How to find the percent of ethanol in gasoline

[mechanicx]

I saw this on a website and thought it'd be interesting to know just how much alcohol is in a sample of gas. It seemed like a simple and inexpensive method. http://vestest.com/AlcoholinGasoline.pdf

Here is another more detailed explaination, http://www.footflyer.com/PPGBibleUpdates/Chapter12/fuel/gas-n-ethanol.htm

 

[CATERHAM]

Makes sense.
I'll have to try it sometime.

 

[Bluestream]

Using a Baby bottle may not be the best idea...

 

[sicko]

Interesting. However I do have to ask, how would you then dispose of the gas/water mixture?

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
http://vestest.com/AlcoholinGasoline.pdf


While I must be honest with you that I have not tried the baby bottle method (won't bother, not interested, sorry), the pdf has a major flaw in it's writing that I would certainly contest:


...It takes two times as much alcohol as gasoline (HC) to get a 14.7/1 air fuel ratio. For systems designed to run on HC, excessive alcohol can have an effect on fuel injector pulse width. Most gasoline today has some alcohol...



REf: http://ethanolpro.tripod.com/id213.html

pure Ethanol (E100) stoichiometric ratio is about 9:1 (or Lambda = ~0.7), whereas pure gasoline stoichiometric ratio is about 14.7:1 (Lambda=1).

With that in mind: the writing in this "http://vestest.com" is wrong (not two times the alcohol as gasoline to get 14.7:1 ratio). afterall: stoichiometric ratio is set in such as way that different fuel type carries a different ratio, period, so the air portion of it will not stay static (it's a variable).

Sorry, the more I look into this vestest site pdf file, the more suspicion I have in terms of providing accurate information.

Q.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

http://www.fueltestkit.com/

 

[mikered30]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
http://www.fueltestkit.com/


I got got something similar to that off of ebay a while ago, works well.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: sicko
... how would you then dispose of the gas/water mixture?

I imagine the top, gasoline portion can be put back into service (lawnmower?, or even back in the tank). The bottom portion can be dumped on the driveway to evaporate.

I wonder if this procedure can be used to sweep away the alcohol from the gasoline for those that want to make 100% gasoline?

 

[mechanicx]

I think he was just throwing a ballpark figure out for alcohol methanol included. What he probably meant was in closed loop the PCM will try to maintain stoichmetric and if there is alcohol in the fuel the exhuast will have excess oxygen. PCM's ST and LT fuel trim will increase injector pulse width. I'm not explaining this well but E10 or ethanol in gas will have a lower stoich than straight gasoline and the PCM will enrichen the fuel trim to see that exhaust oxygen level is at stoich.

Anyway the site is really an electrical site and I provided another link that also explains the same alcohol separation measuring technique.

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I think he was just throwing a ballpark figure out for alcohol methanol included. What he probably meant was in closed loop the PCM will try to maintain stoichmetric and if there is alcohol in the fuel the exhuast will have excess oxygen. PCM's ST and LT fuel trim will increase injector pulse width. I'm not explaining this well but E10 or ethanol in gas will have a lower stoich than straight gasoline and the PCM will enrichen the fuel trim to see that exhaust oxygen level is at stoich.

Anyway the site is really an electrical site and I provided another link that also explains the same alcohol separation measuring technique.


I'd rather keep my mouth shut and listen instead of throwing out useless (not factual) information that would further deviate from the truth.

That's just me of course, but then again: what contributes to most of the internet "garbage" information out there these days? half-truth? urban legend? etc.

I don't pretend that I know everything in this whole wide world. I can and will contribute what I know and what I'm expert at.

Q.

 

[morris]

i found out that the state of kansas does NOT require the filling station to post if alcohol is in the gasoline.

 

[mechanicx]

?? If you have alcohol in your fuel the O2 sensor will detect higher O2 level and the fuel trim will have to enrichen.

 

[severach]

Don't pour any of into a gas tank. Even the "gasoline" portion contains some water. The "water" portion contains some ethanol. Pour it into the intake of any running engine. The engine will burn up the gasoline and burn the alcohol out of the water and turn it all into whatever it was going to be turned into anyways.

I was able to use water to remove the ethanol but it didn't work out well. Removing the ethanol drops the octane by 3 turning 87 E10 into 84 E1 causing knock. A small amount of ethanol water stays in the gasoline and cannot be removed.

The subgrade gasoline seemed to get the same MPG as the original which does not make up for the loss of the ethanol.