Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2006 02:22:36 GMT From: "Walt Kienzle" <wkienzlenospam.com> Subject: Re: ethanol conversion query
"John B" <rotten_NOSPAM_nospam.org> wrote in message news:slrnealc42.cbu.rotten_NOSPAM_nospamam.example.com... > Hi, > > I've been reading up lately on the technical aspects of converting > gasoline > vehicles (e.g. a Saab c900 turbo) to run on ethanol or ethanol/gasoline > blends. > I'd appreciate any input on the ideas, and of course any experience anyone > might have doing such a project. I don't know how much value this will be, but I already went through some of this exercise with my 1991 9000T (Bosch LH-Jetronic). The experiment ended - at least temporarily - two weeks ago after 3 tankfulls and about 1000 miles with a fuel pump failure. I'm not saying that the E-85 fuel made the pump expire - 150,000 miles of use likely contributed to the situation. My findings: I tried E-85 with an unmodified fuel system and found that about 30% was acceptable. With ethanol concentrations higher than that, the "Check Engine" light would illuminate. The experiment continued with the installation of the FlexTek device. It fit the Bosch fuel injector connectors without issue. No polarity adapter needed. FYI, a competing device called FlexTune is also available at http://www.beutilityfree.com/still_home_page/flextek_homep.html. The FlexTek people call it a "cheap knock-off". I don't know much about it except it has more configuration settings for economy vs. performance and to account for different concentrations of ethanol. It also has a provision to operate a small gasoline tank to assist in cold weather starting when 100% ethanol (as is availabile in Brazil) is used. I didn't change anything else. The original FlexTek website (based in Brazil where FlexTek is manufactured - I don't have the site address handy) actually states that cars designed to handle 10% ethanol are overdesigned and will also handle 85% without a problem (in their opinion). The Xcelplus people have many fine chemicals that they want to sell, which could explain their differing opintion. FlexTek occasionally shows up on E-Bay at about half the price that Xcelplus is asking - but without the "Engine Preparation Kit". [snip] > The same people also sell some sort of engine treatment, which they claim > coats > certain engine parts to protect them from ethanol/water induced corrosion. > That's probably the scariest part of this whole thing as far as I'm > concerned. > Oh, and they also warn that the ethanol will clean out lots of gunk from > the > fuel tank, necessitating a couple of fuel filter changes. The cleaning properties are accurate - no fuel injector cleaner needed after you put in a few gallons of E-85. My fuel economy went up about 10% after the first few gallons of E-85 ran through the system. FYI: The E-85 capable Chevrolet Impala owners manual warns that fuel additives must not be used when the car is fueled with E-85. The Brazilain FlexTek site recommends that the fuel filter be changed once, after about two tankfulls or 500 miles of E-85 usage. > > So, does this sound like it would be a worthwhile experiment? The total > cost > would likely be $2000 - $3000, including the car... My total cost was about $250, including the fuel filter. Oh, plus $750 for the shop to install a new fuel pump ;-( If I missed answering anything, please let me know. I am in full agreement with your recount of the benefits of E-85. At the very least it allows for an alternate fuel should gasoline become unavailable. One last FYI trivia: The original mass-produced vehicle, the Model T (and Model A) Ford cars were designed to operate on gasoline or ethanol and can operate perfectly well on the E-85 fuel available today. Walt Kienzle > > John > > -- > Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com >
