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The Manual for the Home and Farm Production of Alcohol Fuel
Ten Speed Press ^ | 1980 | S.W. Mathewson

Posted on 02/10/2006 6:45:56 AM PST by T Ruth

There is nothing new in the use of alcohol as a motor fuel. In 1872, when Nikolaus Otto invented the internal combustion engine, gasoline was not available. Ethyl alcohol at 180-190 proof was the specified fuel.

* * *

[A]lcohols have a relatively high anti-knock or octane rating [and] have the ability to raise considerably the octane ratings of gasolines with which they are mixed. . . . The ability to increase octane rating means that: (1) a lower (therefore cheaper) grade of gasoline can be used to obtain a fuel with a certain octane rating; and (2) the use of traditional pollution producing anti-knock additives such as tetraethyl lead can be eliminated. . . .

WATER INJECTION

During World War II, the military made extensive use of water injection in high performance piston aircraft engines. . . . Even today, water injection systems are available that can be installed in automobiles. . . . [T]he latent heat of vaporization for gasoline is about 140 Btu/lb and for ethanol about 361 Btu/lb. Water has a latent heat of about 700 Btu/lb! Therefore, if a little water is injected into the carburetor in the form of an ultra-fine mist, the latent heat of the water will cool the charge and increase volumetric efficiency. . . . There are definite limits, however, to the amount of water that can be injected. Too much will cause excessive cooling and misfiring.

The use of water injection with a gasoline fueled engine requires a separate metering and injection system because water and gasoline do not mix. Ethanol and water, however, do mix and the benefits of water injection can be had simply by adding the desired amount of water to the alcohol in the fuel tank.

(Excerpt) Read more at journeytoforever.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alcohol; energy; energydependency; ethanol; gasohol; gasoline; methanol; oil
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To: -YYZ-
You make a good point.

See post #3.

Also, in the work cited, Mr. Matheson addresses this point too:

In addition to the carburetor jets, there is also the problem of cold starting. As mentioned earlier, alcohol has a higher latent heat of vaporization than gasoline and requires more manifold heat to keep the mixture in the vapor state. With most engines there will be no problem that can't be solved by installing a higher temperature thermostat since the engine runs fine as soon as it is warmed up. However, the engine will be difficult to start, especially in cold weather. The easiest solution to this problem is simply to start the engine on gasoline and, after it has warmed up, switch to alcohol. To accomplish this, merely install a small gasoline tank located, perhaps, under the hood and a selector valve mounted in some convenient location near the driver.

21 posted on 02/10/2006 9:12:56 AM PST by T Ruth (Islam shall be defeated.)
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To: bert
I remember when farmers were encouraged to grow hemp to support the war. Along came the DEA and found out that some people smoked hemp so now you can go to jail for growing hemp.

I can see the BATF requiring a permit and three day waiting period for filling your tank. Then they will decide that they can't control it and we will see corn growing outlawed.

Don't look to government for solutions and don't let government create problems where there are none.

22 posted on 02/10/2006 9:21:09 AM PST by FreePaul
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To: XR7

My father described a system he had in a car sometime around the mid nineteen twenties. It had a water reservoir with a large wick similar to an oil lamp which was in the air intake stream. He said that you could tell when the water ran out because the car didn't run as well. I made something to use on a car in the nineteen fifties but couldn't tell the difference in performance. Maybe my device wasn't up to the job. Or maybe the humidity in Houston is so high that additional moisture didn't have any effect.


23 posted on 02/10/2006 9:29:56 AM PST by FreePaul
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To: T Ruth

Yes, starting on gasoline is probably the smart way to go. I also wonder whether carbureted alcohol-powered cars might be particularly prone to carb icing, due to the high heat of vaporization of alcohol. I know that in England where it is often damp and many people ride year-round, or nearly so, bikes that were prone to carb icing were equipped equipped with engine-coolant based carb heaters. Of course, with fuel injection as pretty much all modern vehicles have this shouldn't be a problem.


24 posted on 02/10/2006 10:19:11 AM PST by -YYZ-
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To: T Ruth

I know this is off the subject, but if you want to see water injection at a higher level, watch videos from old B-52 launches. "D" (Tall tails) and "G" used water injection. I have been told by an old crew dog that flew then that the Runways at Anderson AFD Guam, during Linebacker operations in 1972 looked like it had been raining just to get the BUFFs airborne.

Again, off the subject, but it show that it is used (water injection) and has been used for years.


25 posted on 02/11/2006 2:46:32 AM PST by truemiester (If the U.S. should fail, a veil of darkness will come over the Earth for a thousand years)
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To: -YYZ-
Also the cold starting problem could be fixed with glow plugs or gasoline injection from a liter tank.

Another thing I haven't seen discussed yet is the fact that in order to mix ethanol and gas, the ethanol must be anhydrous or "dry". To get ethanol, it can be made very cheaply if you intend to use only ethanol with no gas in the tank. To get the last 1%-5% water from the ethanol is very expensive, but you have to or the water will separate from the ethanol and sit in the tank as contamination. A car will easily run on 180 proof( 90%) ethanol. As long as we want E85 or E10, we must use 100% ethanol to mix with the gas which runs up the price. A few years back, I made my own ethanol for fuel for about 25 cents a gallon. I'm sure today's price would be under 50 cents.

26 posted on 02/16/2006 1:33:04 AM PST by chuckles
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To: FreePaul
....."three day waiting period for filling your tank".....

You have stumbled on the real reason we don't( and will never) use ethanol for fuel. It's not because it won't work, or we can't grow enough, or it's too expensive, or it takes more energy to make, etc. Those are all red herrings. It's because the government is afraid you will grow your own and take a slug without paying the over $40 a 100 proof gallon. That would be almost $100 a gallon tax they would be missing. Even if you poison it with something to make it undrinkable, then you could drive down the road without paying the 40 cent a gallon road tax. The oil companies, of course don't want it, but when you have the oil companies AND the government against you, how will you ever change to alternative fuels?

Brazil is doing it today. I have been studying this for 35 years, since Carter. It works. I have considered every complaint against ethanol there is, and they are all bogus and easily remedied. Every argument against it uses outdated or bogus numbers to convince people it can't be done. Hitler ran his whole war machine on fuel made from coal. We have 200 years of coal left in this country. Forget corn, rice or potatoes, we now have the enzymes available to make ethanol from cellulose. That would be pine needles, grass, sawdust, you name it.

All we need is the commitment to do this and we could start tomorrow. If we can't even drill in ANWAR, however, the price isn't high enough, and we will end up in nuclear war trying to keep the status quo. Think about a Bill O'Riely America. No RV's, no dually trucks, no SUV's, no boating, no horse trailers, no vacations, nothing but your moped or bike to get around on. America would cease to be America.

Hydrogen is 15 years from now if ever. Think Hindenburg. People don't even want propane on the road now. The only alternative we have right now, with no pie in the sky promises, is ethanol.

27 posted on 02/16/2006 1:59:18 AM PST by chuckles
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