Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 17:11:10 -0800
Reply-To: Mike Miller <mwmiller@CWNET.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike Miller <mwmiller@CWNET.COM>
Subject: Re: My Bucko update
In-Reply-To: <3E0103CA.8BA7F14E@adelphia.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Good to know. I wonder how much alcohol Swepco 503 can absorb and mix and
burn.
Mike
On 12/18/02 3:24 PM, "Marc Perdue" <marcperdue@ADELPHIA.NET> wrote:
> No, it doesn't, at least, after a point. Ethanol (I don't know about
> methanol)
> has to be OVER 190 proof to mix with gasoline thoroughly. The companies that
> blend gasoline require 200 proof ethanol from the companies that "dry" the
> ethanol. I know because I use to run an ethanol plant. You would normally
> get a
> very small amount of moisture absorbed from the air between the time the
> ethanol
> is dried, stored, transported, and mixed.
>
> There has to be less than 5 percent water in the ethanol for a
> gas/ethanol/detergent mixture to be stable. They usually don't put more than
> 10
> percent ethanol in any given volume of gasoline, therefore the amount of water
> in
> a 90/10 gasoline/ethanol mix can be no higher than one half of one percent of
> the
> total volume. This is not usually difficult to maintain, but gas stations
> that
> have poorly sealed tanks, have fill openings out in the open in rainy areas,
> or
> low-volume dealers that have gas sitting in their tanks for a long time can
> get
> sufficient water in their tanks to cause problems. One gas station in
> Charlottesville, VA, was at the bottom of a hill and whenever it rained, their
> gas was pretty much worthless. Up to the point where I figured that out, I
> had
> always bought my gas there because they were one of the few gas stations that
> proudly stated that they used ethanol and they had the cheapest gas in town.
>
> Gas stations now tend not to advertise the fact that they use ethanol because
> there were lots of rumours, none true, that gasohol caused the seals in your
> carburetor to deteriorate. However, almost any gasoline that has detergents
> in
> it (most of them) has ethanol or methanol in it because the detergent will not
> mix with the gasoline alone.
>
> I hope this helps clear up some of the issues regarding alcohol, water and
> gasoline,
> Marc Perdue
>
> Mike Miller wrote:
>
>> Mixes right in and burns OK.
>>
>> AFAIK.
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> On 12/18/02 8:46 AM, "Dana Morphew" <kadm@PUGETSOUND.NET> wrote:
>>
>>>> The Arco gas may have "cleaned out" all the built up water in his tank?
>>>> Alcohols will suck up a lot of water.
>>>>
>>>> Jay
>>>
>>>
>>> After the alcohol combines with the water, does that compound mix throughly
>>> with the
>>> gasoline in the tank?
>>>
>>> Dana
>>>
>
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