E85 Conversion

[csutke]

Has any body thought about or heard anything about trying to convert to running their rig on E85. Im looking to see if its possible and ive found a site that might have a kit but no news back so far. If it works for my R50 im gonna skip getting new tires and get the conversion first and then get tires with the money saved from E85.

Any thought, comments?

[yozsi]

yea, easy way? get 30% larger injectors and it'll run decent. remember you also get worse fuel milage. all in all, it aint worth it.

[94extreme]

^^^ what he said.. there is also a possibility of swithing to LP although the last time i looked into it it seemed way too expensive.

[csutke]

i know gas mileage would be worse but E85 here is still in the $2 range and its a renewable fuel source. Another thing to thing about is that i can make my own ethanol and it would be cheaper still. Just got an email from the site that i was looking at and it would be $435 to get a conversion kit for my ride and i can remove it at anytime

[mws]

One fact that is commonly ignored by ethanol proponents: It takes a lot of energy to produce ethanol. Many studies show it takes more energy to produce than it contains. And since most energy in the US is still generated from burning fossil fuels, it is not really a renewable energy source. It also means the cost of producing ethanol is closely linked to the cost of fossil fuels (including oil) and ethanol prices WILL be rising very soon - unless it is heavily subsidized in your area.

 

If GW's vision comes to be and we start building a bunch of nukes, then it gets more attractive. That is Brazil's model (and it is working) - use nuclear power to power the production of ethanol out of sugar cane. Since corn is less efficient than sugar cane, we will need to build more nukes.

 

That's right, there is still no free lunch....

[Eagle]

One fact that is commonly ignored by ethanol proponents: It takes a lot of energy to produce ethanol. Many studies show it takes more energy to produce than it contains. And since most energy in the US is still generated from burning fossil fuels, it is not really a renewable energy source. It also means the cost of producing ethanol is closely linked to the cost of fossil fuels (including oil) and ethanol prices WILL be rising very soon - unless it is heavily subsidized in your area.

 

If GW's vision comes to be and we start building a bunch of nukes, then it gets more attractive. That is Brazil's model (and it is working) - use nuclear power to power the production of ethanol out of sugar cane. Since corn is less efficient than sugar cane, we will need to build more nukes.

 

That's right, there is still no free lunch....

 

Agreed...

 

Additionally, this sums it up:

Why are E20 and E85 gasolines being promoted? It is a giant RIP because of federal money being thrown at the badly flawed concept of using ethanol to replace gasoline. The concept is dead wrong because ANY use of alcohol in fuel DECREASES mileage severely. It contributes to making gasoline quit burning in the latter part of the power stroke. Ethanol and hydrogen actually cost more energy to produce than the energy they release in an engine. The existing global heating will render ALL U.S. crops in the near future to be inefficient due to unpredictable weather changes. The magazine SCIENCE just released a powerful study of the issues facing Earth over the next 50 years. Frightening. For instance meteorologist Paul Douglas (who has studied this problem in depth) predicts corn in the future will only grow in Canada rather than in the lower 48. Very impractical idea to push ethanol because it kills Thermal Efficiency in engines, running TE below 20-percent. Ethanol is only good for making money for select groups. We need the voters to decide if ethanol should be added to gasoline. Politicians know nothing about the subject. Let's take it out of the hands of the rich politicians. Besides, it seems clear that it is unconstitutional to force all of us to buy ethanol laden gasoline when the stuff hurts mileage as much as it does. We should challenge the constitutionality of laws that favor ethanol because ethanol is NOT a solution. It is like throwing gasoline on a fire. Ethanol is the product of greed and stupidity. We need fuel that increases TE rather than lowers it. The University of Minnesota just published a report that is given in the article on alcohol. The report says ethanol is not the right future fuel or savior it is being made out to be by special interest groups.