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Author
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Topic: better gas mileage
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Rob
Knows what it's all about
Member # 75
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posted March 28, 2005 05:04 PM
Acetone In Fuel Said to Increase Mileage 15-35%
Readily-available chemical added to gas tank in small proportion improves the fuel's ability to vaporize completely by reducing the surface tension that inhibits vaporization of some fuel droplets.
by Louis LaPointe
Adapted by Sterling D. Allan and Mary-Sue Haliburton
with LaPointe's permission for Pure Energy Systems News
Acetone (CH3COCH3), also called dimethylketone or propanone, is a product that can be purchased inexpensively in most locations around the world, such as in the common hardware store. Added to the fuel tank in tiny amounts, acetone aids in the vaporization of the gasoline or diesel, increasing fuel efficiency, engine longevity, and performance -- as well as reducing hydrocarbon emissions.
How it Works
Complete vaporization of fuel is far from perfect in today's cars. A certain amount of fuel in most engines remains liquid in the hot chamber. In order to become a true gas and be fully combusted, fuel must undergo a phase change.
Surface tension presents an obstacle to vaporization. For instance the energy barrier from surface tension can sometimes force water to reach 300 degrees Fahrenheit before it vaporizes. Similarly with gasoline.
Acetone drastically reduces the surface tension. Most fuel molecules are sluggish with respect to their natural frequency. Acetone has an inherent molecular vibration that "stirs up" the fuel molecules, to break the surface tension. This results in a more complete vaporization with other factors remaining the same. More complete vaporization means less wasted fuel, hence the increased gas mileage from the increased thermal efficiency.
That excess fuel was formerly wasted past the rings or sent out the tailpipe but when mixed with acetone it gets burned.
Acetone allows gasoline to behave more like the ideal automotive fuel which is PROPANE. The degree of improved mileage depends on how much unburned fuel you are presently wasting. You might gain 15 to 35-percent better economy from the use of acetone. Sometimes even more.
How Much to Use
Add in tiny amounts from about one part per 5000 to one part per 500, depending on the vehicle -- just a few ounces per ten gallons of gas. This comes to between 0.075% and 0.350% acetone
Figure 1:
Percentage MILEAGE GAIN when a tiny amount of acetone is added to fuel. The curves A B C show the effect on three different cars using different gasolines. Some engines respond better than others to acetone. The D curve is for diesel fuel. Too much acetone will decrease mileage slightly due to adding too much octane to the fuel. Too much also upsets the mixture ratio because acetone (like alcohol) is a light molecule.
After you find the right amount for your car per ten gallons, and you are happy with your newfound mileage, you might want to try stopping the use of acetone for a couple of tanks. Watch the drop in mileage. It will amaze you. That reverse technique is one of the biggest eye openers concerning the use of acetone in fuel.
In a 10-gallon tank of gasoline, use two to three ounces of pure acetone to obtain excellent mileage improvements. In a ten-gallon tank of diesel fuel, use from 1 to 2 ounces of acetone. Performance goes too. Use about a teaspoon of acetone in the fuel tank of a lawnmower or snowblower.
Where to Get Acetone
The pure acetone label is the only additive suggested and is easily available from most stores in 16-ounce plastic bottles and in one-gallon containers from some large farm supply stores. But any acetone source is better than none. Containers labeled acetone from a hardware store are usually okay and pure enough to put in your fuel. We prefer cans or bottles that say 100-percent pure. The acetone in gallons or pints we get from Fleet Farm are labeled 100% pure. The bottles from Walgreen say 100% pure. Never use solvents such as paint thinners or unknown stuff in your gas. Toluene, benzene and xylene are okay if they are pure but may not raise mileage except when mixed with acetone.
Adding Acetone to Your Tank
When you fill up with fuel, note the number of gallons added, then calculate the right amount of acetone to add.
Some stores sell acetone in metal cans of various sizes, which are safe to keep indoors. However, it is difficult to pour from these cans, which have a flat top and short neck from which spillage is inevitable. In any case, while handling acetone, you should be wearing rubber gloves.
