convert to E85
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toofarnorth
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Until they start producing cellulosic ethanol in great quantities for E85 I'm sticking with good old fossil fuel, it's better to feed starving people with our crops than starving vehicles. Plus with the little fuel tank I have I need all the mileage I can get.
Rotore
Teh SPIK
didnt say you had to convert just thought it was interesting.
572bigblock
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believe me, nobody is starving because of Ethanol. Only the starch from the corn is used for alcohol (there is no shortage of starch in the world), leaving the protein and nutrients for animal feed. After ethanol plants are done with the corn they get, the bi-product is a high quality feed with DDGs.
Midgrade blends of Gas and Ethanol (around 50/50) can produce higher mileage gains then common blends available, such as E10 or E85. Personally, I think the performance gain with E85 is well worth the slight mileage drop if you have an engine that can take advantage of the higher octane levels.
Midgrade blends of Gas and Ethanol (around 50/50) can produce higher mileage gains then common blends available, such as E10 or E85. Personally, I think the performance gain with E85 is well worth the slight mileage drop if you have an engine that can take advantage of the higher octane levels.
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Teh SPIK
running e85 on a go kart can be useful if you want to go on an all out engine build.
frederic
The Junk Man
In a global sense, people are starving because they don't live where the food is. Producing corn, wheat, and other raw materials for food making is dirt cheap. We do it every day in the millions of tons per day.
Shipping this somewhere else on the globe is what is expensive, and why most charities that transport food from here to there spend so much money indirectly than for the direct benefit of the group they are helping. It's the shipping.
The US overproduces crops by about 1500 percent. There is no shortage here. The problem is getting it "there".
Our government still pays many farmers NOT to grow something. This became a federally approved handout way back when the farmers were producing so much crops most of it was going to waste.
Especially nowadays when "corn", "wheat", "rye", "soy" are rarely the first ingredient on any package.
E85 is a great fuel, but it's extremely corrosive. It eats mild steel, rubber and some synthetic replacements, and generally it needs to flow through stainless steel if you want any kind of durability of those parts. In moderation mixed with fossil fuels it's okay but the maximum ratio is something like 8:1, the 1 being E85.
It's a "dryer" fuel then even unleaded gasoline which provides so little lubrication as it is. Leaded fuels of yesteryear not only had higher octane (more available BTU's per gallon) than unleaded gasolines but the lead also provided lubrication qualities that piston rings, valve seats and seals really, really liked at the time.
Nowadays the materials used for these parts have changed significantly and are machined much more precisely, so the lack of lubricating qualities of unleaded fuel is no longer an issue. E85 straight up would be at this point.
This is why all of the GM vehicles that are designed as "flex fuel" vehicles, have mostly stainless fuel systems. While some of the code/data in the engine management computers is different, everything else is the same except the fuel system is essentially stainless rather than the more common materials - rubber and mild steel.
Shipping this somewhere else on the globe is what is expensive, and why most charities that transport food from here to there spend so much money indirectly than for the direct benefit of the group they are helping. It's the shipping.
The US overproduces crops by about 1500 percent. There is no shortage here. The problem is getting it "there".
Our government still pays many farmers NOT to grow something. This became a federally approved handout way back when the farmers were producing so much crops most of it was going to waste.
Especially nowadays when "corn", "wheat", "rye", "soy" are rarely the first ingredient on any package.
E85 is a great fuel, but it's extremely corrosive. It eats mild steel, rubber and some synthetic replacements, and generally it needs to flow through stainless steel if you want any kind of durability of those parts. In moderation mixed with fossil fuels it's okay but the maximum ratio is something like 8:1, the 1 being E85.
It's a "dryer" fuel then even unleaded gasoline which provides so little lubrication as it is. Leaded fuels of yesteryear not only had higher octane (more available BTU's per gallon) than unleaded gasolines but the lead also provided lubrication qualities that piston rings, valve seats and seals really, really liked at the time.
Nowadays the materials used for these parts have changed significantly and are machined much more precisely, so the lack of lubricating qualities of unleaded fuel is no longer an issue. E85 straight up would be at this point.
This is why all of the GM vehicles that are designed as "flex fuel" vehicles, have mostly stainless fuel systems. While some of the code/data in the engine management computers is different, everything else is the same except the fuel system is essentially stainless rather than the more common materials - rubber and mild steel.
572bigblock
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Yep, theres definately an abundance of crops. Alcohol for fuels can be made out of anything that will ferment. The decision to use Corn for Ethanol fuels, and Soy Beans for BioDiesel fuels, also helps to create a little bigger demand for these crops, and help the farmers out too by giving them a little bigger profit.
Around here you can apply for a Government Program called the CRP program, where the government will rent some of your land from you for several years. This helps to take unneeded crops out of production, which helps the farmers a little. The Government will plant wild grasses, and other native plants, to provide a habitat for wildlife.
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