djl@fisher.UUCP (Dan Levin) (02/28/86)
Please note that the "dial your octane" Sunoco pumps,
the ones that produce 93.5 octane gas, do so by adding
more and more alcohol to the fuel. While this does increase
the octane, it will also play havoc with your mixture
(NB, the optimum combustion mixture for ethanol is 40% different
from that for typical gas, ~9:1 vs. ~15:1).
This may be fine for you guys with *smart* cars, but my 1965 289
motor and Carter carb just won't stand for it.
--
***dan
{allegra,astrovax,princeton}!fisher!djl
The misplaced (That car sure is rusty!) Californiandennis@vrdxhq.UUCP (D. Gibbs) (03/11/86)
In article <1393@fisher.UUCP>, djl@fisher.UUCP (Dan Levin) writes: > Please note that the "dial your octane" Sunoco pumps, > the ones that produce 93.5 octane gas, do so by adding > more and more alcohol to the fuel. While this does increase > the octane, it will also play havoc with your mixture > (NB, the optimum combustion mixture for ethanol is 40% different > from that for typical gas, ~9:1 vs. ~15:1). > > ***dan > > {allegra,astrovax,princeton}!fisher!djl > The misplaced (That car sure is rusty!) Californian In the local Sunoco station here in Chantilly, VA, there is a sign in the window that says Sunoco does not put alcohol in its gas. I questioned the attendent about this and they say they don't put alcohol in their gas. Here in Chantilly, the price of 93.5 Octane Sunoco unleaded is more than the price of Amoco Super unleaded (and other brands), so I tend to doubt they are using some cheap method of increasing their Octane. I use Sunoco 93.5 Octane almost exclusively, but want to avoid using any gas that contains alcohol. Can anyone confirm whether they use alcohol in their gas? Dennis Gibbs
bl@hplabsb.UUCP (Bruce T. Lowerre) (03/20/86)
> Can anyone confirm whether they use alcohol in their gas? > You can check it (or any other gas) yourself with a simple test. You will need a test tube, graduated cylinder, or any other container where known volumes can be marked. Fill the lower half with water and the upper half with a gas sample. Shake the mixture for a minute and compare the volume gain of the water. Any alcohol in the gas will disolve out and into the water. The volume gain of the water equals the amount of alcohol in the gas.
ugzannin@sunybcs.UUCP (Adrian Zannin) (03/20/86)
[discussion of gas alcohol in gas]
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etc.
Please also be advised that alcohol *in any form*, that means as an
octane booster, gas line antifreeze, etc., plays havoc with the rubber
diaphragms in your carburator. Alcohol has the effect of drying out rubber,
so therefore your diaphragms in the carburator become very stiff and do
not do what they are supposed to (as part of a pump/regulator assembly for
example). This means early carburator replacement/rebuild time. If you
don't believe me, find someone that uses alot of gas line antifreeze and
offer to rebuild their carburator...the diaphragms will be like typing
paper almost...
--
Adrian Zannin
SUNY at Buffalo Computer Science
..{bbncca,decvax,dual,rocksvax,watmath,sbcs}!sunybcs!ugzannin
CSNET: ugzannin@Buffalo.CSNET
ARPANET: ugzannin%Buffalo@csnet-relay.ARPA
BITNET: ugzannin@sunybcs.BITNETlarry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) (03/21/86)
In article <2957@sunybcs.UUCP>, ugzannin@sunybcs.UUCP (Adrian Zannin) writes: > [discussion of gas alcohol in gas] > Please also be advised that alcohol *in any form*, that means as an > octane booster, gas line antifreeze, etc., plays havoc with the rubber > diaphragms in your carburator. Alcohol has the effect of drying out rubber, > so therefore your diaphragms in the carburator become very stiff and do > not do what they are supposed to (as part of a pump/regulator assembly for > example). This means early carburator replacement/rebuild time. If you > don't believe me, find someone that uses alot of gas line antifreeze and > offer to rebuild their carburator...the diaphragms will be like typing > paper almost... Sorry, but this is simply NOT true! Simple alcohols likely to be found as fuel additives (like methanol, ethanol, etc.) are NOT harmful to virtually all rubber formulations. If the synthetic rubber in contact with the fuel is losing elasticity or undergoing chemical attack, it is NOT the result of any alcohol. Also, there is no water bound with any synthetic rubber material which would "dry" out. There are several other chemical mechanisms which could cause rubber to lose elasticity. For example, chloroprene rubber (Neoprene) is a common elastomer used in automotive applications which has excellent resistance to the aliphatic hydrocarbons in gasoline, but has poor resistance to ketones such as acetone. On the other hand, chlorosulfonated rubber (Hypalon) and polysulfide rubber (Thiokol) have excellent resistance to both gasoline and ketones. I suspect that if in fact there is a correlation between rubber deterioration and the use of gasoline antifreeze, it is the result of chloroprene rubber components being exposed to an antifreeze formulation which uses acetone. ==> Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, New York <== ==> UUCP {decvax|dual|rocksanne|rocksvax|watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry <== ==> VOICE 716/741-9185 {rice|shell}!baylor!/ <== ==> FAX 716/741-9635 {G1, G2, G3 modes} duke!ethos!/ <== ==> seismo!/ <== ==> "Have you hugged your cat today?" ihnp4!/ <==