FridgeFreezer Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 It's not just the diseasal boys who can run on home-made fuel, you can run petrol vehicles on bio-ethanol, basically home-brew moonshine. I've not looked into it properly, but it seems that basically it's similar to running LPG - you need to adjust the timing, make sure the fuel system can handle it (ethanol has certain quirks compared to petrol) and get brewing A google for "E85" might turn up some useful links too. Anyone on here know any more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 I'm not convinced that the amount of energy needed to ferment and distil it would be viable - unless you built some kind of solar still I suppose? Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Do it the old fashioned way - a still over an open fire Can I come and watch the explosion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Use some of the distilate as heating fuel? Or would you need more ethanol/methanol than you could distill? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 The fuel here contains ethanol (made from sugar cane). I'm not sure of the percentage as the petrol companies keep quiet about it. When it was first introduced a lot of cars had problems with carburettor corrosion, rubber pipes melting etc. These problems now seem to be over. In Brazil I hear they run cars on 100% ethanol. Fuel consumption must be pretty bad as the specific heat of alcohol is low. Maybe it is cheaper at the pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 (edited) There is something a bit peculiar with this forum. When I posted the reply above, it came back with "e-mail error" so I resent it. That resulted in a double post. I don't seem to be able to delete this duplicate so I am editing it instead Edited September 13, 2005 by JimAttrill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 It is a great way of getting your post count up though eh Jim? A bit like me, posting carp for the sake of it... Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Some hopes! I was up to 2782 on the green forum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars L Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Over here (Sweden) ethanol pumps pops up at more and more petrol stations. The fuel that's being sold is called E85 - 85% booze and 15 % leadfree petrol. The latter to enable cold starts as alcohol doesn't vapourize enough. A mate has a carb Range Rover that's been on the stuff for some years now. And he has had some problems, be sure. But nowadays it seems to get on fine after fiddling with the metering needles in the carbs and timing trials. The energy content is a bit lower than petrol so the consumption goes up and the octane rating is higher so an earlier spark is possible to enhance performance. But since the price of E85 is way lower than for petrol, a bit lower MPG can be accepted. But - the lower price is because the stuff isn't heavily taxed as petrol is, so just wait until the government finds that a lot of people can drive cheaper than before. I have tried it in the Disco by mixing up to 40% E85 and 60% lead free. No difference at all in performance or starting. Still haven't checked if its economical MPG wise. However, there are some safety issues that have emerged lately. Ordinary petrol doesn't burn when there is too much vapour, only when approximately correct mixed with oxygen. So if a fire starts during fillup (by static etc) it will only burn at the filler neck and is rather easy to put out. Alcohol on the other hand, happily burns and more or less explodes in the tank. A quick runaway is recommended Edited to say that this fuel isn't here just for us DIY freaks, several new cars that automatically senses what fuel is in the tank are readily available, for instance Ford Focus that's being sold to a lot of communties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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