Converting Your Car to Run on Alcohol Fuels 1979 - Mingle
Transcript of Converting Your Car to Run on Alcohol Fuels 1979 - Mingle
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O;:egon
::,tate .
Untve
rs
Jty
Bun et in No. 56
October 1979
Engineering Exp eriment St
at
i on
Corva l l i s OR 9733 1
. A C ' l s . o N COUNYV U2eARV fSYSfhi
O ~ f 7 M J
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CONVERTING
YOUR
C R
TO
RUN
ON
LCOHOL
FUELS
by
John G Mingle
This
pub
ca
t i on
has been
prepared
by
popular
r eques t
by
' ' do- i t -yourse l fe rs who
wish
to
conver t
t h e i r own
veh ic les
to
run on pure
a lcohol The
reader should
be aware
of severa l
fac t s before
under taking
such a pro j e c t . Th
e re fo re , d iscuss ion
o f fue l proper t i e s a f fec f ing ~ n g i n o p e r a t i on
i s
presented
in
addi t ion to the requi red engine modi f ica t ions .
OREGON
STATE UNIVERSI
TY
Corvall i s ;
OR
97331
OCTOBER 1979
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CONVERTING YOUR C R TO RUN ON LCOHOL FUELS
INTRODUCTION
Alcohol
fue l s
have
been
used for i n t
e rn a l combustion engine
fue l s fo r
many,
many
year s .
Racing engines espec ia l ly can appre-
c i t e
the
high
octane number
and low v o la t i l i t y
of methyl a lcohol
n d
some fore ign
coun t r ies
have
found it to t h e i r advantage to
use a lcohols
in
s tock
engines .
The genera l pub l ic
in the
US has
re 'cen t ly become i n t e r e s t e d
in a lcohols
as add i t ives to , o r corn-
p le t e
replacement
fo r ,
gasol ine in
t he i r
persona l
motor
veh ic les .
The l i ne s a t
se rv ice
s t a t i ons
and the
pub l ic ized
dec l ine in crude
pet ro leum
reproduc t ion
has
prompted t h i s
i n t e r e s t .
There
a r e
two a
l cohol
s
t ha t
may be
used
fo r
i n t e rna l combus -
t i on
engine fue l . The f i r st
of the
whole
fa
m ily o f a lco
hols i s
methyl a lcohol , a l so
c a l l e d
methanol , and
h
as the low
e s t
molecu-
l a r weight
a nd
lowest
bo i l ing po in t .
The second
i s ethy l a lco-
hol , a l so ca l l ed e th
ano l
, t he next lowe s t molecular weight and
b o i l i n g po in t . Methyl a l coho l was formerly des t ruc t ive ly d i s -
t i l l e d
from
wood and, t he re fo re ,
c a l l e d wood a lcoho l .
However,
methanol
i s now made
by
reforming
na tu ra l gas
, bu t it
i s
t
ec
hn i -
ca l l y
poss ib le to
syn thes i ze
it from any c e l lu los i c mater ia l
or
coa l . Ethyl
a lcohol
i s ma
de by
fe rmenta t ion o f sugars
der ived
from f ru i t , gra in , o r any s t a r c h mater ia l .
Indus t r i a l e thanol
i s synthes ized
from e thylene
but
it can be made by
conver t ing
any c e l lu los i c
mate r i a l
to
sugar
and
then
f e
rment ing t he suga
r
in
t he us ua l manne r .
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-
.
. -
Adding
a l co h o l to g as o l i n e
in q u a n t i t i e s
up to
10
anhy-
drous e th y l
a lcoho l
and 90 u n leaded
gaso l ine
i s
now ro u t i n e
and
so ld
commeric ia l ly under t h e
name
Gasohol
. No eng ine
mo d i f i ca t i o n
o r
new
d i s t r i b u t i o n
sys tem
equipment
i s needed.
One p recau t i o n ,
t h a t
e f keep ing w ate r
out
of
the s t o r a g e
and
d i s t r i b u t i o n
system,
w i l l
be
discussed l a t e r .
