Truth About Acetone and Ethanol
I am an eternal optimist when it comes to alternative fuels. I like to think that there are ways to enhance current technologies to squeeze more from them. I truly believe there are those in positions of power and authority who aren't motivated, for whatever reason, to make advances using current technologies.
There are a lot of potential reasons for this... take the concept of planned obsolescence for example. This concept is simple... make the product obsolete or outdated so that those producing the product can perpetuate their profit... or at least re energize it. And this concept exists in pretty much every market.
If I could tell you how to get 40 mpg in your V8 SUV without anyone having to buy a new car or any companies having to build one single new refueling station would that be significant? Imagine what that would do for the average Joe... how much money he could put back in his pocket after refueling... how much money he could pump back into the economy after refueling.
So for this reason I have decided to find out for myself if a certain technology is truly viable. I went to Home Depot today and bought a can of acetone. The theory is that acetone can improve fuel efficiency. The claims are anywhere from a couple of MPG to over 100% increase in gas mileage.
The link at the top of this blog gives a person enough information to begin testing. So I filled my Tahoe and then added 0.8 ounces of acetone per gallon of gasoline in the tank. This is not the 1.0 ounce per gallon prescribed in the article but I don't have an exhaust leak... so I'm starting a little smaller. My Tahoe has a 5.3 liter V8 and I currently get around 17 mpg. I've watched my mileage for quite awhile so I'm aware of the average. I have never gotten over 17.5. So this first test ought to be a quickie... here's what I'll do:
- Run through a few tanks with the 0.8 oz. per gallon and check my mpg after each refill. I realize that I can't perfectly calculate the amount of acetone if I'm not running my tank dry, however this is close enough for government work.
- Run through a few tanks with no acetone and check my mpg after each refill. Why? I saw reports of lower-than-normal mileage after the acetone was out of the system, so I want to check that out. Plus, if the acetone has done anything to the engine (good or bad) I want to know that as well... kind of re-establish a baseline for further tests.
Now, I truly want to try the "Richening" theory as well. I will consider that after the above tests are complete. If I do this I will probably buy a one of the chip programmers so I don't have to drill a hole in my exhaust pipe... and so that I can get some real numbers on how rich my mix is... seems like that would be important.
So, check back regularly and I will keep you posted. I'll post an update after each refill and anytime something interesting comes up... like my Tahoe dies.
Oh... ever wonder why the tests in these far-out stories are always done on old cars nobody drives anymore? Me too. Oh well.
