Thanks for the info!

The only problem with those kits is they still depend on the pump, lines, and injectors being able to provide 30% more fuel volume under all conditions. I did not see if they had any error lights to indicate the injectors were being driven at 100% etc. They also mention the parts compatibility etc must be evaluated.

 

If you install the kit with a carb engine and just set up an alternate Electric pump or pressure regulator for when you run regular gas-- would that help to make the quick adjustment.
Seems to me if your mechanical enough to replace the tanks, lines and pumps you could do a dual feul setup yourself without the kit. I have seen carborated manifolds drilled with injectors for propane before. If you ran the alcohol through a seperate setup ie pump tank and lines then just lock out the gasoline you could run with a pressure silinoid conected to the throttle linkage to regulate the injector flow.. ok its a bit complicated. You'd have to play with it .. maybe buy the brazil kit and do something of a hybrid of both ideas. oh I don't know forget I said anything.
My 2 cents on the laws is write your congressman and start a potition to make them change the law. if you get enough signatures the press will take your idea and run.
john

 

The site ETHANOLSTILL.COM said that if you replace the rubber fuel lines on your old carburated engines they will run just fine. With a carburator their is no problem getting more fuel to the engine. But the ethanol will eat the rubber lines all the way through. BONUS:this site also has the recipe to make your own ethanol.

 

Making ethanol isn't difficult; however, unless someone has a cheap (read free or something very close) and plentiful supply of suitable material, it may not make much sense financially to do it in a smaller scale to be used as an automotive fuel.

Another thing, because of the higher octane rating of, but less energy content, mixes with high alcohol content will be less than optimal in engines that were designed for gasoline (especially regular), even if the mixture is enriched, and is proper for the alcohol content.

 

It takes 30% more fuel by volume with ethanol and the carb must be modified to provide the enriched mixture with larger jets. Failure to enrich the carb can destroy the engine. A normal fuel system will provide enuf fuel capacity at idle or maybe even cruise but it may not be able to keep up with demand under wide open throttle. The resulting lean condition can destroy the engine quickly.

http://www.answers.com/topic/e85

It takes a lot of acreage to grow crops for fuel. If you have some acreage it would probably be more profitable to grow food.

 

Funny thing about the 30% more fuel by volume with ethanol. I am doing a ground up overhaual on my 68 2wd, 360 stroked .060 over stock bore/390 crank & pistons/428 rods/msd distributor & 6a box and an dual plane aluminum intake. Basicly now its a 410 with a 4.111 displacment. The truck came stock with dual tanks for a total of 52 gallons capacity.
The 4 dino programs I have run all say that the new milage will be between 17 and 21 mpg. Which I know is only on paper but that still means that even taking the low end 17mpg its around a 70% increase just on pump gas. If I plug in the formula for running on alcohol the new milage is 10.5 on ethenol. Though that puts me back to nearly the original milage of 10mpg of gasoline it originaly ran on I think that the trade off in dollars works out nicely and is kinda funny.
By the way I have about an acre of grasslawn at my home and I have to mow twice a week. I produce about 200 pounds of grass each time I mow. that adds up to a ton ecery 5 weeks. I am aware that I can distill methanol from grass. If I utalize brewers yeast and additional sugar I should be able to produce a decent amount of fuel right?
I don't think I'd want to depend on producing my own feul in the long term but New Jersey only has one station for the stuff and its in the souther part of the state. Also the nearest one to me is actualy 75 miles away in New York.
In the long term I see that investing in thebooming acohol bussness is a good thing but unthi they pop a few pumps my way I dont now if I'm ready to limit my truck use yet. When they do It wont hurt me to convert though.

 

I would think you mean ethanol from grass clippings, rather than methanol, as the two are very different in properties. Methanol is nastier in regards to corrosion, and is less efficient than ethanol as well.

 

First: If you put a 390 crank in a 360 you get a 390, not a 410. You need a 428 crank to make a 410 out of a 360, regardless of the rods. Which, by the way, you need short rods, so your 428 rods are correct.

Anyway, you can't make ethanol from grass at this time. There is research under way to break down the cellulose to fermentable sugars so you could make ethanol. I believe you'd end up with methanol. That stuff has reduced energy content beyond even ethanol, and is very corrosive, more so than ethanol. I'd till it up and plant either corn or sorghum there. You dont want to use additional sugar because you'd come out waaay behind. That sugar costs a lot of money for what you'd get out of it.

 

Actually, if done right, it would be ethanol. Methanol is generally produced from wood or coal, also with natural gas, where grass and other starch like plants will generally make ethanol. Here is a plant designed to do just that. Yard grass isn't likely to be as efficient, but wouldn't that be interesting to be able to turn yard waste into fuel? Switch grass is more efficient at producing ethanol than corn is, and is more tolerant to adverse conditions.

 

JohnnyD, what programs are you using that are giving you those mileage numbers ? The gasoline numbers sound somewhat optimistic, and the ethanol numbers sound too low. Many of the dyno progams out there don't differentiate between ethanol and methanol, and are computing mileage using the same thermal efficiancy numbers as gasoline. Yes, E85 only has 70%~ of the btus per gallon as gasoline, but figuring out miles per gallon is not as simple as how many btus you have to start with. There is also latent heat of vapourization and flame speed that come into play. Add to that the fact that E85 is very happy in a 12 to 1 engine, but pump gasoline is not. What compression are you thinking for your build ? What cam, as that will affect things as well ? Gasoline burns in a 9 to 1 engine at something like 25% TE, whereas ethanol will burn at 40%TE in a 12 to 1 engine. But if you build an engine with higher compression, you might not be able to run it on pump gasoline if you wanted to........So the question is do you want to build an ethanol (E85 ) only engine, or one that can burn gasoline OR E85, depending on how you tune it ? DF, on lunch @ work

 

Most of the sugar in grass clippings is contained in cellulosic materials which will not ferment using ordinary yeasts.

 

If you check the link, they address that fact...

 

Where is the cellulose info, I didn't see it???

 

Now Ottawa-based Iogen Corporation (map of Ontario) might have solved these production problems.

Their researchers looked at a variety of enzymes and how they break down different plant fibers.

The innovative process they developed uses leftovers from crops grown for food, such as the straw left after wheat is harvested, to produce ethanol.

"The process is very similar to the way a brewery works," said Mandy Chepeka, an Iogen spokesperson.

"Essentially we start with a bale of wheat straw, add enzymes to convert the straw into sugar, and then let fermentation and distillation make the sugar into ethanol."

It doesn't come right out and say cellulose, but that is what they are converting into sugar.

 

I know there are several ways to break up cellulose; however, some of them are (i.e. strong acid hydrolysis) not particularly suitable for in-home use.

In any case, are those enzymes available for purchase? If so, at what cost?