Anyone know what kind of alchohol you're supposed to run with blowerworks gaseous intercooling, methyl hydrate, isopropanol? or will anything do?

 

Methanol or ethanol will both work. I have a 10 gal jug that I fill with MeOH at the local speed shop and blend from that jug to my 1 gal refill jug that I keep in the garage.

Methyl hydrate, methanol, and methyl alcohol are all the same. Isopropanol is another alcohol in the propyl alcohol family, but has a higher octane value due to it's branching vs straight chained propanol.

Sometimes I do actually get to use the old Chem E degree...
Aaron

 

I was using 50 /50 Quick cool from GM with distilled water, then switched to boost juice from Snow...

MO

 

AKS, just so I'm clear, is MeOH the same as the alchohol race fuel?

Will Isopropanol work? just cause i have a bunch of it.

Are there certain types of alchohol to stay away from?

In my last application I was using windsheild washer fluid so I'm just wondering what's going to be readily available and cost effective to use

Mo, any particular reason why you like boost juice?

 

It was pre-mixed and the price by the time you buy the Qwik -Kleen and the distilled water it was significantly easier.

Mo

 

I've been using "Denatured alcohol" from home depot.

 

50% denatured alcohol (home depot) 50% distilled water

 

I use denatured alcohal..... paint thinner

 

ive been unable to find denatured so im using methanol and distilled until i can secure a source

 

Let's be clear on this topic: "denatured" alcohol is nothing more than any of the many alcohols (meaning OH or hydroxyl compound added to a hydrocarbon string) with some form of bittering agent added to prevent it from being injested. The typical person would not drink the denatured alcohol, but by adding the denaturant (or bittering agent) it ensures that the excise tax is not required (which would greatly increase the alcohol cost).

Some rules of thumb for those experimenting with other alcohols:
1) as the hydrocarbon chain increases in length, the water solubility decreases (water affinity). This means that if you leave the "jug" of MeOH (CH3OH) sitting open in the garage, after some time (humidity dependent), the mass will increase significantly near the point of saturation. The higher alcohols from C1 - C5 (ethanol - C2H5OH, propanol, IPA, butanol, isobutanol, sec butyl alcohol, amyl alcohol, etc) will not exhibit as much water adsorption as the HC chain increases. This is why ethanol is unable to be shipped in the public pipelines to distribution as the potential for water adsorption and cross contamination in the public gas pool is very high.

2) as a general rule of thumb, as the hydrocarbon chain becomes more branched in the various alcohols, the octane value increases. This means that isobutanol (iC4OH) would have a higher octane value than straight chained butanol (C4H9OH).

Ahhh... another brief moment where I am able to use my old ChE degree.

Methanol and distilled water is fine for the xxOH injection kit.
Aaron

 

lowes down here sells ( methyl ethyl ketone ) does anyone know what that stuff is and can it be used?

 

MEK is a great cleaning solvent. It was used for years by the military as a solvent but has since been banned due to potential to human exposure. MEK (along with so many other HCs) are use as blend agents in gasoline.

It does not have the same level of LHV nor the octane benefits as the hydroxyl compounds, so it would not serve the same function as the alcohol.

Just buy some methanol, ethanol, propanal or even IPA and blend with distilled water and be done with it.
Aaron

 

IMO, don't use isopropanol. It deteriorates some plastics over time.