This publ i ca t ion has been
.
prepared by p o p u la r
reques t
by
those d o - i t -y o u r s e l f e r s who wish to
co n v er t
t h e i r own v e h i c l e s
to
run
on
pure a l co h o l
. However, th e r ead e r
should be aware o f
s ev e r a l f a c t s
before
under tak ing such
a
p r o j e c t .
l
A s p ec i a l l i c en s e i s r eq u i r ed fo r persons us ing fu e l
o t h e r than
g as o l i n e to
prope l
any motor
veh ic l e on
t h e Oregon highways. Records must be k ep t to
show
mi les d r i v en , g a l l o n s o f
fue l used ,
and so u rce o f
fue l . Repor t s
must
be
f i l e d
and t he
seven
c e n t s p e r
ga l lon
roa
J
t ax
pa id .
Reques ts
fo r
forms
and
i n f o r -
mat ion should be d i r ec t ed t o Motor Vehic les D i v i s i o n ,
Fuels Tax Branch, 5821
NE
Glisan , Por t l and ,
OR
97213,
phone (503) 238-8236. Other
s t a t e s
have
s i m i l a r
l aws .
2. Oregon Revised S ta tu t e 483.825 s t a t e s
in
p a r t
as
fo l -
lows:
I t s h a l l be unla-.:.vful fo r any person to d i s co n -
n ec t o r p ermi t
to
be disconnected
a
fac to ry i n s t a l l e d
motor
veh ic l e
a i r p o l lu t i o n co n t r o l d ev ice o r
a
f ac -
t o ry i n s t a l l e d sys tem as def ined i n ORS 468.360,
nor
s h a l l
any person kn
owingly
and w i l l i n g l y
p e rmi t such
a
dev ice o r
fac to ry
i n s t a l l e d sys tem to become o r
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remain i n o p e ra t i v e .
T h ere fo re ,
leave c a t a l y t i c
c o n v e r t e r s ,
a i r pumps, exha u s t gas r e c i r c u la t i o n
sys tems, e t c . , in
p l ace and o p e ra t i v e .
Other
s t a t e s have s imi l a r laws.
3 .
I f
your v eh i c l e
i s
new and
still under t h e manu-
f a c t u r e r s . warran ty , you should co n s u l t t h e
d e a l e r
a s
to whether t h e
warran ty
would be vo id i f you
co n v er t ed
your
ca r to run
on
pur
e
a l co h o l .
4.
t should
be remembered
t h a t your
v e h i c l e ' s
engine
has been
des igned ,
deve loped
and
tuned fo r prop e r
o p e ra t i o n
on gaso l ine .
I f
you
change
to some o the r
fu e l it
i s
r easo n ab le to
expec
t some d i f f e r e n c e s in
t h e
e ngine ' s performance
and
ease
o f o p e ra t i o n .
5 .
Oregon
S t a t e U n iv e r s i t y
assumes no
r e s p o n s ib i l i t y
fo r t h e s a f e ty o f
t h e persons under t ak in
g t h e i r own
e n
g i
n e
mo d i f i ca t i o n
and assumes
no
r e s p o n s ib i l i t y
f o r t h e
li f e and performance o f t h e
ve
h i c l e con v e r -
t ed . You, in e f f e c t , a r e an
exper
ime n te r .
In
o rd e r to p rep a re t h e r ead e r fo r th e why o f t h in gs t h a t
a r e
done to th
e e n
g i
n e a s h o r t review
o f
fu e l prop e
rti
es i s
in
o r
d e r .
FUEL
PROPERTIES
BOILING
CHARACTERIST
I
CS
Table 1 s hows some
o f
t h e
fue l
p ro p e r t i e s o f gaso l ine
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anhydrous methyl a l co h o l and anhydrous eth y l a l co h o l .
Anhydrous
.
means
comple te ly
f r e e o f
wate r
. .
t i s
most
imp o r t an t to note
t h a t g as o l i n e is
a
mixture
o f
many hydroca rb6ns f rom n-bu tane
(C
4
H
10
)
to
dodecane
c
12
H
26
.
Many
ca l cu l a t i o n s r e q u i r e
t h a t a
p ro p e r ty
o f g as o l i n e
be expressed as a s i n g l e
number.
In t hese
cas es ,
an
average va
lue
i s e s t i m a t e d
such
a s m o l e c u l a r formula
and
weight .
Also ,
th e r e
i s no s i n g l e b o i l i n g p o i n t t h a t ch a rac -
t e r i z e s
g as o l i n e , s i n ce
it i s a
~ i x t u r o f
d i f f e r e n t
hydrocarbons
each having its
own b o i l i n g
p o i n t .
