converting gasoline engines to ethanol

8/16/2019 Converting Gasoline Engines to Ethanol

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Bio-Energy Series: Converting Gasoline Engines to Ethanol

by Randy Price and Ed Brokesh

Introduction:

Alternative fuels are becoing ore i!ortant as gas !rices rise and !etroleuresources d"indle# $his resource is es!ecially i!ortant to farers "ho drive any iles

bet"een fields% !arts stores% and to"n# Although any far vehicles are diesel &and you

should be looking at bio-diesel for those'% (uite a fe" farers still have gasoline vehicles&cars% trucks% tractors' and you are left "ith the o!tion of "hat to do "ith these vehicles)

If you are lucky enough to be at the end of your autoobiles or trucks econoic

de!reciation cycle% and you are considering buying a ne" car or truck% then it is very

likely you "ill find and be able to !urchase a **+ &or fle, fuel vehicle' that is e(ui!!edto run on any alcohol based fuel u! to E. &fuel "ith ./ ethanol0% the E nuber stands

for ethanol and the ne,t t"o digits after that indicate the !ercentage of alcohol in the

fuel'# If not% you are left "ith the o!tion of either buying a ne" car before you are ready%

or burning higher cost fossil fuels# Still% there are soe o!tions arriving on the arketthat ay hel! you out# $hese o!tions are conversion kits that allo" you to convert your

car to E.# $hese kits ay even be useable on gasoline !o"ered tractors and otherengines "ith the correct odifications#

Getting the Correct *uel Ratio 1i,ture:$he ain factor in converting a regular s!ark ignition fossil fuel engine into fle,

fuel engine is to get the fuel i,ture correct# Ethanol contains roughly 23/ less B$45s

than regular fuel and re(uires ore fuel to be in6ected into the engine to get the right

stoichioetric conditions# Stoichioetric ratio is the !ro!er ratio of the air to fuel ratio tocause co!lete cobustion# A noral car "ill run this i,ture slightly rich to get the

best ileage "ith least aount of engine "ear &an engine running above this ratio "illoverheat and ruin the internal cobustion !arts'# $he correct stoichioetric ratio forregular unleaded gasoline is 07#8:0% "hile 9#8:0 for E. &and can be any value in-bet"een

for different alcoholfuel ratios'# In ne"er cars% this eans either holding the in6ectors

o!en longer to get e,tra fuel into the engine% or running a higher flo" rate in6ector# Incarbureted engines% this eans re-6etting for a higher flo" rates# ;e"er fle, fuel cars are

already designed for these large changes in flo" conditions and can autoatically re-6et

for the various fuelalcohol ratios &they usually use the e,haust <= sensor and various

other sensors to deterine the correct fuel to air ratio i,ture'# In older cars &even ones"ith in6ection systes as late as last year'% the co!uter bo, and in6ectors cannot hold

the in6ectors o!en long enough to get a rich this i,ture "ith the E. fuel# In Bra>il and

other countries% this !roble has been circuvented by using a s!ecial bo, that !lugs in- bet"een the co!uter and the in6ectors% and causes the in6ectors to be held o!en longer

&*igure ='# ?ou could also install a larger set of in6ectors% but then the vehicle ight not

run correctly if you have to go back to regular fuel#

0 Ethanol is alcohol based fuel ade by the ferentation of corn starch% sugars% and other resources# $his is

the !redoinant alcohol fuel used today and i,ed "ith regular fossil fuel gasoline &although other

versions e,ist such as ethanol% butanol% etc#'#

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Engine Co!onents "ith E.:

Another concern "ith running E. is to ake sure all the fuel syste co!onents

can tolerate the alcohol fuel# Alcohol is a strong cleaning agent and has the ability todegrade certain engine !arts% such as natural rubber% !lastics% and even etals% over tie#

A list of aterial affect by E. can be found at the Alternate Fuels and Advanced Data

Base Center - htt!:"""#eere#energy#govafdce.toolkits!ecs#htl#

Current Car *uel Systes:

Currently% all cars dating back fro around 0997 &and ost cars as far back as09.@' have fuel systes that can handle alcohol fuels# At that tie% alcohol "as

considered as a re!laceent for 1$BE &ethyl tertiary-butyl ether'% an additive to used

to raise the octane level and o,ygenate fuels for co!lete burning% and ost

anufacturers "ere re(uired to sell vehicles that could o!erate "ith alcohol# Still% soecare ust be taken to ake sure all the fuel syste and co!onents are rated for alcohol

fuels &this even eans that the fuel tank and other areas "here fuel ay contact lines%

hoses% in6ectors% etc# ust be considered'# $he ain concern is natural rubber !arts

