Converting The Elio Engine To Run On Alcohol

[pistonboy]

I believe you my have the heat thing not quite right, Alcohol burns at a cooler temp then gas, hens the less BTU s per gallon. The rubbing alcohol on the body to cool you down in the result of evaperative cooling, vaporizing is not the issue, its freezing that's the issue. All the moisture in the air can build up ice in the intake. A higher temp is not whats needed, it good heat distribution, and all cars control for that. The start on gas get hot and switch to a different fuel was mainly on old farm tractors in the teens through the 40s, ALL FUEL was what it was sometimes called, It was cheaper than gas but had less power and was dirtier to burn in your engine When i was in collage, 1982, we had to tune a lawn mower engine to run on alcohol, specifically 180 prof ever-clear. it wasn't that hard, we just made some carburetor modifications and it ran fine. As for another poster the RFS renewable fuel standards has not been renewed for 2015 yet{ yes 2015]

Pistonboy might be thinking of propane, which requires a heated vaporizer to turn the liquid into a gas. They are started with gas.
http://www.cartrade.com/blog/2010/auto-guides/lpg-as-fuel-5.html

The vaporizer uses engine coolant to vaporize the propane:
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I think we actually are in basic agreement. Yes, alcohol has fewer BTUs than gasoline. Yes, the alcohol cools the body because of evaporation. Before a fuel will burn, it must change from a liquid to a vapor. This requires evaporation and heat is needed for this. This is why the carburetors set nicely on the intake manifold with hot water also running through the intake manifold. The carburetor and fuel were all kept hot promoting complete evaporation. To get the same complete evaporation of alcohol as gasoline, alcohol requires even more heat. When a liquid like alcohol evaporates, it absorbs heat and can become so cold, moisture will freeze. Heat is needed to keep the alcohol vapor above the freezing temperature of water so the freezing you are referring to, will not happen. Propane is another liquid that requires heat to thoroughly evaporate.

 

[Sethodine]

On the subject of prepping, I wonder how hard it would be to power the Elio on wood gas. The gasifier would need to be towed in a little trailer, but I think the high MPG characteristics of the Elio would still make wood gas a viable alternative to gasoline.

 

[W. WIllie]

I remember using methanol in my road racing Ducati YEARS ago. It smelled real sweet but I had to throw my jacket over the carb to conceal the "sweating" of the carb. Made a mistake once and left the meth in my fiberglass tank overnight about half full. 2 Gallon tank. Went to remove the tank the next day and it came off in two pieces. Right at the top level line of the meth.

Willie

 

[Coss]

One thing I remember using different fuels is to use some of the best flexible silicone tubing; some of the more exotic fuels would destroy rubber and plastic tubing. I usually try to use aircraft grade / air equip lines for anything flexible. Fuel lines, brake lines, coolant lines. A lot more expensive but the chances of something going wrong is greatly reduced.
I do the same with Nylock nuts; use once, and once only; never reuse them. I think I had the only Harley that wouldn't vibrate its self apart.

 

[MajorXx]

It would be a mistake to expect anywhere near 84 mpg using alcohol fuel..[/QUOTE/]

Since alcohol takes about 220% times the volume of gasoline to produce the same power, one might expect to get about 38 MPG on alcohol.

This would also give the Elio a range of 300 miles instead of 750.

 

[Lil4X]

There can be other difficulties with exotic materials used as fuel. Out in New Mexico near Christmastime I was in a customer's shop while a couple of mechanics were trying to start a diesel in sub-freezing weather. As it got dark, they pushed the truck into the 4-bay shop and closed the door for protection from the weather and returned to their task spraying "starting fluid" (ether) into the air intake. Within a few minutes, while the truck didn't start, everyone in the shop was woozy. It seems that a coupla cans of ether pumped through an engine without burning can create a sufficient cloud in a closed space to very nearly knock everyone out cold.

 

[TeamCoconutOreo]

You need stainless steal fuel lines, no organic seals or gaskets can be used (Alcohol will dry them out), you would need larger injectors, possibly a gas tank (depending on tank material) and a reprogrammed computer. I may be forgetting something.

Remember it's also more resistant than gasoline to pre-detonation, so you can go crazy with the timing curve and add all sorts of forced induction.

 

[Muzhik]

So what I'm getting from everyone's input is that if I'm really interested in alternative fuels I should probably focus on designing a diesel engine to fit in the Elio so I can focus on making biodiesel, as it would be easier than trying to retrofit the gasoline engine in the Elio to run on pure homemade alcohol.

 

[Karnaj]

So what I'm getting from everyone's input is that if I'm really interested in alternative fuels I should probably focus on designing a diesel engine to fit in the Elio so I can focus on making biodiesel, as it would be easier than trying to retrofit the gasoline engine in the Elio to run on pure homemade alcohol.

Yes. But to give you hope a diesel possibility was hinted at from my discussions at the LA Auto Show.

 

[slinches]

If you really want to play around with alternate fuels, you should look into adapting a turbine engine for the Elio.