Th
e re fo re ,
a d i s t i l l a t i o n
curve , shown
in
Fig u re
1 , r ep re s en t s t h e
q u a n t i t y o f g as o l i n e
t h a t
w i l l
evap o ra t e
as
t h e
t empera tu re
is i n c reas ed .
In
con
-
t r a s t , methyl and
e t h y l
a l co h o l a re
both p u re hydrocarbons
and
have
s in g l e
va lues
fo r b o i l i n g
p o i n t s
and o t h e r p r o p e r t i e s .
F i gure
2
shows t h e e f f e c
t
upon t h e d i s t i l l a t i o n curve
o f
add
-
ing
10
and 20 o f e t h y l
a l co h o l
to gaso l ine .
Note
t h a t
it r a i s e s
t h e
curve
b efo re t h e
4
to
6
d i s t i l l e d and
lowers
t h e
curve
t h e r e -
a f t e r .
t i s e n e r a l l y unde r s t o o d t h a t t h e p o r t i o n
o f
t h e curve
f rom t h e 0 to t h e
10 distill
ed
w i l l
a f f e c t t h e engine s t a r t i n g
a b i l i t y and
t h e 1
0 to th
e 50 d i s t i l l e d
w i l l a f f e c t
t h e
warm-up
and a c c e l e r a t i o n
a b i l i t y .
ENERGY VALUES
The energy
v a lu es p e r u n i t
o f
weight
a re most
imp o r t an t . The
engine r eq u i r e s a c e r t a i n amo
un
t
o f energy
to deve lop t h e power
need
ed
to prope l t h e v e h i c l e and
t h e
engine r e a l l y does no t know
f rom
whence
t h e
energy came
.
T h ere fo re ,
if
methyl
a l co h o l h as
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8664 BTU's per pound compared to 19000 BTU's
per pound
for gaso-
19000
l i ne
the engine
wi l l
r equ i re (
8664
}
=
2 .2
pounds
o f
methanol
compared
to 1 .0
pound
of gaso l ine to
deve
lop
the
same
power.
This
means
t h a t the
carbure to r
meter ing j e t s must
be
en larged to
de l ive r the g re a t e r amount of the lowe r spec i f ic energy fue l .
OCTANE
NUMBER
There a re
severa l
t e s t s t ha t a re used to determine
octane
number.
The
numbers shovm
in
Table 1 as
Research Octane
Num-
bers a re
determined on a s ing le cy l inder engine ,
opera ted in the
l abora to ry and a r e the
h ighes t numerical
values
o f a l l
the d i f -
f e r e n t t e s t s . Note t ha t there i s some disagreement among
inves-
t i ga t o r s
as
to the ac tua l value for methanol (1}. The road
Blending
Octane
Va
lu
e ,
shown in
Table
1
i s
used to show
how a
veh ic le eng
in
e ac tua l ly responds to
the a lcohol
compared to
th
e
s ing l e
cy l inder l abora to ry
engine.
For
exam
p l
e ,
cons ider
a
10
me thanol /90 % g s ~ l i n blend; the 10% gasol ine t ha t i s rep l aced
had a v
l ~
c
9.3
octane
numbers bu t
the
10
% methanol added had
a
value o f 13.5 octane numbers,
the re fo re th e
blend gains 4.2
o c t
ane
numbers.
MIXTURE
RATIO
The
a i r - t o - f u e l
r a t i o
i s
the
most c r i t i c a l i tem
to
regu l a t e
with regard t o exhaust emission s and fuel
economy.
The
chemi
-
ca l l y cor rec t
a i r
- fu
e l r a t i o may
be calc
u l a ted by knowing the
molecu lar formula and weight of the fue l and wri t ing an equat ion
which presumes t ha t a l l the
carbon i s
oxidized
to
carbon
dioxide
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C0
2
) and a l l the hydrogen to
w ~ ~ r
H
2
o)
.
Referr ing
to Table
2,
t may
be
seen t ha t the chemica l ly
c or r e c t
a i r - f u e l r a t i o i s
14.96
fo r gaso l ine ,
6.47
fo r
methanol
and
9.01
fo r
e thano l .
I f
t he engine
wi l l
a sp i r a t e a
f ixed
amount o f a i r a t any p a r t i c u -
l a r t h r o t t ~ opening, then the carbure to r must meter a
sp e c i f i c
amount
of
fue l to provide the c o r re c t a i r
- f u
e l r a t i o .