One option is to get a small graduated cylinder (available from science supplies store or some pharmacies). The small ones have larger intervals between markings so that it is easier to fill them to the level desired. The narrow cylinder can be held to the neck of the can to catch all drips. Then from the cylinder you can pour neatly into the tank. The small pouring spout suitable for laboratories prevents drips onto the paint.
Being etched with neat lines at each milliliter, these graduated cylinders are also good for measuring precise amounts -- in ounces or milliliters.
Additional Benefits
In addition to increased mileage acetone added to fuel boasts other benefits such as increased power, engine life, and performance. Less unburned fuel going past the rings keeps the rings and engine oil in far better condition.
A tiny bit of acetone in diesel fuel can stop the black smoke when the rack is all the way at full throttle. You will notice that the exhaust soot will be greatly reduced.
Acetone can reduce hydrocarbon emissions up to 60 percent. In some older cars, the HC readings with acetone went from say 440 PPM to 195, as just one example. Though mileage gains taper off with too much acetone, hydrocarbon emissions are nevertheless greatly reduced. Pure acetone is an extremely clean burning fuel that burns in air with a pretty blue, smokeless flame.
Acetone reduces the formation of water-ice crystals in below-zero weather which damage the fuel filter.
There are no known bad effects and every good reason to use acetone in your fuel. I have never seen a problem with acetone, and I have used ACETONE in gasoline and diesel fuel and in jet fuel (JP-4) for 50 years. I have rigorously tested fuels independently and am considered an authority on this important subject.
Cautions
Keep acetone away from painted surfaces, such as the paint on your car under the gas tank opening. Acetone is the key ingredient in paint remover. In addition to paint, fuels, including acetone, can also dissolve asphalt and most plastics.
Never allow skin contact with it. It can damage clothing as well. Don't breathe it. Keep children away from all dangerous chemicals. Read the directions on the container.
Acetone is a highly flammable liquid. Do not expose it near a flame or spark. Acetone should be stored outside, with proper ventilation, not inside your house. Gasoline and/or acetone will dissolve cheap plastics, so be sure the container you store it in will not deteriorate.
Solvents that can evaporate through plastics (which are, after all, derived from hydrocarbons) should not be stored in any such permeable materials. Keeping a plastic bottle inside the car, especially the SUV or wagon type without a trunk, could expose driver and passengers to small amounts of fumes evaporating through the plastic – unless you always drive with windows open.
No Issues with the Engine
I have soaked carburetor parts in acetone for months and even years to see if there is any deterioration. Any parts made to run with gasoline will work with acetone just fine.
Contrast with Alcohol
In contrast, alcohol has been shown to be corrosive in an engine, yet they put THAT into gasoline. Alcohol in general is anti-mileage. Alcohol is no good in fuels. In Brazil, millions of engines and fuel systems were ruined by alcohol.
Furthermore, alcohol increases surface tension, producing the opposite effect from acetone. Alcohol in fuel attracts water. This hurts mileage because water acts like a fire extinguisher. Some cars may run badly and even quit due to the incombustible nature of the water-laden fuel. We know of a dozen cars that recently stopped running due to water in the alcohol and gas mixture.
In below-zero weather, the water and alcohol form abrasive, icy particles that can damage fuel pumps.
Hasn't Been Warmly Received
Questions asked of someone in the petroleum industry regarding ACETONE will often automatically trigger a string of negative reactions and perhaps false assertions. We may have heard them all. The mere mention of this additive represents such a threat to oil profits that you may get fabricated denials against the successful use of acetone in fuels.
The author has never found any valid reason for not using acetone in gasoline or diesel fuel. Plus it takes such a tiny amount to work. No wonder they fear this additive.
Political Action
You might Email this article to your government representative. After sufficient data has been collected, and that data supports the conclusions presented here, ACETONE should be ordered by Federal Law to be present in all fuels. While you're at it, request that vehicles be equipped with a MPG read-out to make it easier for consumers to know what is and is not working to improve their mileage.
