nascar88, I thought for sure you were going to say that some guy in a van pulled into the station and they brought him some jugs of alchol from out back and he just poured it in and he's got about 150,000 miles on that thing.

 

Your numbers are way off. The stoichiometric ratio for non oxygenated gasoline and air is 14.7 to 1. Maximum power is acheived at 12-13 to 1, and maximum thermal efficiency is obtained at 16-18 to 1. The stoichiometric ratio for ethanol is 9.0 to 1 and for MTBE it is 11.7 to 1.

Also, the stoichiometric ratio has nothing to do with the amount of energy released per unit volume. Alcohol simply has less energy per gallon than gasoline. Gasoline has approximately 42 MJ/kg (mega joules per kilogram) of releasable energy, while ethanol has 26.7 MJ/kg, and MTBE has 35.2 MJ/kg.


It is true that alcohol attracts water more readily than gasoline, but at the same time it keeps the water in suspension as opposed to letting it settle to the bottom of the tank. You'll notice that virtually every additive used to remove water contains alcohol. In any event, as long as you are not letting your tank sit for months, the amount of water is inconsequential.

 

Hey Raoul ....

If you put that "stuff" in a martini glass, with an olive, you can get some decent mileage out of a couple of those beauties. Opppps!! You're talking about the gas pump alcohol...aren't you!!?? Heeeee hee heeeeeee!!!

BillVoyles
RedLowRyder