Thus,
compared
with gaso l ine ,
the
c a r ~ u r e t o r must
d e l i v e r : : ~ ~
=
2.31 t imes more
methanol .
This
.r a t i o
i s
s l i g h t l y
g re a t e r than
t he
r a t i o
2.2) based
on
energy va lues .
VAPORIZATION REQUIREMENTS
Table
1 shows values fo r
the
l a t e n t hea t o f vapor i za t ion .
These va
lu
es r ep resen t the amount o f hea t energy t h a t must be
suppl ied to evaporate one pound o f fue l . Note t h a t methanol
.
474
3 36 . h
f
d
f
equ1res
141
=
t1mes
t e
amount
o energy
requ1re
or gas-
o l ine .
As
shown
prev ious ly
2.3
pounds
o f
methanol
a re
requi red
compared
to
1 .0 pounds o f
gaso l ine
fo r
a chemical ly cor rec t mix-
tu re ,
t h e r e f o r e
the
t o t a l
add i t iona l energy to evapora te metha-
nol in the in take manifold i s 2.3 x 3.36) = 7 .7
3
t imes the
amount
to evaporate
the chemica l ly
c or r e c t mixture
o f
gaso
l i n e .
This add i t iona l
energy
must
be suppl ied
by hea t ing the i n t ake
manifo ld
with exhaus t gas o r r a d i a to r water 2) .
SOLVENT EFFECTS
Al l hydrocarbons
are so lven t s to some degree . Therefore ,
t i s not supr i s ing to f ind t h a t methanol i s a
good
so lven t fo r
some
p l a s t i c s
and
e las tomers as wel l as being
cor ros ive
to some
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meta l s such
as
aluminum, lead , magnesium and t i n 1) .
Because
the
composi t ion
o f p l a s t i c s and e las tomers i s so d iver se ,
it
i s
not with in
the scope of t h i s
wri t ing to do o ther than
advise
the
r eader and
po te n t i a l
user
o f methanol to
be a l e r t for these
so lven t
and
cor ros ive e f f e c t s . One
approach
i s to disassemble
the ca rbure to r and fu e l
pump,
immerse
a l l
the
par t s in methanol
fo r some extended pe r iod , say 3 o r 4 days,
then
check for any
change
in
dimension, t ex tu re , o r co lo r . Ethanol
appears
to have
ne g l ig ib l
e so lven t o r corros ive e f f e c t s on fue l
s ys t
em mater ia l s
except when water i s
presen t .
W TER
TOLER
NCE
Both methyl and e thyl a lcohol are misc ib le in water in a l l
percentages . Gaso l in e and both alcoho l s are misc ib le
in
a l l
p
ercentage
s
as long as
the re i s no water
presen t . The
presence
o f
only
0 .1
to
0.2 water
w i l l
cause
e
i t h
e r
m
e t
hyl
o r
e thy
l
a l c o -
hol mixed with gasol ine to separa te . (4) 1) . Therefore
if
e i the r
methyl o r e t h y l
a lcohol
i s
to be
mixed with gaso l ine ,
it mu s t be
anhydrous
and
ll
t anks
i n to
which
it
i s to
be
mixed o r s tored
must a l so be . f ree
o f
wate r .
Th
e caps on t anks , b
a r
r e
l s and
cans
should b e kep t
c losed
as wel l as tank ven ts being
equipped
with
dryers to
preve
n t the
a lcoh
o l
from absorbing
mois tur
e
from
the
a i r .
Alcohols
may be
purchased
in
severa l
d i f f
e
r e n t
grades depe
nd
-
ing
on
the
p u r i t y and wa t e r con ten t . Pur i ty i s t he l e a s t impor-
t a n t
because the impur i t ies a re
most l i ke ly
to
be
combust ib le
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--------------------------------
hydrocarbons.
Water and
e thy l
~ l c o h o l may be sep a ra t ed by d i s -
t i l l a t i o n except
fo r the
l a s t
5
water
which
i s
in the form o f
an
azeot rope
with
the
e thyl alcoho
l
and
must be
separa ted
by
another
process . 200 proof e thanol i s the anhydrous grade mean-
ing complete ly f ree
o f
water . 190 proof i s 95 alcohol
and
5
water
in
the form o f an azeot rope
. Proofs below 190 have
excess
wate r in additi
on
to the
azeotrope.
