Fuel composition

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2 total messages Started by warren montgomery Fri, 03 Jan 1986 14:00

#373

Author: warren montgomery
Date: Fri, 03 Jan 1986 14:00

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A while back I posted a message asking if there was any reliable way
to determine the alcohol content of various brands of gas, with no
response (It may have been our mail or news systems fault).  I have
2 cars, neither of which much likes high alcohol gas.  I have heard
that the reduction in the amount of lead allowed in leaded gas will
cause an increase in alcohol in both leaded and unleaded fuel.
I just read a wonderfully unhelpful public service message from GM
in some publication on this indicating that it's a potential
problem, and owners should be aware of what is in the gas they are
putting in the tank.  The people at the stations around here don't
know what's in it, they just ring it up.  Is there any reliable
source of information on the composition of brand name gas?  (I know
that the el-cheapo distributors aren't at all consistent)

I want to do the best I can to keep my cars on the wagon before they
develop cirrhosis of the cylinder head!

-- 

Warren Montgomery,  ihesa!warren

Re: Fuel composition (Testing for ethanol...)

#535

Author: ems
Date: Mon, 06 Jan 1986 23:48

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Alcohol is often used to rid fuel tanks of water by soaking
it up into the fuel mix.  It seems to me that this could
be used in reverse to test for alcohol in the fuel.  Take a
sample of fuel, mix in a small amount of water, watch for
one of three possible reactions:
1)  Water absorbed -> lots of alcohol, small water
2)  Separation layer of water -> no alcohol
3)  Separation layer of water & ?? -> probably small alcohol, lots water.

A friend and I tried some water/alcohol/gas mixes in a small
engine about 1971.  If I remember right this is what we found.
It's been a while though, so if some one has a chem lab handy
they might want to test my memory.  I also have no idea what
gas of the '80s contains; though rumors of ethers & stuff abound ...
-- 
E. Michael Smith  ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems

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