Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 12:53:11 -0400
Reply-To: Howard.Allen@FAIRCHILDSEMI.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Howard Allen <Howard.Allen@FAIRCHILDSEMI.COM>
Subject: Re: acetone again, anyone using?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
I have tried it in my wife's minivan but just once. I am currently trying
it in my 4 Cyl air-cooled Honda MC. However, I have decided to run a two
month evaluation of the stuff in my K car with 2.2 L fuel injected engine
because this is the closest I can get to my Vanagon which I don't want to
use for the evaluation.
My plan is to run a controlled experiment taking data on several
concentrations which will themselves be controlled through mixing the
acetone with 5 gallon batches of fuel from the same gas station. I will
then graph the results to see if the concentrations I chose follow the
curves that the website has. I already have baseline data on the car and
since it is my daily commuter the route and distances will be relatively
similar. Also I am the only driver and am fairly consistent. The
uncontrollable factors will be weather ( it is getting colder as we head
into fall here in Maine) and the fuel formulation as they switch over to
winter fuel (worse gas mileage). I will maintain recommended tire
pressure and the car is in good tune so I should not have to change
anything there.
After running the evaluations and selecting the optimum ratio I shall run
a two week confirmation run followed by a two week control (no acetone).
I am assuming that there will be no damage to the fuel components or
engine components since acetone is a component of fuel injector and carb
cleaners. The relative ratio of acetone is so small that the percentage
in the gas should be negligible anyways, nevertheless I have placed some
of the same NAPA high pressure fuel line into some of the mixed gas in a
can and will soak for the entire month. I also have spare throttle bodies
sitting around so I will liberate some of the critical O rings and throw
them into the mix as well.
Unfortunately the component testing mentioned above will not likely
translate to Vanagon specific items since I don't have any spare Vanagon
parts. Anecdotally though, there is little likelihood of collateral
damage, based on the articles on the websites that were recently
circulate.
At this point I am a little skeptical that much improvement will occur and
what improvement does occur may be more the cleaning effects of the
acetone than anything else. Guess I shall find out. Results to be
published in December.
Best Regards
Howard Allen
S. Portland, Maine
"Don't tread on me."
"Greenamyer, William L" <william.l.greenamyer@BOEING.COM>
Sent by: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
10/06/2005 11:41 AM
Please respond to "Greenamyer, William L"
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
cc:
Subject: Re: acetone again, anyone using?
Why not go a little further. Is anyone on this list actively using
acetone in their gas and how long have they been doing so?
William
-----Original Message-----
From: Stan Wilder [mailto:wilden1-1@SBCGLOBAL.NET]
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 7:46 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: acetone again
Before you guys get all fired up about acetone you should get yourself a
steel coffee can and soak some of your Vanagon fuel line, injector
seals, push rod seals, head gasket seals, valve cover gaskets, main
seals in it for a week before you start priming your tanks with the
stuff. I'd also be concerned about possible contamination of the engine
oil if your rings are weak or you have a leaking injector. I know from
experience that Lacquer thinner (yes I know it's not Acetone) will swell
all types of seals and dry them out really bad.
Stan Wilder
Engine Ceramics
214-352-4931
www.engineceramics.com