I f
the a
lc
ohol
i s
to be
used as t he whole fue l ,
some
water
can be
t o l e r a t e d be fore the
carbure to r meter
i
ng
i s
too
l ean .
TOX ICI
TY
All a lcohols
are toxic
i f
t aken i n t e r n a l l
y .
However, METH
-
ANOL IS ESPECIALLY TOXIC AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES
SHOULD
IT
BE T
AKEN
INTERNALLY--BLINDNESS
AND DEATH MAY
RESULT .
Ethanol
i s the potable
a lcohol
when
included
in
beverages
bu t i s dena -
tu red for indus t r i a l
use
wit h h igh ly t ox ic f lu ids such as meth-
anol , gaso
l in
e methyl
i sobu ty l
ketone pyrona te ,
o r
ace ta ldo l
6). Therefore DO NOT DRINK INDUSTRIAL ETHANOL. The e f f e c t s
o f pure
a l cohols
on
human t i
ssue
a re burning, dehydra t ing and
degreasing.
It
i s no t advised to use a l coho l s as
so lven t s
fo r
c lean ings hands,
e tc .
ENGINE MODIFICATIONS
VOLATILITY
Th i s term
deno
t
es
the eva
pora t ion
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
and are
impor tant fo
r
s ta rt
ing the
engine
acce
l e r
a t
i
on
w
arm up and
cran
k
case
d i
l u t io
n, as
wel l
as ca rbure to r i c ing
and
v p ~ r lock .
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S t a r t i n g a co ld engine r equ i res
opera t ing
the choke on the c a r -
bure to r the purpose o f
which
i s to
supp ly , fo r
a few seconds,
about
t en
t imes
the
normal
amount
:
o f
fue l .
I f
t en
pe rcen t o f
the
l i qu id
f u e l
wi l l evaporate
in the in take
manifo ld ,
then a
combus t ib le mix ture
o f
fue l and a i r w i l l
reach the
cy l in d e r s .
Gasol ine conta ins
about
6
to
10 n-
butane which
has a
bo i l ing
0
p o i n t o f 31 F and
wi l l evaporate
read i ly in
the in t ake
manifold
thereby p rov id ing the necessary combust ib le
mixture
. .
Pure
a lco -
h
o l s
b o i l
a t
e leva ted
temperatures
and
evapora t ion
a t
low
tern-
p e r a tu r e s
i s very slow. Th
e re f
ore
hea t energy i s ~ e e d e d to
cause the
evapora t ion to
occur
quick ly and t he
most
appropr i a t e
p l ~ e to
supply
t he hea t
i s a t
the
f loor o f
th e i n t ak e manifold
immedia te ly under t he carbure to r . t .has been shown by t es t s
conducted a t OSU
t h a t a
small
e l e c t r i c wa
t e r h ea t
e r i n s ta l l e d
in
th
e
engine
coo l ing
water
c i rcu it
wi l l
supply the
necessary ener
-
gy
e sp e c i a l l y i f the eng in
e design i ncorpora t e s a
water hea ted
i n t ak e manifo ld .
The smal l
h ea t e r
s a re so ld commercia l l y and
a re popular fo r use
in subzero
clim a
t e s
to s t a r t
engin
e s even
when using gaso l ine . OSU t e s t s showed t h a t
a f t e r
20 minutes
hea t ing the engine would
s t a r t on methanol when t he ou t s ide
a i r temperature was 20F.
t
should
be poin ted
o u t
t h a t no
s t a r t i n g
a id
i s
requ i r
e d
if
the
a i r
t empera tu re i s
above
about
Due to
th
e var i e ty
of
engine des i
gns
it i s beyond the scope
o f t h i s w r i t i n g to give exac t i n s t a l l a t i o n i n s t r u c t i ons . How-
ever
the e l e c t r i c
he
a t e r shou
ld
b e i n s t
a l
l ed so t h a t
its
h
o t
----
wa
t e r i n l e t i s d i r e c t
ed as c lose to the in take man i fo ld
as
poss ib le .
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Innova t ion
may be r equ i red on some
eng ine
des igns . The
popular
l i t e r a t u r e has r epor ted
t ha t an
e x t r a windsh ie ld c leaner
water
system
conver ted
to
s to r e
.
and
s q u i r t
gaso l ine ,
with
t he
nozz le
i n s t a l l ed i n the
in take manifold
j u s t below
the
ca rbure
t o r wi l l provide an a l t e rna t e
fue l
cold s t a r t i n g
system.
