Dear List Members:
The only advantage I see to burning alcohol, is that it may reduce our
dependence on foreign oil, but we may pay a high price in the long run, as the
production of corn does erode the top soil, unless the farmer uses extreme
measures to prevent erosion. Folks, if we loose our top soil, we may be trying
to figure out ways to drink that oil.
I thought I noticed some humor concerning the siphoning of fuel? I like it
like that.
Yours Truly,
Clifford Wilson
----- Original Message -----
From: Lee A. Stone
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2008 10:15 PM
Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Alcohol as fuel
How right you are Jennifer, as the costs of fuel changes no matter
what it is made from everyone, yes including blind handymen and
handywomen will feel the cost go up in tools they buy as well as
products they purchase to improve their homes and apartments. . Each
of us in our way will pay the heavy costs day to day and no stopping
this all in the future. Look at the cost of a simple two by four. the
cost to run the chainsaw, to the cost of a skidder, then the cost of the
fuel for the tractor trailer which will bering lumber to your
neighborhood. Oh yes, we all feel the pressure . blind or not. Lee
On
Sat, Jun 07,
2008 at 07:21:11PM -0500, Jennifer Jackson wrote:
> We also need to consider what using grain alcohol as fuel is going to
> continue to do to the cost of food. That is a somewhat hidden cost that
> should be associated with this change to grain based fuels.
>
>
> Jennifer
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lenny McHugh
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2008 6:54 PM
> Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Alcohol as fuel
>
>
> Hmm! I can see the people siphoning fuel now. On the serious side I am not
> sure about the E15 fuel. A friend told me that he will never use it again.
> He has an older Camry and always got at least 28mpg. He started using E15
> and now is getting 21 mpg. I was one of those who had a lot of problems from
> gasohol. I had some expensive repair bills due to it.
> Lenny
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ray Boyce" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2008 6:01 PM
> Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Alcohol as fuel
>
> Alcohol is a viable fuel for vehicles. Ford Model T's were run on it during
> the depression; some drag racers use it, Indy race cars use it, and cars in
> some overseas countries run on alcohol fuel. In Canada, the auto
> manufacturers are just starting to design cars that can run on either
> gasoline or E85 (a mixture or 85% ethyl alcohol and 15% gasoline). It is
> relatively easy to modify a vehicle to run on alcohol, although fuel
> injected vehicles will need a little help from a computer programmer, so why
> are there no alcohol fuel stations?
>
> The answer is cost! Even though alcohol is manufactured from a renewable
> resource, and it is fairly simple to manufacture (just ask a moonshiner!),
> the cost of producing a litre of alcohol is more than the cost of producing
> a litre of gasoline. As the cost of gasoline rises, producing alcohol for
> fuel will become economically practical.
>
> There are other disadvantages of using alcohol. The heat content of a litre
> of alcohol is less than gasoline so more alcohol must be used to achieve the
> same power levels. The penalty is decreased fuel economy and lower driving
> range without installing bigger fuel tanks. Another disadvantage of alcohol
> as a fuel is its lower volatility. During hot weather driving, the fuel
> vaporises easily and vapour lock (fuel boiling in the lines) can occur. This
> can make the engine run rough or even prevent it from running. Sealed and
> pressurised fuel systems on fuel injected vehicles would tend to prevent the
> fuel from boiling, so this may not be a big concern for modern designs.
>
> There are a couple advantages of alcohol as a fuel. It mixes easily with
> water and prevents ice formation in cold weather. There is no need to add
> gas line de-icer. It also has a higher octane rating than gasoline, which
> allows engine compression ratios to be increased and ignition timing to be
> advanced for better performance.
>
> Currently, there is only one major fuel company in Canada supplying fuel
> with alcohol in it. Mohawk sells both regular and premium fuel with a blend
> of alcohol and gasoline. Advertisements for the fuel claim that up to 40%
> fewer emissions can be obtained by using this fuel. This can be true, but it
> depends on the age of the vehicle you are driving.
>
> Alcohol is an oxygenate. This means that the alcohol in the fuel breaks down
> as it is being burned to produce extra oxygen. The extra oxygen combines
> with the fuel to produce more complete combustion, more power, and lower
> emissions. However, this process only works well when there is an excess of
> fuel already entering the engine. Many carburettor-equipped vehicles would
> produce fewer emissions by using fuel with alcohol in it, but if your engine
> was already running with a lean fuel mixture, adding alcohol to the fuel can
> cause a hesitation or stumble.
>
> Fuel injected vehicles use an oxygen sensor to fine-tune the fuel delivery.
> If fuel with alcohol is used, the oxygen sensor measures the extra oxygen
> and signals the computer to supply more fuel. The engine should not operate
> any different or produce fewer emissions in this situation.
>
> Many consumers refer to gasoline and alcohol fuel blends as "Gasohol".
> Gasohol got a bad name in the United States during the fuel shortage crisis
> of the early 1970's. Some fuel companies were using too much alcohol, or the
> wrong type of alcohol! This problem has not existed in Canada and has been
> corrected south of the border.
>
> Two types of alcohol are available for blending with gasoline: ethyl alcohol
> (grain alcohol) and methyl alcohol (wood alcohol). Ethyl alcohol can be used
> by itself as a fuel but when it is marketed as a mix with gasoline it is
> limited to 10% by volume. This is acceptable by most automobile
> manufacturers. If in doubt, check your owner's manual.
>
> Methyl alcohol on the other hand is very corrosive. Most manufacturers do
> not recommend the use of it. Those that allow it specify a maximum of 3 to
> 5% and that anti-corrosion additive must be part of the fuel as well.
> Fortunately, methyl alcohol is not used with fuel in most of North America.
> It is just too corrosive.
>
> General Motors did evaluate a fleet of test vehicles in Alberta on M85 fuel
> (85% methyl alcohol and 15% gasoline) a few years ago. Stainless steel was
> used for fuel tanks, fuel lines, gauge sending units, and other special
> parts of the fuel system. This was necessary to resist the corrosive nature
> of the fuel. The vehicles ran well, but fuel injector problems were frequent
> because the fuel would attack the conventional gasoline injectors. The test
> fleet is no longer in service.
>
> Alcohol has the potential to replace gasoline in the future or at least
> extend our gasoline supply. The successes in development of other alternate
> energy sources may limit the use of alcohol as a fuel, but there has been
> some work in using alcohol in conjunction with fuel cells to produce power
> for tomorrow's vehicles. Alcohol has been used as a fuel for centuries.
> Maybe it will be the fuel of the future too.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> To listen to the show archives go to link
> http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=33&MMN_position=47:29
> Or
> ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/
>
> The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is.
> http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday
>
> Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various
> List Members At The Following address:
> http://www.jaws-users.com/JAWS/handyman/
>
> Visit the archives page at the following address
> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
>
> If you would like to join the JAWS Users List, then visit the following
> address for more information:
> http://www.jaws-users.com/
> For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list
> just send a blank message to:
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] Groups Links
>
> __________ NOD32 3165 (20080606) Information __________
>
> This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
> http://www.eset.com
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
--
The moon may be smaller than Earth, but it's further away.
Come and chat with me at #quietzone on irc.newnet.net
__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature
database 3165 (20080606) __________
The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
http://www.eset.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
