ethanol

the wife had mentioned that she wanted me to build a still to make ethanol for the vehicles. anyone have any experience running this stuff? i have a bunch of trucks and a car all fuel injected except one, what will i need to do to the cars and trucks to make them rum right on this crap.any help would be appreciated.

Are you blending it with the pump gas? There is talk in our area ( Syracuse NY) of turning a former Miller brewery into the largest ethanol plant on the East coast. From what I read they want to blend it with the gas to help reduce emissions in the state since the former additive they were using (MTBE) was found to cause health problems and pollution problems underground and in the water. I guess this is the next big thing the government is trying to do to reduce automotive emissions.

by law i have to blend some gas with it to make it toxit to humans.just wondering if any of you have used it in your own vehicles and what you had to do to your trucks, i may just run it streight tho, lower cost for me. we have a farm up here and it wouldn't be that big a deal to make it for my own use, do need a permit tho. its got to be cheaper than gas at the current price and rate its going up. as far as mixing it goes i think that will depend on the amount of changes requirered, between streight and mixed.

My understanding is that ethanol is similar to alcohol used in race cars. The air to fuel ratio needs to be closer to 7 to 1 not the 14 to 1 needed for gasoline. This means you would need to re jet your carbs (or calibrate your injection system) to make it run right. Not to mention double your fuel tank size or fill up twice as often. I am very curious to hear how this turns out.

My understanding is that ethanol is similar to alcohol used in race cars. The air to fuel ratio needs to be closer to 7 to 1 not the 14 to 1 needed for gasoline. This means you would need to re jet your carbs (or calibrate your injection system) to make it run right. Not to mention double your fuel tank size or fill up twice as often. I am very curious to hear how this turns out.
from what i have read on several places on the net, Gov. and General motors. if you own certain vehicles, 2000 and up they are allready for ethanol anywhere from 10-90 to 85-15%, just read your owners manuals and they will tell you if you have one of these, and with the new fuel injection systems that are set up for this they automaticly recalibrate themsevles by the o2 sensor readings. now the older ones that are not ready for more than 10-90% thats 10% ethanol to 90% gas, you may need to change o rings, and a chip in computer.

Ive heard you would have to clean your tank real good and go to a different fuel filter and make minor adjustments to the fuel delivery system

I don't really recommend doing this, it wouldn't really be cost-effective because it would cost you more than you would be saving.

Straight ethanol would require an A/F ratio of somewhere around 9.0:1 (that is the best ratio for a combination of decent power and mpg; go richer for more power and leaner for better efficiency), so with around a 85/15 mix of ethanol/unleaded you would want to go a little higher (more lean). You will get slightly more power out of alcohol and slightly decreased mpg.

You would most likely need to replace all of your fuel system components with alcohol compatible materials; this means o-rings, seals, lines, etc. Certain metals can be corroded by alcohol so they would need to be replaced, many rubber and plastic parts as well. You would need a new filler neck to your gas tank, and the tank would have to be lined with an alcohol compatible material. You would need an alcohol compatible filter and pump. You may even need a fuel sensor that detects the types of fuel and how much of each type so that it can calibrate to the correct A/F ratio. Of course, this may require a new PCM or if you are lucky just to reprogram the one you have. I think I covered everthing but could be forgetting a few things, hope that was helpful.

Well, I definatly wouldn't rule out doing this project all together, but it is a bit of a chore getting it all to work properly. I have found several awesome resources on the subject one of which being http://journeytoforever.org/ethanol.html
this site is great for all the tree huggers out there :)
as for government regulations and the like
http://www.ethanol-gec.org
http://www.ethanolrfa.org
those should definatly give you something to read for a while.
good luck
john

custom cars (http://www.mydreamwheels.com) are supposed to have bigger engines than stereos, but maybe i'm old fashioned.

you need to pick up a copy of popular mechanics. thay did a very good story on e85.
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You can legally make fuel alcohol in the privacy of your own home. Many people are doing just that, and running their vehicles on clean-burning alcohol instead of expensive gasoline.
To learn how to make your own fuel!

http://www.ethanolstill.com/

www.e85fuel.com/pdf/ethanol_guidebook.pdf

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/auto_technology/2690341.htm

Alcohol is a corrosive solvent. Anything exposed to ethanol must be made of corrosion-resistant (and expensive) stainless steel or plastic--from fuel-injection components to the tanks, pumps and hoses that dispense E85, as well as the tankers that deliver it.

Growing corn is an intensive process that requires pesticides, fertilizer, heavy equipment and transport. When considering the viability of ethanol, the total impact of all that activity needs to be taken into accountl

I agree with gremlin. Ethanol is a great idea, but nobody knows how much it really costs to make because of all of the farm subsidy programs. If it gets real popular, that's going to take a lot of corn. My first though was, what is this going to do to meat prices (hogs and cows have a largely corn and soybean diet). But I recently found out that they are working on making ethanol out of other things like prarie grass, yard waste, etc. Also, I just found out that the corn is still usable as a feed after the ethanol is made. Pretty much the process just takes out the carbohydrates and leaves the protein intact. Sounds like there is potential, but we have a long way to go to make it viable large scale.

i do know for a large plant it takes 3 10k water wells, and a 22 inch gas main. I have a large plant just outside of town. with the rail line and all the trucks going in the highway is a mess.

i did talk with a pilot during the proabision days. he said thay would find stills in the air by the smell and smoke.

My father-in-law is a VP of an ethanol plant, so I hear alot about it.

bottom line is today it costs $1.20 to make a gallon of ethanol, naysayers be damned. They're selling it for up to $3.00 gallon. Making a FORTUNE.

Ethanol is NOT economical today for the average E85 buyer. Problem is demand for ethanol is sky high for a replacement of MTBE as an oxygenate. When the jillions of gallons of new production comes on line the price should drop back to around $2.00 or less.

Then if we can keep the gas stations from bending us over we should be able to buy E85 much less than gasoline - needed due to the loss of MPG.

I own an E85 capable Tahoe but its never had any in it.

By the way, after the ethanol is flashed off, the "corn mash" is sold to be fed to cattle and hogs.

My father-in-law is a VP of an ethanol plant, so I hear alot about it.

bottom line is today it costs $1.20 to make a gallon of ethanol, naysayers be damned. They're selling it for up to $3.00 gallon. Making a FORTUNE.

Ethanol is NOT economical today for the average E85 buyer. Problem is demand for ethanol is sky high for a replacement of MTBE as an oxygenate. When the jillions of gallons of new production comes on line the price should drop back to around $2.00 or less.

Then if we can keep the gas stations from bending us over we should be able to buy E85 much less than gasoline - needed due to the loss of MPG.

I own an E85 capable Tahoe but its never had any in it.

By the way, after the ethanol is flashed off, the "corn mash" is sold to be fed to cattle and hogs.


And guess who is going to be eating them pork and hamburgers.
May be where them farm boys get that old gone plumb HOG WILD saying.
I am from missiouri and a lot of the plants being built around here.
You will see a lot of it in the future.
I just hope they keep the price down on it.
MT