Also
anyone fami l i a r with s t a r t i n g i ~ s e l engines
in cold
weather
may
poss ib ly adapt
h is own
ideas to s t a r t the
engine on
a lcoho l .
As descr ibed e a r l i e r ,
add i t fona l energy
must
a l so
be sup-
p l i e d to
the in take manifold
to vapor ize
the
a lcoho l ,
even
with
a
fu l l y
warmed up
engine dur ing
per iods
o f prolonged acce le ra
t i on
o r h i l l cl imbing
when
the maximum amount o f fu e l
i s
being
metered by the ca rbure to r .
Tests a t
SU have
shown t ha t
winding
~ i nch diameter copper tubing around
the
i n t ake
manifo ld
runners
( indiv idual
l egs
o r
pipes
to each cyl inder) and c i r c u l a t i ng hot
r a d i a to r water through t he tub ing wi l l
fu rn i sh
the evapora t ion
energy.
The
hot water i s e a s i l y
obta ined
from the
v e h i c l e s
hea te r hoses but care must be t aken to assure cont inued f low
even when the veh ic le hea te r i s shu t of f . The
copper
tub ing
should
be wound as
t i g h t as poss ib le to give
good
meta l to metal
con tac t
fo r hea t t r a ns f e r and the
co i l s
should be touching
each
o ther . The bes t
i n s t a l l a t i o n
of
copper
tub ing
would be
the one
t h a t
l eaves
very
littl
exposed
su r face of the
.
manifo ld
runner .
HIXTURE RATIO
Diffe rences
in th
e
chemical ly
c or r e c t a i r
to fue l r a t i o
between gaso l ine and the
a lcoho ls ,
shown in +able 2 and d i s -
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~ . . . . .
cussed
e a r l i e r , r equ i re
t ha t t he m
t e r i ng
j e t s
in the
carbure -
t o r be enla rged.
Table
3 shows
the method
used for
ca l cu l a t i n g
t he r a t i o by which
the
gasol ine j e t
d i ~ e t e r
must be mul t ip l i ed
t
to
ob ta in th e proper
a lcohol j e t
diameter . For
methanol the
r a t i o i s 1.50 and for
e thanol
the r a t i o i s
1.27.
Carbure tor
j e t s are marked
by
numerals represent ing the d ia -
meter
o f
the
o r i f i c e .
For
example, in engines
manufac tured
to
Engl i sh un i t s , a number o f 47 would r e a l l y mean
0.047
inch
in
diameter .
In metr ic un i t s , a number 120 would
r ea l l y
mean
1.20
mi l l ime te r
in
diameter .
For
example, to f ind
the
new j e t d ia
meter fo r methanol use , mult ip ly
the
above numerals found
on
t he gaso l ine j e t by 1.50 which
gives
0.071 inch
in
Engl ish un i t s
and
1.80
in metr ic un i t s .
Figure
3 shows t he
c o r re l a t i o n o f
the
Engl i sh
and me tr ic un i t s
with
the
s t ee l w ire gage d r i l l
s izes
in -
d ica ted
on
the c o r re l a t i o n l i ne . The neares t d r i l l s iz e to
the
new
~ i m e t e r
i s
a
No.
50.
t
i s
recommended t h a t
a small
h i
gh
speed prec i s ion
d r i l l
s ta
nd
be used
with a v-notch
d r i l l press
v ice
holding the
j e t . Grea t care must
be
t aken
to
in su re proper .
a l ignment o f t he new d r i l l
and
t he ax is o f the old hole .
The designs
o f
the many
makes o f
carburetors are
so
va r
i
ed
t h a t i t
i s
b
eyond the
scope o f
t h i s
wri t ing to gi ve more
spec i
-
f i e d e t a i l s . owever , most carbure to r s have one o r more i d l e
j e t s , one o r more
primary j e t s and
one o r more secondar y j e t s .
A
shop
o r overhaul manual fo r your
vehic le should
be
consul t e
d
to asce r ta in t ha t a
ll
th e
j e t s
are
accounted fo r and enlarged by
the same
r a t i o . Do not a l t e r
the a i r -b l eed
j e t s and do mainta in
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t he
recommended l i q u id l ev e l
in the f l o a t bowl. The
v a r i ab l e
i d l e mixture
need le ne
e d not
be a I ter
ed b u t it
may
need
ad ju s t
ment a f t e r the engine has
been
s t a r t e d .
