warren@ihwpt.UUCP (warren montgomery) (01/03/86)
A while back I posted a message asking if there was any reliable way to determine the alcohol content of various brands of gas, with no response (It may have been our mail or news systems fault). I have 2 cars, neither of which much likes high alcohol gas. I have heard that the reduction in the amount of lead allowed in leaded gas will cause an increase in alcohol in both leaded and unleaded fuel. I just read a wonderfully unhelpful public service message from GM in some publication on this indicating that it's a potential problem, and owners should be aware of what is in the gas they are putting in the tank. The people at the stations around here don't know what's in it, they just ring it up. Is there any reliable source of information on the composition of brand name gas? (I know that the el-cheapo distributors aren't at all consistent) I want to do the best I can to keep my cars on the wagon before they develop cirrhosis of the cylinder head! -- Warren Montgomery, ihesa!warren
ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems) (01/07/86)
Alcohol is often used to rid fuel tanks of water by soaking
it up into the fuel mix. It seems to me that this could
be used in reverse to test for alcohol in the fuel. Take a
sample of fuel, mix in a small amount of water, watch for
one of three possible reactions:
1) Water absorbed -> lots of alcohol, small water
2) Separation layer of water -> no alcohol
3) Separation layer of water & ?? -> probably small alcohol, lots water.
A friend and I tried some water/alcohol/gas mixes in a small
engine about 1971. If I remember right this is what we found.
It's been a while though, so if some one has a chem lab handy
they might want to test my memory. I also have no idea what
gas of the '80s contains; though rumors of ethers & stuff abound ...
--
E. Michael Smith ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems
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