If You Want to Do Independent Testing
For those of you who like to see the data yourself, there is a great little device available to check your exact gas mileage and more. See ScanGauge.com for an instrument that fits any car1996 or newer. It measures your real-time MPG, inlet temperature and many more details as you drive. This inexpensive tool should end a lot of debate over what works for mileage and what does not. We use the TRIP function to average the MPG at a steady 50 MPH both ways.
Since the fuel from every gas station is different from the next, the MPG performance will also vary. Then there exist a wide variety of additive choices at the terminals that affect quality. Also other variables in the cars performance such as warm external temperature versus cold external temperature, using the AC or not, headlights or not, incline of drive, etc. Try to eliminate as many of these variable as possible in your comparative testing.
Be consistent where you buy your gasoline because different gasolines vary tremendously. The best gas and the worst gas in your neighborhood will likely have a 30-percent spread in mileage. Same for diesel fuel. (In my experience with repeated test results, I have found that Texaco, Chevron and Canadian Shell deliver excellent gasoline mileage.) Try to keep down the number of variables wherever you gas up by using the same station, same pump, same grade or same octane before testing.
Incidentally, in almost all cases, the lowest octane is best for mileage. Most modern vehicles do not have high enough compression to justify using high octane fuels. The testing indicates best mileage is usually obtained with 85 or 87 octane gasoline. Too much octane causes a loss of power and economy. BUT too little octane causes the same things plus knocking. Listen carefully to your engine for tell-tale knocks or clicks when you start out from a light. The best mileage points to the correct octane when the engine is properly tuned.
The ScanGauge enables you to notice these difference and then see the difference with and without acetone added in various proportions.
Report Your Findings
PES Network Inc. has created an index page at PESWiki where you can report your findings. PESWiki is a publicly editable website where you can post a summary of your results, or create a full page, with all the details you wish to report, with images and links to video or spreadsheet data.
Other Additives Exist
There are of course other additives that improve mileage (which also have had less than a favorable reception by the petroleum industry). Certain octane improvers for example also aid mileage. We recently proved that Carb Medic from Gunk can raise mileage when 3 oz. are used with 2 oz. of acetone per 10 gallons of gasoline, even in cold weather.
Many products claiming to improve mileage are expensive and do not really help much. Others are fakes. For instance, a smooth flow of air into a carburetor or injector is far better for mileage than turbulent air. Yet many people deliberately introduce turbulent air into their engines. There are many silly myths floating around the car industry to fool the average person. Another is that cold intake air improves mileage. NO. Warm air improves mileage.
Test for yourself. Take a mileage check for each and every tank of gas or diesel fuel like we do. Your actual mileage is NOT that of a single tank full but the average of perhaps five tanks. To be accurate, you should not miss any checks. This takes discipline to get reliable results. Someday your car will do it for you with an MPG gauge on the dash. But for now, YOU ought to keep tabs on your mileage for all our sakes.
# # #
SOURCES
The above story was adapted with permission from a story reported at:
http://www.lubedev.com/smartgas/additive.htm
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Follow-up
From: Louis LaPointe
March 19, 2005
Something that might be added:
In early 2004, a SmartGas reader named Dave in New York State filled three bottles with: pure acetone, half acetone/ half gasoline and straight gasoline. Into these he placed O-rings, pump diaphragms, plastic fittings, hose parts and other neoprene/n-buna stuff. He duped my experiments from back in the 50s. Months later he told me the pure acetone bottle was slightly darkened. Dave had carefully marked all the parts beforehand. He dried the parts to mike them again and noted after six months that the growth was about one-percent to two-percent in all the bottles, which was well within limits. Almost unnoticeable. He put the stuff back into the respective bottles where it may still be today. Dave has a background in physics and engineering.
He believes that everyone should do their own testing and not listen to the prejudiced opinions or words of others. There is way too much misinformation out there.