"hich ust be re!laced "ith synthetic rubber !arts &luckily ost hoses sold today at thelocal !arts dealer are synthetic' and the fuel tank should not be ade of aluinu#

1etal tanks% although safe for alcohol ay corrode and leak fro the cleaning action ofthe alcohol fuel and need to be re!laced# If the tank is etal% you should either clean the

tank by having it vatted at a local achine sho! &to insure that there are no leaks'% buy a

ne" !lastic tank% or get the inside coated "ith an alcohol tolerant coating# Anotherconcern is that any of the i!urities &carbon% gu% dirt% etc#' "hich cause the bro"nish

tint on tanks and other !arts "ill dissolved in alcohol and be cleaned off ending u! in

either the fuel filter or the in6ectors &"hich causes clogging several !eo!le have

re!orted this'#

Gas 1ileage on E.:

In any E. conversion you can e,!ect to lose fro a = to 23/ in ileage &sincealcohol fuels have less B$45s than regular !etroleu gasoline'% but any **+ &fle, fuel

vehicles' are only losing about = to 03/# ;ote *igure 0 "here a *le, *uel car "as

o!erated "ith E. and only sa" a ./ reduction ileage# In fact% for this car% oreileage "as lost due to driving s!eed and habit than the E. itself &at 8 1P the car got

=@ 1PG and at @3 1P it got 22 1PG yielding a =./ increase in ileage'#

=

http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/e85toolkit/specs.html




*igure 0: Car ileage on !u! gas &8 octane regular unleaded' and E.#

Raising the Co!ression Devel:If ileage and !o"er are a concern% there are "ays to get it back# $he octane

rating of ethanol is uch higher than gasoline and ty!ical resides in the 033 to 03. range#

*or this reason% the co!ression ratio of an engine can be raised "ithout fear of

detonation &a sy!to "here ulti!le flae fronts a!!ear during ignition and thecollisions cause high echanical stresses on engine !arts'# Before ethanol% ost engines

ran an :0 co!ression ratio but today5s engines are running to 03:0 co!ression ratios#

<n ethanol this ratio could be increased to 0=:. to 07:0# $his !ro!erty ay lend itself"ell to a su!er or turbo charged engine% "here the co!ression can be raised by erely

changing a !ulley or i!eller s!eed to cause a higher boost ratio# Another ethod is to

ill-the-head% lo"ering it closer to the !iston and reducing the clearance volue but thisre(uires a6or engine odifications and ay !reclude the engine fro running on

regular unleaded fuels#

Current 4#S# Ethanol Conversion its:In the 4#S#% a conversion bo, &*igure =: !lug in-bet"een the in6ectors' is currently

not allo"ed because la" states that fuel systes cannot be odified fro the original

anufacturers s!ecifications# Also% they ust undergo strict eission testing to get acertificate for use on !ublic high"ays and current fuel in6ector changing systes are sold

as off-road use systes only# Still% there is one syste has been certified for use on

certain cars in the 4#S# on !ublic high"ays# $his is the *le, *uel 4#S# syste "hich usesa bolt-on in6ector !late &like a nitrous o,ide or throttle body in6ection syste' and adds

su!!leental fuel through an se!arate in6ector !late located before the intake anifold#

$his syste also contains an alcohol sensor to tell the fle, fuel5s co!uter "hat ratio of

alcohol you have in the tank and then ake ad6ustents# Since the syste does not

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change the <E1 fuel syste% the syste is considered an accessory bolt-on and doesn5t

change the original anufacturer5s fuel syste# EPA testing &to get certification also'

"ith the units has indicated that e,haust gases eet% and in ost cases greatly e,ceedoriginal anufacturer5s ratings &"hich is usually the case "hen you s"itch fro burning

regular fuels to alcohol'# $he syste ay also be useable on older carbureted gasoline

engines &even such as those found on tractors and other agricultural engines' since thesyste adds fuel through a se!arate in6ector !late and can be added easily to a carburetor

syste# In this case% a se!arate fuel in6ector fuel !u! &rated for fuel in6ection !ressures

