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Rubbing Alchohol


likeaneagle
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I was at the grocery store today and I walked up to my car and a guy in the spot next to me was pouring a whole bottle of rubbing alchohol in his gas tank. It was a Ford Tempo..I wanted to ask him but I was busy lifting the latch (side my front seat) and he spun away.

why would someone pour in rubbing alchohol in his gas tank?

Edited by likeaneagle
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Maybe he was trying to make "gasohol" in his tank. It makes the gasoline go farther - sort of stretching the gas mileage. Some foreign countries use it exclusively to save on petroleum costs.

Edited by krysilis
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Maybe he was trying to make "gasohol" in his tank. It makes the gasoline go farther - sort of stretching the gas mileage. Some foreign countries use it exclusively to save on petroleum costs.

Other countrys???

Here on the East coast gasohol is the only kind of gasoline available. [10% MTB added]

Edited by Galen
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In South America some corn is grown for the purpose of fermentation into alcohol to be mixed with gasoline. I believe it was Brazil, but I could be wrong about that.

One of the worlds largest automobile manufacturing nations, makes ONLY alcohol burning autos [they still allow diesel trucking],and they only allow alcohol-fueled passenger vehicles [no gasoline], and none of it is mixed with any petrolium, and they make all of their alcohol fuel, and they have tried many times to import into the US but the US congress has consistantly blocked it. And this is converted into 'some corn is grown'.

LOL

Sorry but I had to do some research on that topic recently.

:)

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his car has a drinking problem ?

:biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh:

Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol which gets rid of the water in the gas tank, like ChattyKathy said.

Isopropyl is the main ingredient (I think) used in HEET (the stuff you put in the gas tank in the winter time),

which keeps the gas lines from freezing, by displacing whatever water might be there.

A big bottle of rubbing alcohol is much cheaper than the HEET -- I use it myself, in the winter time.

Never thought about using it this time of year -- but it makes sense.

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Is this type of additive something that is needed once a month?

Just curious...

No -- it's not NEEDED. It's kind of like preventive maintenence (if you will).

Internal combustion engines (ie. -- your car), runs best on gasoline rather than water that finds it's way into your gas tank. I do this *religiously* in the winter time, but I see (now), that is it is beneficial year round. :)

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I dump rubbing alcohol in the gas tanks on everything have about once a month or so. It not only helps prevent condensation, it seems to help vapor locks, too...really helps old Ford tractors with gravity fed "puddle and suck" carbs.

Been doing it for years and years.

Edited by Ron G.
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I use the 90% stuff, as any lower percentage and your adding water.

Over the years, I have looked at lots of the stuff on the shelves of autoparts stores advertsied to clean the jets and internals of your carberator. A lot of those products are alcohol.

Paying $1 for a pint of alcohol from the grocery or drug store is better than spending $4 at a autoparts store.

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In South America some corn is grown for the purpose of fermentation into alcohol to be mixed with gasoline. I believe it was Brazil, but I could be wrong about that.

In South America? We do that here in MN :wave:

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On another BBS that I frequent, there has been a running debate over using alcohol fueled vehilces.

A couple years ago one university did a million dollar research project and published their findings that making alcohol for fuel takes more petrolium to produce the alcohol than how much fuel you would produce. So this study has been thrown aroudn a lot to convince folks that alcohol-fuel is a 'negative net' fuel.

All this while some are producing alcohol-fuels without using petro-chemicals, and seem to be doing fine.

Here are two that are being marketed for USA:

http://www.obvio.ind.br/obviona/828.htm

http://www.obvio.ind.br/obviona/012.htm

Ugly!

LOL

But 'flex-fueled':

Runs on 100 percent ethanol, 100 percent gasoline, or any combination of the two
Edited by Galen
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Wouldn't it be cool to marry that flex-fueled with the "hybrid" and have sun power too!?

That way, if I lived in sunny spots, I could use maybe one tank of fuel per year! That would make me put on my happy face!

Galen you're right - it is very ugly - - I wonder if it would look better in pink?

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I have to get a required emissons test (sigh) and in doing some web searching I came across a board about this very thing.

One interprising person empted his tank and poured in rubbing alcohol on the premise that it somehow improves the results of the test. :unsure:

No results were reported. What people will think of next! :rolleyes:

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