stick it to the gas man April 24, 2007, 09:32:15 AM ok so this isnt a real tech question per se but it does go for your technical know how. just thought any of ya that wants to screw the gas man might wanna take a look at this. its a way to convert your rig to run ethanol the guy i talked to said that its real easy to manufacture and overhaul your rig to run either or. i dont know about the rest of yall but to me it sounds like a better deal to spend $1.25 a gallon on gas vs. $3.00+http://www.fullflexint.com/index.html Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #1 – April 24, 2007, 10:52:45 AM #1, How much corn would you need to make a sufficient supply of ethanol? Seems to me like a lot.#2, Ethanol is going to explode in popularity soon, and with it will go the price of corn. I work at an engineering firm and I've been told that one company alone is building something like 10-15 ethanol plants across the country. There is going to be a HUGE demand for corn once these plants start running and E85 gets more popular.I'm not so sure that making your own ethanol would be such a viable solution. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #2 – April 24, 2007, 11:31:14 AM right but the main thing is being able to convert your car to run on the stuff rather than having to buy a 45K truck from gm that can run on the stuff plus if your a ways out of town and they dont have ethanol close by why not manufacture it till it gets to you. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #3 – April 24, 2007, 12:03:19 PM Well, I suppose that's true, but still...No ethanol here yet, and I have to wonder how much their distilling equipment costs. I'm sure it's over $1000.I spose that if they ever get ethanol around here, I might convert, although $370 is pretty steep for a control box. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #4 – April 24, 2007, 12:06:58 PM Couple of things you may want to consider when making your own... One is the still, those that are capable of creating fuel grade alchohol (180 proof) are not cheap or particularly cheap/easy to build. You won't make it for $1.25/gallon until you've amortized that $3-5k you spent getting set up.Two is the ATF, if you don't buy a permit from them they'll come bust you for moonshining. Actually, it would probably be for not paying proper road taxes but they could decide you're just making whiskey and not fuel. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #5 – April 24, 2007, 09:26:13 PM why not use denatured alcohol? all it is is ethenol with enough $h!t in it that you can't drink it.louie Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #6 – April 24, 2007, 11:06:43 PM Well, I've heard some people do that by buying it in 55 gallon drums, but I don't know where you can get that much of it at. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #7 – April 24, 2007, 11:18:50 PM Quote from: Red_LX;142527#1, How much corn would you need to make a sufficient supply of ethanol? Seems to me like a lot.#2, Ethanol is going to explode in popularity soon, and with it will go the price of corn. I work at an engineering firm and I've been told that one company alone is building something like 10-15 ethanol plants across the country. There is going to be a HUGE demand for corn once these plants start running and E85 gets more popular.I'm not so sure that making your own ethanol would be such a viable solution.so your saying that we should all become corn farmers? :hick: Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #8 – April 24, 2007, 11:21:03 PM There are enough already. The government pays people to not grow food, so the market doesn't bottom out. The price would rise at first, but then the market would catch up. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #9 – April 25, 2007, 12:05:58 AM Quote from: Red_LX;142527#2, Ethanol is going to explode in popularity soon, and with it will go the price of corn. I work at an engineering firm and I've been told that one company alone is building something like 10-15 ethanol plants across the country. There is going to be a HUGE demand for corn once these plants start running and E85 gets more popular. The Gov't also has HUGE stockpiles of corn and pays farmers not to plant their fields. Ethanol could save one hell of a lot of family farms. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #10 – April 25, 2007, 12:40:38 PM take it how you will with so much science for and against a "new" fuel source i guess we need to take a look at the brazilians and how it has harmed or benefitted them. to me it would be one way to help the AMERICAN farmers and free us from foreign oil "terrorist funding". but thats just my two pennies.when the government realizes that corn became a cash crop think how much of it is going to be produced. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #11 – April 26, 2007, 12:33:18 PM Ethanol isn't going anywhere right now. It currently takes more energy (money) to make it than you get out of it. The cheapest way that I am aware of is making it from sugar cane, which Brazil is the main source of that. We've had E85 for a couple of years now and I don't know anybody that uses it. We tried it in our FFV Ranger and got 10-13 mpg. E85 is typically 30 cents cheaper than unleaded. It's not worth it although it does make for cheap race gas. Keep your eye out for bio diesel though. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #12 – April 26, 2007, 01:14:42 PM oh ive been drooling over biodiesel but i dont wanna do the conversion to any of my rigs. well its a way to reduce dependence on arab oil so the next time the sheik wants to hurt the capitalist pigs we can all laugh our arses off when all they have to eat is sand and camel meat. while helping farmers in america. and slowing the locust ds of developers. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #13 – April 27, 2007, 11:32:11 AM Quote from: koldhearted1;142953oh ive been drooling over biodiesel but i dont wanna do the conversion to any of my rigs. ...There's no "conversion" to run biodiesel, put it in the tank and go. Mix it in any ratio with petrodiesel. You'll need to change your fuel filter a couple times soon after you start using it since it has a cleaning effect on the fuel system but that's it unless it gets cold enough to worry about it gelling. http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/biodiesel_basics/default.shtm Running straight veggie oil is a different story, there is some "conversion" necessary to get it warm enough to flow and burn properly....I'm pretty sure biodiesel is what we'll see win out in the long haul instead of ethanol... unless the one oil company (that I know of) working on butanol from sugar beets is successful. Butanol can be dumped in your gas tank today and the car will run just like it does on gasoline. Very little difference in the energy content and existing infrastructure (meaning your fuel lines and seals) doesn't need to be changed to handle butanol. If Ford and the other automakers had any sense they'd be pushing the development of butanol since it would cost them almost nothing to start shipping cars that can use it and the marketing coup that will result from the first company that announces ALL their vehicles are renewable energy capable will be huge. Quote Selected
stick it to the gas man Reply #14 – June 20, 2007, 11:23:49 AM very true i had not heard about butanol, but having an engine that runs on the bio diesel when all my rigs are gas would be a bit of a steep price tag. like trying to find a diesel engine to stick between the frame rails of my b2. Quote Selected
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