How dry must ethanol be to run in engines

[Eddie Carter]

Just curious if someone could provide more concise information on just how dry ethanol must be to run in a FFV, a non-FFV, small engines (i.e. lawn mower), etc...

 

My first batch i over cooked and got more water out at the end that mixed with my good stuff.

So I ended up with 170 proof.

I took that and poured it into a glass bottle with 3A Zeolite and resulted in 198 proof.

I ran than in my lawn mower over the weekend (even though the Troybuilt mower had a NO E85 stamp in the fuel cap).

 

My 2nd batch with picked over pears/apples, I think I let the temp in the room it was fermenting in get too cool and my yeast died before they could do much converting. I was also testing a new electric heat belt on my 13 gallon test still and it took forever to get up to temperature (even with setting at 450F). Anyway, I managed a small amount of ethanol at 150 proof.

 

My 3rd batch with Jerusalem Artichokes (JA), which was a complete surprise, is still fermenting in a temp controlled room. In the spring I bought a JA about the size of my thumb. We had drough conditions in KY from June-Sept.; however, my JA stayed green and bloomed. I dug up the tubers and my 1 peice about 2 oz resulted in 1 plant with about 1.5 pounds of tubers. Nice yield on the plant and it survived on the dry conditions.

 

So back to my question, any simple ideas on the least proof to run in...

1. Non FFV

2. FFV (should not matter i think)

3. Small engines

  a. Chain saw (need oil mixture?)

  b. Lawn tractors/mowers

 

I have been reading some articles discussing how to use caster oil or glycerine to dry ethanol.

They are much more economical than zeolite.

 

 

[dogbreath]

David says on page 356 "at about 68 degrees F, alcohol with as much as 45% water will mix with gasoline and not separate......This means that those of you who live in milder climates don't have to go through the extra step of producing dry 200-proof alcohol to get it to mix properly with gasoline."

[Thurmond Moore III]

I have tried mixing 150 proof and higher with gasoline and it definitely does not mix at any temperature or proof I have tried unless the water is removed first. It MUST be anhydrous to mix with gasoline at all. Try it yourself. Get a bottle of everclear and try to mix it with gasoline. It won't mix.

[I.M. Crawford]

Dave's engine conversion specialist, Ian here. It's clear the other guys on the forum are doing their homework, and their attitudes are excellent. It seems to me, though, that Eddie is not so focused on mixing with gasoline as with just running pure ethanol.

The book version of Alcohol Can Be A Gas! has good info on getting into the 200-proof range, pp. 225-229.
It also has the info on minimum ethanol proof points for carbureted and injected engines. See the index on "proof", p. 586.
I'm going to point something out: no one at our company expects you to read the entire gigantic book, but don't forget that the book has the best index you've ever seen. It's twenty pages long! Anything you want to know is probably going to be there.

It's good to mix a little Redline synthetic oil in with your alcohol so as to lubricate the fuel pump and the fuel injectors, as per Dave's instructions. I'll leave it up to you to find that in the index if it interests you.

All the best, everyone.

[Eddie Carter]

Thanks for your replies.
I will re-read the book for the 5th or 6th time... there is so much information and yes Ian, I failed to check the index.
I will pay more attention to that in the future.

I was also just curoius what others were experiencing as well.

Thanks for your time!

[I.M. Crawford]

I noticed I was a little imprecise in my first post. I meant to convey that Eddie seems to be interested in running his engines on alcohol, and determining the lowest proof he can get away with, not that he wants to mix alcohol with gasoline.

You do NOT need to go above 190 proof or so to use alcohol in engines, lower on carb engines.

You folks might want to keep an eye on Smartplugs on the internet. They need funding, but they claim they can run engines as low as 130 proof with their spark plug (which they don't yet have the funding to produce). Let me emphasize that I cannot vouch for them, but I've talked to them, and they are brilliant, brilliant people. If they can pull off their claim, not lose too much mileage, and deliver the product, energy costs to make ethanol would plummet. I may not be back in Forums, as I am swamped, but I wish you all well.