SPARK
DV NCE
ND COMPRESSION RATIO
Pure a l co h o l s have very high octane numbers as shown in
Table 1 and discussed
e a r l i e r . This h i g h e r
oc tane number
t han
gaso l ine) may
be u t i l i z e d
by advancing t he b as i c
i g n i t i o n
t iming
and y
i nc rea s ing the compression
r a t i o .
R.
J . Nichols
(5)
has
descr ibed
t e s t s
made on an engine
ope ra t ing
on p u re methanol mod-
i f i e d
with
s p ec i a l p i s t o n s
and
camshaf t
where
t he
compress ion
r a t i o was r a i s ed
to
1 3 9 ~ 1 Tes t s a t
OSU
have sh?wn t h a t whe n
ope ra t ing on pure
methanol
with t he s tandard 8 .0 :1 compression
r a t i o changing t he ba s i c i g n i t i o n t iming
from
6 BTC
to
15 BTC
i nc rea sed the
p a r t t h r o t t le fue l economy about 10 and i n c reas ed
t h e f u l l t h r o t t l e p owe r a t high eng ine rpm ab o u t 15 .
This
h e
lps
reduce the
mi les
per ga l lon p en a l t y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h p u re a lcoho l
corrLbustion.
There i s a l i m i t t o the amount
o f
i g n i t i o n advance an
engine
\v i l l
t o l e r a t e
even
i no combust ion knocking i s heard / and t h i s
l i m i t may
be
found by
e xperiment .
Begin w i t h
a
modest advance o f
. 0
say 4
and
1
using a s top watch, t ime a f u l l
t h r o t t l e acce l e r a t i o n
in
high
gea r from 30 to
55 mph.
0
Advance t he t iming by 4 and
t ime t he acce l e r a t i o n from 30 to 55 mph
aga in . Repeat the proce-
dure
u n t i l t he minimum
t ime f o r
t he a c c e l e ra t i o n
i n t e r v a l
i s
ob-
t a ined.
The i g n i t i o n t iming
fo r th e
minimum a c c e l
e r a
t i o n
t ime
i s the o pt imum t iming .
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SUMMARY
For convers ion
to
opera t i on on
methyl alcohol :
1 . Determine t h a t
none
o f t he p l a s t i c and
e las tomer
pa r t s i n
t he
f u e l
system w i l l
d isso lve
i n methanol .
2 .
Enlarge
a l l
ca rbu re to r meter ing j e t s by th
e r a t i o
o f
1 .5 t imes t he j e t
diamete r
fo r
gaso l ine use.
3 . Provide hea t
energy to
the in take manifo ld
for
s t a r t -
ing
and f u l l
t h r o t t l e
a c c e l e r a t i o n .
4 . Drain t he fue l
system
o f all gaso l ine and make s u r e
syste n.
i s
rolo: : :> n
::>'nrl
r : ~ . . . . .
~ --
- - . z
5. R e f i l l
wi th m
e t
ha nol , s t a r t
engine
and adjus t i d l e
mixtu re and
i d l
e speed . wh e n engine i s warm.
For
convers ion to op
e
r a t e
o n e thy l a lcohol :
l En la rg e t h e c a r b u r e t o r meter ing j e t s
by
the r a t i o
o f 1 .27 t imes th e j e t d iameter fo r gaso l ine use .
2.
Provide h ea t
energy
to
t he
in t ake man i fo l d
for
s t a r t i n g
and
f
u l l t h r o t t l e a c c e l e r a t i o n .
3 .
Drain
f u e l
system o f all gaso l ine
and
make
c e r t a i n
sys tem i s c lea n a nd dry .
4.
Ref
ill
with
e t
hano
l
start engine and a d j us t i d l e
mixture and
i d l e
speed when engine i s warm.
13
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SELECTED REFERENCES
'
.
l
Ingamel l s ,
J .
c.
and
Lindqu i s t ,
R.
H.,
"Methanol
as
a
Hotor Fuel o r a Gasol ine Blending
Component ,"
SAE
#750123, Feb. 1975.
2: GM
Research
Labora to r i
e s
Search ,
Vol . 12,
No.
l
J an . - F eb . ,
1977.
3 .
4 .
5 .
6 .
