,149
Likes: 303
From: Timra, Sweden
______________________________________ Methanol___ Ethanol___ Unleaded Gasoline
RON___________________________________ 106________ 107_______ 92 - 98
MON___________________________________ 92_________ 89________ 80 - 90
Heat of Vaporisation _____ (MJ/kg)____ 1.154______ 0.913_____ 0.3044
Nett Heating Value _______ (MJ/kg)____ 19.95______ 26.68_____ 42 - 44
Vapour Pressure @ 38C ____ (kPa)______ 31.9_______ 16.0______ 48 - 108
Flame Temperature ________ ( C )______ 1870_______ 1920______ 2030
Stoich. Flame Speed_______ ( m/s )____ 0.43_______ 0.42______ 0.34
Minimum Ignition Energy __ ( mJ )_____ 0.14_______ -_________ 0.29
Lower Flammable Limit ____ ( vol% )___ 6.7________ 3.3_______ 1.3
Upper Flammable Limit ____ ( vol% )___ 360________ 19.0______ 7.1
Autoignition Temperature _ ( C )______ 460________ 360_______ 260 - 460
Flash Point ______________ ( C )______ 11_________ 13________ -43 - -39
Last edited by JoBy; Jun 2, 2006 at 10:09 AM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 386
Likes: 0
From: Ludlow Ma
A south American country has converted all (?) vehicles to run on Ethanol. Dinosaur fuel had them gasping for air in cities. It was done wiithin 3 years. I think it was Brazil. Anyway, does anyone really know how much Ethanol effects the rubber components of a fuel system??
JoBy, how much is gasoline per gallon in Sweden? Is Ethanol used at all?
JoBy, how much is gasoline per gallon in Sweden? Is Ethanol used at all?
Last edited by JIMBO7; Jun 3, 2006 at 06:15 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,149
Likes: 303
From: Timra, Sweden
In Brazil they started using ethanol as a vehicle fuel in the 1970s. Brazil remains both the dominant producer and consumer of ethanol fuels. Today about 70% of new cars sold in Brazil are flex vehicles.
In Sweden ethanol usage is increasing fast. A lot of older cars are also beeing converted even if it is not legal to do so. There are two resons for converting.
1) More power. On a turbo engine you can up the boost if you run E85. The new flex fuel SAAB is rated at 150 hp using gas and 180 hp using E85.
2) Economy. Gas is expensive in Sweden. I just checked the prices. Premium is $6.65 a gallon and E85 is only $4.20 a gallon, 37% less. Even if mileage decreases with 20% you still save a lot here.
Combine those two and do the math ...
If you start playing with this then you must be aware that there are risks. The components incontact with the fuel was not designed to be ethanol safe. You risk early failure of fuel pump, injectors, regulator and hoses. They will probably last for years but you never know. If they fail then it might still not be because the ethanol. These cars are getting older now.
In Sweden ethanol usage is increasing fast. A lot of older cars are also beeing converted even if it is not legal to do so. There are two resons for converting.
1) More power. On a turbo engine you can up the boost if you run E85. The new flex fuel SAAB is rated at 150 hp using gas and 180 hp using E85.
2) Economy. Gas is expensive in Sweden. I just checked the prices. Premium is $6.65 a gallon and E85 is only $4.20 a gallon, 37% less. Even if mileage decreases with 20% you still save a lot here.
Combine those two and do the math ...
If you start playing with this then you must be aware that there are risks. The components incontact with the fuel was not designed to be ethanol safe. You risk early failure of fuel pump, injectors, regulator and hoses. They will probably last for years but you never know. If they fail then it might still not be because the ethanol. These cars are getting older now.
Last edited by JoBy; Jun 3, 2006 at 08:23 PM.