"hich is uch higher than noral carbureted engines see *igure 2'% su!!ly line% andreturn line are installed on the tank to run the fle, fuel syste# An in6ector installed

bet"een the carburetor and anifold su!!lies e,tra fuel# ;o other odifications are

necessary# Even the original 6etting of the carburetor is left the sae# $he only caution is

to ake sure all the fuel syste co!onents &carburetor% fuel lines% fittings% tank% etc#' areE. co!liant# If the engine is run on regular gasoline% the fle, fuel syste "ill turn

itself off and regular gasoline fuels can be run through the engine as noral#

Running an Engine too Dean:As "ith the addition of any syste% detriental engine daage can occur if the

engine is run too lean &"hich causes burning of !iston to!s% valves% and overheating ofthe engine'# If you are "orried about this% you can install a secondary <= sensor and

eter to indicate the i,ture ratio in the engine available at ost !arts stores &order a

"ide-band <= sensor to accurately be able to record changes in an engine ost enginesare e(ui!!ed "ith a narro" band <= sensors that are harder to evaluate for i,ture

changes'# Also% an e,haust te!erature gage can be used to indicate e,tra lean conditions

by noting the ra!id rise of e,haust te!eratures fro noral running conditions#

7



*igure =: $y!ical In6ector PF1 Systes#

*igure 2: $y!ical inline fuel !u!#

Cold Feather Starting:In colder cliates% starting ay be a concerned "hen using E.# Alcohol contains

uch less e,!losion !otential and has a lo"er heating !oint than regular gasoline% "hich !revents it fro e,!loding "ell in a sub-free>ing engine# Potential solutions to this are

block and radiator heaters% running regular fuels during this tie% starter fluid% raising the

co!ression of the engine &to aid in e,!losion'% or having a se!arate fuel tank "ithregular gas &and a s"itching valve'#

Dicensed Professional:

If you decide to convert a gasoline engine to ethanol% consult a licensed !rofessional "ho can hel! you decide on the changes you need% or a licensed echanic

"ho can do the odifications for you# $hese !eo!le "ill kno" e,actly "hat !arts need to

be changed% and !robles that ight occur in your situation#

Check Dist:

$he follo"ing factors should be considered before atte!ting to convert an engineover to ethanol:

- Can the fuel syste su!!ort alcohols)

o Are the rubber co!onents alcohol friendly)

o Is the tank ade out of a aterial that can su!!ort alcohol)

Get a etal tank cleaned and !ossibly coated

?ou ay need to s"itch to a !lastic tank 1ost ne" cars have !lastic tanks that "ill "ork and can be

ac(uired a 6unk yards% etc#

o Can the rest of the syste su!!ort alcohol)

- Can I regulate the fuel to !roduce a rich enough i,ture)

o Buy an ethanol conversion syste for your vehicle#

.



Resources:

Alternative *uels and Advanced *uel Resources Center:

htt!:"""#eere#energy#govafdce.toolkits!ecs#htl

Abcesso $echnologyhtt!:"""#abcesso#coinde,#htl)langen-usHtargetd=#htl

Bra>il:

Abcesso E,!I!# Dtda

Av# Alfredo Balta>ar da Silvera .3

Recreio dos Bandeirantes% lo6a =80

==893-803 R - Rio de aneiro

Brasil$el: J .. =0 2.=0-8=0@

Sky!e: abcesso

*uel *le, International% DDC

Ph: @@-.@-2@08

*le, *uel 4#S#:htt!:fle,fuelus#co

*DEK *4ED 4#S#

.=3 ;# ;orth"est igh"ay

Chicago% ID# @3@20Ph: 882 8@2 - 8933

*a,: 882 8@2 38

Rochester Products

htt!:"""#fle,iblefuelconversions#co=.3 1ill Street

Rochester% ;? 07@07

Ph: ..-888-7323

Fhite Dighting: Ethanol Conversion Systes:

htt!:"""#ye.kit#coFhite Dightning DDC

=970 1ain StreetL Suite *

Santa 1onica% California 9373.

@


http://www.abcesso.com/index.html?lang=en-us&target=d2.html

http://flexfuelus.com/

http://www.flexiblefuelconversions.com/

http://www.mye85kit.com/


http://www.abcesso.com/index.html?lang=en-us&target=d2.html

http://flexfuelus.com/

http://www.flexiblefuelconversions.com/

http://www.mye85kit.com/

converting gasoline engines to ethanol

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