THE Miles Per Gallon Thread (merged)

Jumper69 · Coal Joined: Nov 24, 2004 Posts: 3

Acetone In Fuel Said to Increase Mileage 15-35%
Readily-available chemical added to gas tank in small proportion improves the fuel's ability to vaporize completely by reducing the surface tension that inhibits vaporization of some fuel droplets.
by Louis LaPointe
Adapted by Sterling D. Allan and Mary-Sue Haliburton with LaPointe's permission for Pure Energy Systems News
Acetone (CH3COCH3), also called dimethylketone or propanone, is a product that can be purchased inexpensively in most locations around the world, such as in the common hardware store. Added to the fuel tank in tiny amounts, acetone aids in the vaporization of the gasoline or diesel, increasing fuel efficiency, engine longevity, and performance -- as well as reducing hydrocarbon emissions.
Source

Petro · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 14, 2004 Posts: 375

seriously...although it would be silly of me to eschew any form of conservation there is something blatantly absent from your post: how much Acetone is produced per annum, let's say in the US. What resource is it derived from; and can we produce enough to support the entire glut of automobiles; how much energy is required to produce and distribute Acetone?
Does the percent of fuel savings - fuel required to produce = net gain? If so what is the adjusted economy? I hate sounding so defeatist, but I personally feel that these types solutions, even if only partial perputate the problem. Just me take with a grain of salt.

Doly · Expert Joined: Dec 03, 2004 Posts: 4041

If it's an effective solution, why hasn't it been used before? Acetone has been around for longer than gasoline. I'm not saying your information is incorrect, but I suspect there must be some catch if it hasn't been used.

pip · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:34 am Post subject: THE Miles Per Gallon Thread

I've heard this before. I think it's one of those urban legends.
_________________
The road goes on forever and the party never ends - REK

Taskforce_Unity · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:51 am Post subject: THE Miles Per Gallon Thread

Hmmz sounds not really credible to me, anybody has the time to check this out? I doubt if it will work. Probably some chemist on the forum kan debunk this really quick.
Hasn't Been Warmly Received

Questions asked of someone in the petroleum industry regarding ACETONE will often automatically trigger a string of negative reactions and perhaps false assertions. We may have heard them all. The mere mention of this additive represents such a threat to oil profits that you may get fabricated denials against the successful use of acetone in fuels.

The author has never found any valid reason for not using acetone in gasoline or diesel fuel. Plus it takes such a tiny amount to work. No wonder they fear this additive

Roy · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:15 pm Post subject:

I received a copy of this story in my emai box.
Being a car guy, I read the article with interest. The assertion makes sense. Not only to myself, but some mechanical engineers and other car guys I've talked to about it.
The premise is that gasoline has an inherent surface tension that inhibits complete vaporization in the combustion chamber. Therefore complete burning of the air/fuel mixture never happens. The author claims that acetone acts an agent to reduce the inherent surface tension, and thereby allow more complete combustion of the air/fuel mixture.
The author also claims that acetone will not degrade components designed to work with gasoline.
As I said, everyone I've talked to was cynical at first until we got into the "nuts and bolts" of it.
I'm no chemist for sure. But I do have an engineering degree and 20+ years of experience working on i/c engines.
I've spent years learing how to maximize the fuel economy of all my vehicles. Many times the most trivial component being optimized can make a noticeable difference in fuel economy.
I'm going to give this a try. I'll report back in a month or so when I have enough data to make a conclusion.
Notwithstanding a reply to this post from a chemical engineer/chemist informing me that its a bunk idea.

pup55 · Expert Joined: May 26, 2004 Posts: 3862

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=chem&id=194&query=acetone&prodcat=Auto+products

Go for it.

aahala · Intermediate Crude Joined: Feb 03, 2005 Posts: 954

I think Louis and Sterling and Mary-Sue may have been adding acetone to
their morning orange juice. Razz

Roy · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:45 pm Post subject:

So pup55,
Are you saying that its a bad idea???
If so, why? I'm interested in your reasoning and/or knowledge base.
Sure, I've seen many a scam automotive product. The Tornado comes to mind. In just about every case of snake oil auto products, they are accompanied with a marketing campaign. I didn't notice that the source of this article was an acetone mfgr. Maybe I missed something. What I read was that these people figured this out on their own. The author claims 1-2 fl oz per 10 gallons in enough to do the trick. (frankly the concept intrigues me)
Since acetone is used in carbuerator cleaners its obviously not harmful to fuel systems per se. The products you linked are very familiar to me.
No one I talked to about this agreed that it would work. Only that it would be worth a try on a "gas hog", like my old truck that I use for occaisional hauling. It gets 11mpg driven conservatively. And it is in near optimal running condition for a vehicle of it's type.
Even a 15% improvement in gas mileage would be well worth the small investment required to try it. If it doesn't work I've lost only a few dollars for the acetone. But I gain a big supply of parts cleaner so its not a total loss.
Seems like a win-win to me.
Roy

pup55 · Expert Joined: May 26, 2004 Posts: 3862

Antimatter · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:09 pm Post subject:

If it really made such a difference, lowered emissions etc why wouldn't refineries already be adding it? Hydrocarbons don't have much surface tension anyway. When filling a lawnmower etc you will notice how 'thin' petrol is. Incomplete combustion can usually be seen and smelt in the form of black/brown smoke. If anything it seems to me that acetone being a polar molecule would increase the surface tension.

Roy · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 6:43 am Post subject:

Thanks for the comments guys.
I'll give it a go this weekend.
My truck, an 82 Ford F100, actually has a high compression engine in it. The guy who built it told me it would only run on 92+ octane.
I tried half a tank of 89 octane mixed with the 92 in the tank, and voila, instant pinging.
Acetone as an octane boost (2oz per 10 gallons or 4 oz per tank in this truck) should be worth its weight as an octane booster alone.
Gas just went from $1.93 to $1.99 yesterday at the cheapest station in town yesterday. Sad

I'll post the results in a few weeks.

pup55 · Expert Joined: May 26, 2004 Posts: 3862

We await in suspense for news of the outcome of this experiment!

EnviroEngr · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 8:50 pm Post subject: Will it help with fingernails.

Antimatter · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:01 am Post subject:

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Acetone_as_a_Fuel_Additive

A few people have posted results here. Keep in mind that people, thinking they should get better milage, may subconsciencely drive more gently and end up seeing savings due to this.