How scary is gasohol?

My auto-fuel-stc says very clearly that one cannot use gasoline with
any type of alcohol in it. I understand that beyond the reg itself, the
main reason is that fuel lines can swell if they come into contact with
alcohol cutting of the flow of fuel to the engine.

I'm going to obey the reg (really. actually, honestly.). I'm just curious.
How likely is alcohol to actually hurt or stop my engine or airplane?

-Just Curious
-A Cessna 150 Driver

There are a lot of " it depends" to answer that... An occasional can of
gasohol is not likely to do major damage if other gas in the tank is
diluting it... But, the best thing is to avoid the alky altogether.. Get a
glass column and test each time you get a fresh load from the station...
Easy and simple... Takes about two minutes... And if there is no change in
the height of the column of gas, then let the water settle out and carefully
decant most of the gas off the top and you won't be wasting but a teaspoon
of gas in doing the check..
denny
"Charles Talleyrand" wrote in message
...
My auto-fuel-stc says very clearly that one cannot use gasoline with
any type of alcohol in it. I understand that beyond the reg itself, the
main reason is that fuel lines can swell if they come into contact with
alcohol cutting of the flow of fuel to the engine.

I'm going to obey the reg (really. actually, honestly.). I'm just
curious.
How likely is alcohol to actually hurt or stop my engine or airplane?

-Just Curious
-A Cessna 150 Driver

Get a
glass column and test each time you get a fresh load from the station...
Easy and simple... Takes about two minutes... And if there is no change
in
the height of the column of gas, then let the water settle out and
carefully
decant most of the gas off the top and you won't be wasting but a teaspoon
of gas in doing the check..

How's that work again, Denny? What's a "glass column?" Are you watching
the level to see if the alcohol evaporates?

We haven't been testing our auto gas for alcohol, but I would like to.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

How's that work again, Denny? What's a "glass column?" Are you watching
the level to see if the alcohol evaporates?

Take a mason jar and fill it about 1/3 or the way with water. Mark the level.
Then add at least that much fuel. Cap and shake and let the water settle. If
the water level is higher after this, you have alcohol in the gas.

Basically, alcohol will mix much more readily with water than with gas, so the
alcohol will come out of solution with the gasoline and mix with the water.

George Patterson
A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that
you look forward to the trip.

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 16:34:22 GMT, "G.R. Patterson III"
wrote:



Jay Honeck wrote:

How's that work again, Denny? What's a "glass column?" Are you watching
the level to see if the alcohol evaporates?

Take a mason jar and fill it about 1/3 or the way with water. Mark the level.
Then add at least that much fuel. Cap and shake and let the water settle. If
the water level is higher after this, you have alcohol in the gas.

Basically, alcohol will mix much more readily with water than with gas, so the
alcohol will come out of solution with the gasoline and mix with the water.

Interesting idea. Is there really enough alcohol in the gas to
substantially alter the level of the water? I would think it would be
hard to discern small amounts.

-Nathan

Nathan Young wrote:

Interesting idea. Is there really enough alcohol in the gas to
substantially alter the level of the water? I would think it would be
hard to discern small amounts.

The water level will rise about 10%.

George Patterson
A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that
you look forward to the trip.

Usw a tall thin bottle, like Olive jar, shows up easily.

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote:
Take a mason jar and fill it about 1/3 or the way with water...

This is one of the neatest tricks I've ever read on usenet. Thanks,
George.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM
(remove pants to reply by email)

Dennis O'Connor wrote:

Get a glass column and test each time you get a fresh load from the station...

Easy and simple... Takes about two minutes... And if there is no change in
the height of the column of gas, then let the water settle out and carefully
decant most of the gas off the top and you won't be wasting but a teaspoon of
gas in doing the check..

Jay Honeck replied:

How's that work again, Denny? What's a "glass column?" Are you watching
the level to see if the alcohol evaporates?

We haven't been testing our auto gas for alcohol, but I would like to.

OK, the long answer would require a significant amount of college-level
chemistry. The short answer is ethanol (grain alcohol, the alcohol that is used
as an oxygenate in gasoline) would prefer to be mixed with water rather than
gasoline. So if you take a known quantity of water and agitate it with a
comparable amount of gasoline containing some alcohol, then when the churning
stops some portion of the alcohol that was in solution with the gasoline is now
in solution with the water. Since the water-gasoline boundary is easily seen,
and since the addition of the alcohol to the water makes the water+alcohol
solution have more volume, then the if the water-gasoline boundary moves up
(more water volume), there is alcohol in the gasoline.

A glass column is simply a clear-sided glass cylinder that has a
gasoline-resistant sealing cap. They are frequently graduated (marked with
volume indications like "1/2 pint" or "25 ml.") but for this test a Sharpie will
suffice:

1. Go to the grocery store
2. Buy: 1 loaf of bread, 1 approx. 12 oz jar Smuckers brand strawberry
preserves, 1 approx. 12 oz jar Jif brand Extra crunchy peanut butter, 1 Sharpie
black marker
3. Make PB&J sandwiches and enjoy.
4. Recycle empty Jif peanut butter jar (it's plastic; #1 HDPE I think)
5. Wash & dry empty Smuckers preserves jar and lid. Remove all trace of
Smuckers label and adhesive.
6. Using Sharpie, mark jar at bit short of the half-full point (13/32 for you
anal-retentives out there). Make a nice long, straight line.
7. Fill jar to mark with tap water. It is important to fill jar *precisely* to
this mark.
8. Add gasoline sample to jar. Fill to approx. mostly full; you want a small
pocket of air.
9. Cap jar tightly.
10. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds.
11. Let stand approx. 30 seconds.
12. Check water-gasoline boundary. If it has moved upwards (relative to the
mark), then the gasoline sample has (had) alcohol in it.
13. Uncap and carefully transfer gasoline (only) into the fuel tank of a
non-life-sensitive engine (like the mower, the snowblower, etc.) A turkey
baster may be employed to "decant" the gasoline, but be careful to use one made
of a plastic not overly reactive with gasoline (polystyrene is right out :-)

The only important thing about the jar is that it be non-reactive (glass is
best) and that it be clear (no moulded patterns).


Russell Kent

"Charles Talleyrand" wrote in message ...
My auto-fuel-stc says very clearly that one cannot use gasoline with
any type of alcohol in it. I understand that beyond the reg itself, the
main reason is that fuel lines can swell if they come into contact with
alcohol cutting of the flow of fuel to the engine.

It could swell rubber parts like the lines and the things like the gascolator
gaskets. Alcohol will also pick up water and tends to accellerate corrosion
of aluminum.