When I use acetone, I often add one of several other mileage additives into my 16 oz. Walgreen's plastic acetone bottle which stays in the trunk so as not to carry a large quantity container in case I get rear-ended. I am building a dyno facility to further test all the mileage additives and get perfect mixture figures to appear on the site this summer, I hope. Meanwhile the ScanGauge is being used daily by numerous persons across the U.S. running acetone and various carefully devised mixes and lubricants. Some oils can improve mileage substantially, notably Torco Oil.
Using the ScanGauge at 50MPH, my best mileage was 48-52 in my Neon a few weeks ago. Then I stopped the acetone to do some reverse testing. The next four tanks of the same Texaco gas showed 42-43, 37-38, 33-34, 30-31. No acetone when each tank was filled at half full. The drop was about 20 MPG overall.
The other person with me each time wrote down the results.
I am finishing a science article on the SmartGas.net site tonight--how to go about testing.
It concerns induction and the Scientific Method.
Thanks, Lou LaPointe
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"Where did all these #$%^&* Indians come from?" Gen. George Armstrong Custer
Posts: 224 | From: Clancy Montana | Registered: Feb 2003
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted March 28, 2005 06:50 PM
Very interesting article, Rob. Thanks for sharing.
I would like to see a legit answer from an Oil Co. rep. as to exactly why this can't work?
Good hunting. LB
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32363 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Rob
Knows what it's all about
Member # 75
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posted March 28, 2005 08:24 PM
2oz per ten gallons of gas seems to work best.
[ March 31, 2005, 05:32 PM: Message edited by: Rob ]
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"Where did all these #$%^&* Indians come from?" Gen. George Armstrong Custer
Posts: 224 | From: Clancy Montana | Registered: Feb 2003
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tneff
Knows what it's all about
Member # 551
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posted March 29, 2005 12:41 AM
That is very interesting , I would wonder what effects it would have on the fuel injection system if any??
Posts: 15 | From: Texas | Registered: Feb 2005
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Thomas
Knows what it's all about
Member # 482
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posted April 01, 2005 05:16 PM
I was told it would burn my injectors up
Posts: 23 | From: Mtn. Home Ark | Registered: Dec 2004
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted April 01, 2005 06:51 PM
Sounds like a good thing, but I'm not convinced enough to put my truck on the chopping block. If someone can provide a source with nothing to gain or lose whose name I recognize as reputable and objective, I might consider it more strongly. In the meantime, I get a little queasy at the thought of subjecting my gaskets, seals, and other engine components under compression and high heat to a substance I recall my organic chemistry profs referring to on a regular basis as a "solvent". Is there anything else out there discussing tests/ results on this idea?
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5440 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Steve C
Knows what it's all about
Member # 510
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posted April 02, 2005 11:05 AM
If you go to any auto store and look at the fuel additive section I could only find one brand that listed the ingredients of their product. Berryman Chemtool (everyone has it including wal mart) the first listed ingredient in their carb clean spray is acetone and in their fuel additive the second listed ingredient is acetone.
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CSVCA http://www.csvca.com
Posts: 82 | From: El Monte, CA | Registered: Jan 2005
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted April 02, 2005 07:06 PM
I read, once, (don't remember where?) that the best thing you could say about all the gasoline additives on the market is that your engine wouldn't know it was there. It does seem a little beyond "hopeful" that such a small amount of acetone could make that much difference. However, it has a spark of genuineness, (if that's a word?) but that "surface tension" buzz word sure works on some things.
It's almost one of those too good to be true, things.
Good hunting. LB
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32363 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Jack Roberts
unknown comic
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posted April 02, 2005 10:34 PM
Can we get a BS cheer?
Total crap.
Jack
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Locohead
World Famous Smoke Dancer
Member # 15
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posted April 05, 2005 09:48 AM
I was considering a diesel for better gas milage. Problem is every diesel is a great big old hairy engine. So I am now thinking about keeping a big truck for playing around and hunting. Meanwhile, buying a little 4-6 cyl. 2-wheel drive pick-up for getting around every day. Anyway, thats my plan for better gas milage.
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I love my critters and chick!!!! :)
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