Modern Petrol

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From what I've been reading I'm leaning towards Vinyl Ester as the resin of choice. Picked up a sample today so will play with it tomorrow. Still might be a good idea to use a lining as well.
 
when we ran Methanol in the Keith Black Top Alcohol Dragster I worked on we used to strip the whole fuel system after every meet and wash out all trace of the Methanol.
if we didn't the braided fuel lines, twin fuel pumps, fittings, fuel tanks and injection hat would start to corrode
used to take hours
 
Hey Red, that methanol sounds like nasty stuff!! We don't have ethanol yet here in WA but I'm sure it's only a mater of time!!
Why can't they leave thing alone!!!
 
Here in the states the plastic Ducati tanks are expanding from the ethanol and Ducati is being sued in a class action lawsuit.The 10% ethanol mix eats fiberglass tanks and dissolves plastic linings in some metal tanks too. The present solution is a sealer offered by Caswell[Caswellplating.com] which is a Phenol Novolac Epoxy[as printed on the box] which many people have had sucess with in sealing their tanks.I've gotten a kit and it is going into my 3CL as soon as I recover from the laquer thinner fumes from cleaning the tank out.
Beware of the website however,temptation lurks with every product listing.
 
Methanol is actually pretty nice stuff compared to some of the carcinogens added to lead free petrol....

After every outing with the roadrace bikes on meth based brew, I'd drain the system right out, pull the carbs, pull all the carb covers incl the screws at each end of the fuel gallery I'd added....and wash them out with petrol from a squirt bottle. Then blow dry.

The corrosion is actually from the water trapped in the meth...in the float bowls you could see a "ring around the bath" where the water was on top of the fuel.

And I've got all this to look forward to again 'cos I'm building a Rudge which will be on alky....oh joy.
 
And the Fed's have just cleared the way for fuel that has an additional 5% ethanol in the US.  That will certainly be a challenge to anyone operating a vehicle with a few miles under its tires. Newer vehicles have been manufactured to withstand the 10% mix; older ones have well-documented issues.  So, what to do?  Give 'em more ethanel yet! 
Brilliant.
 
"The corrosion is actually from the water trapped in the meth...in the float bowls you could see a "ring around the bath" where the water was on top of the fuel."

Not quite correct, Methanol is actually a weak acid which attacks the oxide coating that normally protects aluminium from corrosion.
Resulting in methoxide salts which themselves soluable in methanol.
Basically, you wind up with unprotected shiney aluminum.

Did you also know that in 2006 astronomers using the MERLIN array of radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank Observatory discovered a large cloud of methanol in space, 288 billion miles across.
Now just need to figure out how to tap into the methanol cloud.

 
Gee that's 460 billion kms!!  :D

So far I've found 2 products that's suppose to be suitable for ethanol blended fuels. Casswell epoxy tank sealer and the other is  "BILL HIRSCH ALCOHOL/ ETHANOL RESISTANT GAS TANK SEALER"
Both are suitable for applications to composite tanks.
 
Thanks for the correction Red - now if I could only find the industrial chemist who assured me that it was water content at the root of our problems.....
Here in NZ our Meth is sold with maybe 3% white spirits to help blending. From talking to visiting Aussies I understand that the commonly used Methanol fuel there - at least in bikes - can have up to 10% oil and blending agents content...
There have been some surprised visitors here who have had to do some on the spot rejetting - our stuff requires noticeably leaner jetting.
 
redax5 said:
"The corrosion is actually from the water trapped in the meth...in the float bowls you could see a "ring around the bath" where the water was on top of the fuel."

Not quite correct, Methanol is actually a weak acid which attacks the oxide coating that normally protects aluminium from corrosion.
Resulting in methoxide salts which themselves soluable in methanol.
Basically, you wind up with unprotected shiney aluminum.

Did you also know that in 2006 astronomers using the MERLIN array of radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank Observatory discovered a large cloud of methanol in space, 288 billion miles across.
Now just need to figure out how to tap into the methanol cloud.
Click to expand...

sweet, yes, this will be so. Emmisions spectra from molecular clouds regularly reveal hydrocarbons, water, carbon monoxide, and more complex molecules in great abundance. Organic chemistry labs. And molecular clouds disturbed and/or under gravitational collapse is where you get stellar nursuries. The one in centre of Orion's sword with just binoculars is a ready starter. But to dig the scale, the molecular cloud it coalesced from visibly covers most of the constellation of Orion ! 100 light years across and more. 

Must be some good skies in the Ukraine there Red?
 
redax5 said:
Did you also know that in 2006 astronomers using the MERLIN array of radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank Observatory discovered a large cloud of methanol in space, 288 billion miles across.
Now just need to figure out how to tap into the methanol cloud.
Click to expand...

That's one hell of a lot of farts :o
 
That's one hell of a lot of farts......tell me about it, I'm surrounded by dairy farms.
Where I am is the center of the fastest growing dairying area in NZ, probably the world.
If you want methane, just come here....

I can see in a few years, cows with bags attatched to collect the waste gases, emptied at milking time.....
 
I can just see it now, Methane powered Jota flying past, blue flames out the exhaust and leaving a filthy stench behind  :D
 
Davo said:
I can just see it now, Methane powered Jota flying past, blue flames out the exhaust and leaving a filthy stench behind  :D
Click to expand...

Nah, methane doesn't stink. The smelly stuff in farts is methanethiol (methyl mercaptan). This is the stuff they add to natural gas, propane, butane, etc to give it a smell so you can detect gas leaks with your nose.

Methane from livestock farts is a significant contributor to global warming because it is something like 70 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbondioxide. So burning the stuff (which converts it to CO2 and water) is actually doing the environment a favour. Maybe cows should be fitted with little pilot lights on their arses to burn off the farts as they come out.

Cheers,
Cam
 
Now you've got me seriously worried....don't know which is worse....permanent daylight around here from the farts flaming off....

Or having to live in a bunker to avoid flying cattle....

seriously, here in dairyland central a medium size dairy unit locally is only about 3000 cows....and there are cropping /sheep farms being converted to dairy units on a weekly basis....

I hope seriously that some way is found to capture the methane for reuse - petrol here is hitting $2 per litre again.
 
GregT said:
here in dairyland central a medium size dairy unit locally is only about 3000 cows....and there are cropping /sheep farms being converted to dairy units on a weekly basis....
Click to expand...

So has the NZ love affair with sheep run its course - to be supplanted by cows?

We Aussies will have to change all the kiwi sheep jokes to kiwi cow jokes.
 
They'll all have to start wearing high platform wellies as well....the other problem is I'm not so sure the velcro gloves will work so well on cattle, but I could be wrong. :o :o
 
And how will you be served a drink in Kiwi pubs if there is no longer a man behind the baaaa :D
 
All I've got to say to you Aussies who can never resist the traditional sheep jokes is.....UNDERARM bloody bowlers !

Figures out the other day - more cows than people in the South Island now.
 
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