Posted on 09/14/2022 8:58:11 AM PDT by george76
Or high humidity climates. The ethanol can pull water right out of the air.
I’d consider this a high-humidity climate, but only in the spring/summer. In the fall and winter, which is when OPE is put away for the season, it’s pretty low.
And the fuel system on my riding mower seems to be pretty well sealed up, if the lack of any gasoline smell near it is any indication.
So my confusion is that gasoline is 93 octane, 10% ethanol drops that to 87 octane, but 15% ethanol is 88 octane. Still trying to figure out that math.
Can anybody help?
No, probably not. But we're talking gasoline/alcohol fuel applications, not Hydrogen and rocket science here.
Modern cars have a sealed fuel system. Older vehicles and lawn/garden equipment have vented tanks (a hole in the cap)
rubber molecules ...Same with gasket materials.
Modern engines use neoprene not rubber.
“But we’re talking gasoline/alcohol fuel applications”
Yes we are, and evaporated Gas/Alcohol molecules are smaller than any gasket/O ring materials used. Over time they leak out right between gasket molecules. Alcohol much faster than Gas because the molecules are even smaller.
“Modern cars have a sealed fuel system.”
Still not sealed. Let a “sealed fuel system” car sit for six months and then smell the gas. It will still be varnish because of evaporation. The cap gasket, O rings, and vacuum lines still leak on a molecular level.
“Modern engines use neoprene not rubber.”
I was referring to tires as a comparative material. Cars use neoprene, nitrile, silicon, urethane, and paper gaskets and seals. All still have larger molecules than alcohol molecules.
An example of this reality would be sealed auto A/C systems. Even though Freon molecules are much larger than Alcohol molecules they still leak out through the O rings and hoses over time.
https://www.chargerforums.com/threads/octane-and-btu-explained.240618/
“All octane rating does is measure the ability of a fuel to resist pre-ignition (read that as detonation) in a higher compression engine... Higher octane fuels allow the use of higher compression ratios, and THAT does produce more power.”
https://www.smokstak.com/forum/threads/octane-and-btus.48144/
“BTU’s and Octane is like comparing apples and oranges. The purpose of octane is to raise the temapature at which the fuel ignites. It DOES NOT as most people think add power to the fuel. That is why it is called “Anti-knock” and not “Added power”. Higher octane was developed for high compression engines to keep from detonation. High compression makes more power, not high octane. This is also why you don’t see horsepower ratings for a given engine using the differant octanes of fuel. There are several good web sites that go into this. BTU’s are the amount of heat in a given about of fuel. If I remember right it is the amount of fuel it takes to raise one pound of water one degree, or something like that. Diesel has the highest BTU’s then gasoline is next in line.”
This may be true to a fractional degree, but nothing like that of a vented container. The issue I was addressing is not fuel evaporation, but keeping the water out.
Still not sealed. Let a “sealed fuel system” car sit for six months and then smell the gas. It will still be varnish because of evaporation. The cap gasket, O rings, and vacuum lines still leak on a molecular level.
Maybe, but they're pretty much airtight. I've never experienced this. (nor heard of it) My bikes and older vented vehicles will produce varnish, absorb water and rust out the tank.
I've kept gas in a typical, well worn, plastic utility can for long periods of time, maybe even a year...the gas has never gone bad, and is always consistent, no matter how full it is.
My whole point of posting is: to those guys who say "gasahol destroys engines"....no it doesn't, but the water it attracts will cause fuel system problems on older gear.
Ethanol is an octane booster.
10% ethanol is added to 85 octane gasoline to make it 87 octane.
And 10% ethanol is added to 91 octane gasoline to make it 93 octane.
That’s why most “ethanol free” gas is 91 octane.
Adding 15% ethanol to 85 octane gas makes it 88 octane.
The 85 and 91 octane gas is known in the industry as “BOB” gas, “before oxygenate blending”.
And Brandon expanded it to 15% ethanol per gallon. It cannot be used it in a vehicle older than 10 years.
CO2 is produced by fermentation.
In ethanol plants, it is compressed and sold. When I played in that sphere, it was a very valuable side product.
We did NOT vent it. It was pure stuff as long as the fermenters worked well
Most modern ethanol plants do indeed vent CO2. Not many are located where CO2 is in demand
That’s why there’s a big scam on for CO2 pipelines, where CO2 will be ‘stored’ or ‘sequestered’.
For those who are unaware, corn fermentation yields roughly equal weight of ethanol, distiller grains animal feed, and CO2.
It can but not very efficiently. Which means less fuel mileage and power. And it will eat older O rings and gaskets.
And it is a simple rule of thumb. The more you have to put in the front end, the more that will come out the rear end.
So they are defeating their own purpose with all this climate crap. It is all about money and control...
Yes but as the Brandon depression ramps up, they can enlist the homeless to harvest shredded poultry at the wind farms.
For seasonal use machines, I’ve had good luck with running them dry at the end of season.
I don’t use sta-bil for my lawnmower’s gasoline. Not a riding mower. When I buy gasoline, I fill up one or two (depending on if it is winter or summer) 16oz plastic Gatorade bottles. They are kept outdoors under a shady bush.
This way my gasoline is always fresh.
That would work too.
It was designed as a combustion catalyst, it improves combustion, you use less fuel for the same power out put. Less CO2 per BTU. Not zero carbon.
It has been used in industrial application for forty or fifty years and the big guy’s bean counters says it’s worth it. Yes, the cost to make it, deliver it and use it makes the fuel more efficient, reduces carbon emissions
This is not the droids you are looking for. Please do not use this product.
Having seen these studies before, they are flawed.
Using the logic in the study, all our wars in the Middle East would be counted against oil production.
Remember, if the Middle East didn’t have oil, we would not care about them at all.
The grain being used is not for human consumption.
Never has been.
Animal feed, but with recent pushes to ban meat I suspect that will end sooner or later.
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