U.S. Energy Research and Development Admin i s t r a t ion ,
"Ch
a r a c t e r i z a t i o n
and
Re
s
ea rch
o f I
n v es t i g a t
io
ns o f
Methanol and Methyl Fue l s , F ina l Repor t EPA Grant
No. R 803548-01 , CONS1258.
",Alcohols
and Hydrocarbons as
-1otor
F u e l s , SAE Spec ia l
Pub l i ca t ion ,
SP254,
June
196
4 .
"Alcohol Fuels T ~ c h n o l o g y , Vols .
l 2
and 3 , Third
I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Symposium,
Asi lomar
, C , May 1979.
U. S. Department
o f Energy,
"Denatura
n ts f o r
Ethano l /
Gasol ine
Blends ,
HCP/m 2098-01, Apr i l
1978.
14
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TABLE 1. FUEL PROPERTIES
Molecular Formula
Molecular Weight pounds per
mol)
Sp e c i f i c We i ght pounds per ga l lon
Boi l ing Poin t , F
Lower Heat ing
Value BTU/
pound)
Research Octane Number
Road Blending Octane Value
G
]
(
1
aso
.1ne
6.2
31-421
19,0 00
9 3 (
2
)
Latent
Heat
of Vaporizat ion BTU/pound) 141
Note:
Methyl
Alcohol
Ethyl
A
l cohol
CH
3
H
c
2
H
5
0H
32
46
6 .6 6.5
149 172
8 ,664
11,604
106-115
107
.
135 120
474
361
1)
Gasol ine
i s
a
heterogenous mixture
o f
hydrocarbons
from
c
4H
10
t h ro
ugh
c
12
H
26
.
The
values
shown are average values
used fo r com
p u ta t io n s .
2) Unleaded
i
i
i
I
I
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A/F
A/F
T BLE
2.
STOICHIOMETRIC
AIR-FUEL
RATIO
GASOLINE
= 12.25
x
4.76)mol
mol
fue l
a i r
X
29 lb a i r /mol
m
113
lb
fue l /mol
m
METHYL LCOHOL
=
1.5
x
4.76)mol a i r
x
29
lbm
a i r /mol
=
mol
f u e l 32
lbm
fue l /mol
ETHYL LCOHOL
=
14.96
6.47
A/F = 3 X 4.76) mol
mol a i r
a i r
29 lb a i r /mol
m
x
46 lb f ue l /mo l =
m
9 01
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..
TABLE
3.
CARBURETOR
METERING JET ENLARGENENT
For Pure
Methyl Alcohol
A
=
J e t Area for
Methanol
Operat ion
meth
A
gaso
=
J e t Area fo r
Gasoline Operat ion
Ymeth
=
Spec i f i c
Weight
o f
Methanol,
lb / ga l l on
m
y
=
Spec i f i c
Weight
o f
Gasoline ,
lb
/g a
l l on
gaso
m
(A/F)meth
=
Stoichiometr ic
Air-Fue l
Rat io ,
'1ethano l
(A/F)gaso
=
S toichiome t r i c
Air-Fuel
Rat io ,
Gasoline
(A/F)meth X
Ameth
X
/ymeth
=
(A/F)
X A X /y
gaso gaso gaso
6.47 X Ameth X =
14.96
X
A
X
aso
A =
meth
14.96
X
6.47
16 20
X
A
16 60
gaso
= 2.31
X
0.97
X A
gas
o
=
2 24
gaso
J e t Diameter Meth = 1.50 J e t Diameter
Gaso
.
For
Pure Ethyl Alcohol
A
=
e thy l
14.96
X
9.
01
*
*
16:20
X A
16:54
gaso
*
*
=
1.66
X
0.974
X
A =
1.617
A
gaso gaso
J e t Diameter Ethyl = 1.27 J e t Diameter Gaso
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450
400
v
350
.
JOO
w
cc
250
:>
cc
200
Cl
::E
w
t 50
tOO
i
/
~
_)./[
sryt l i l rhol l
Vi
I I
1/
I
Ethyl
Alcohol
IL
Me thy l Alc ohol
0
o
to 20 JO
40 50 60 70 eo so 100
FUEL EVAPORAT
EO -
Percent
( Li cMy
E
Ziuryt l
Fig.
1 - ASTM
distillation curves
for
gaso
l ine
and
a lcohol
J92
200
ISO
J20
160
284
;> 140
.
..;
w
248
~ 1 2
...
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I
I
l
14