I think I'll try this "Acetone In Fuel Said to Increase Mileage 15-35%"

[genieroze]

If anyone has heard anything to the contrary, give a link

Acetone In Fuel Said to Increase Mileage 15-35%


Readily-available chemical added to gas tank in small proportion improves the fuel's ability to vaporize completely by eliminating the surface tension that causes some particulates to note fully vaporize.

(PRWEB) March 19, 2005 -- Acetone (CH3COCH3), also called dimethylketone or propanone, is a product that can be purchased inexpensively in most locations around the world, such as in the common hardware store. Added to the fuel tank in tiny amounts, it aids in the vaporization of the gasoline or diesel, increasing fuel efficiency, engine longevity, and performance -- as well as reducing hydrocarbon emissions.

How it Works
Complete vaporization of normal fuel is far from perfect in today's cars. A certain amount of fuel in most engines remains liquid in the hot chamber. In order to become a true gas and be fully combusted, fuel must undergo a phase change.

Surface tension present an obstacle to vaporization. For instance the energy barrier from surface tension can sometimes force water to reach 300 degrees before it vaporizes. Similarly with gasoline.

Acetone drastically reduces the surface tension. Most fuel molecules are sluggish with respect to their natural frequency. Acetone has an inherent molecular vibration that "stirs up" the fuel molecules, to break the surface tension. This results in a more complete vaporization with other factors remaining the same. More complete vaporization means less wasted fuel, hence the increased gas mileage from the increased thermal efficiency.

http://newspad.prweb.com/pr/20053/pr219612.html


This is interesting too.
http://www.gasgouging.com/byron/

[obxhead]

1. If you have a newer car under warranty

I would wait a while. Good post, definitely worth some more research.

[genieroze]

3. Na, it's a 95 and I got it from my father in law. My daughter has a 85

clunker gas hog.

[Fescue4u]

2. Interesting but I bet it will decrease the Octane rating

by making the fuel more volatile.

Id like to hear a chemist chime in though.

[genieroze]

5. Me too that's what I'm looking for. Also, I want to know if it could be

dangerous.

[B Calm]

4. Isopropyl Alcohol will do the same thing at a fraction of the cost.

[genieroze]

6. No, from the same article

"Contrast with Alcohol
In contrast, alcohol has been shown to be corrosive in an engine, yet they put THAT into gasoline. Alcohol in general is anti-mileage. Most of the alcohol that enters your gas came here from Europe as stale wine. Alcohol is no good in fuels. In Brazil, millions of engines and fuel systems were ruined by alcohol.

Furthermore, alcohol increases surface tension, producing the opposite effect from acetone.

Alcohol in fuel attracts water. This hurts mileage because water acts like a fire extinguisher. Some cars may run badly and even quit due to the incombustible nature of the water laden fuel. We know of a dozen cars that recently stopped running due to water in the alcohol and gas mixture.

In below-zero weather, the water and alcohol form abrasive, icy particles that can damage fuel pumps."

[B Calm]

8. Alcohol will take the water out of the fuel.

[WePurrsevere]

13. Actually it depends on the type of alcohol used...

some attracts water, some dispels water, some combine with water. Some are more corrosive then others. Isopropyl is the best to use as "dry gas" since it combines with water to make it burnable.

Again using this PRWeb article as absolute fact is like accepting everything BushCo say as the gospel.

(edited for typo)

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Isopropyl alcohol, not drinkable ethanol (ethyl alcohol). But avoid water

Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) from the drugstore contains about 30 percent water. I don't think water helps at all.

[longship]

23. The article is rubbish.

Both alcohol and acetone are miscible in water and act more or less the same way in fuel. In fact acetone has higher miscibility than alcohol which, according to this article, would make it "hurt mileage" more. If what this article says is true, acetone would be *worse* than alcohol.

Acetone is used in many fuel additives, especially those for getting rid of water, because acetone is more flammable than alcohol.

But *both* are miscible with water.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

26. No. The point was alcohol attracts water. It does. It is hygroscopic.

That's "hygroscopic", not "hydroscopic".

[msmcghee]

12. If you read the data provided . .

. . it says that alcohol will reduce your mileage because it increases the surface tension of the fuel molecules. (Acetone apparently reduces it and accounts for the better mileage/combustion by ensuring that there is no (liquid) fuel in the combustion chamber.)

That's just what they said. I don't know.

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. Careful you don't get it on your paint. n/t

[genieroze]

9. I know, same ingredient as nail polish remover.

[ThomWV]

10. I Saw A Long Discussion On This

On a boating message board a few weeks ago. Not much acetone is required, something on the order of a pint per hundred gallons of gas or something like that. I read it in the context of a guy who has a boat with a 110 gallon gas tank and was talking to guys with similar boats.

Acetone is easily available in almost any hardware store. It costs about $8 a gallon most places. I use it as a solvent and cleaner for all sorts of things. We always have a gallon around here somewhere.

I would not put it in the fuel. I wouldn't do it for two reasons. First off in the amounts I was reading about I doubt that it could have any effect at all - and yes, I do know a little bit about the chemistry. It certainly would not give the effects claimed, that much I'm certain about. Adding that much of anything wouldn't give the results claimed. The other reason is that acetone is an outstanding solvent and cleaner but you have to be very careful around plastics with it. It will eat some types of plastic so fast you'd be amazed. Others it won't touch. It would be a shame if a seal somewhere inside of your fuel injection system turned out to be made of one of those types of plastic.

[WePurrsevere]

11. My DH has one of his degrees in Transportation Engineering... he says "no"

what they asy has just enough science and fact to make it sound plausible however it won't really work as promoted and over time the acetone will damage rubber, plastic and some metals including those in your engine.. like the O rings etc. If you've ever spilled nail polish remover with acetone on plastic you'll understand.

Acetone is a fuel by itself but not one that a car engine is set up to use.

Also... consider the source. From what I've seen PRWeb is not a news source, it's for people/businesses who what to sell or promote something.

There are much better ways to improve your gas mileage without the risk of hurting your car.

[TwilightZone]

14. Acetone is corrosive.

Acetone tends to degrade some types of plastics, so the long-term effects on certain vehicle components could be bad news.

Here's a link to a site with some reported claims: http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Acetone_as_a_Fuel_Additive

I have no idea how reliable it is, so use at your own risk!

Also keep in mind that regardless of what people claim, consciously keeping track of fuel mileage DOES tend to change ones driving habits. Any increases seen - particularly short-term gains - could be solely because of that.

Also keep in mind the BS factor of the internet and the "mine is better than yours" factor. People may report inflated claims just trying to look good to their pals. :)

Not to mention that everyone seems to love a good myth.

[jmowreader]

15. I love this part...

Many products claiming to improve mileage are expensive and do not really help much. Others are fakes. For instance, a SMOOTH flow of air into a carburetor or injector is far better for mileage than turbulent air. Turbulence is bad. Yet many people deliberately introduce turbulent air into their engines. There are many silly myths floating around the car industry to fool the average person. Another is that cold intake air improves mileage. NO. Warm air improves mileage.

Well...the reason you swirl the air coming into your engine, cool it, etc., is to increase horsepower. Increased horsepower = increased fuel consumption. So the guy's right, those things hurt your gas mileage...but unless you believe you can get something for nothing, you don't install a product that's guaranteed to improve horsepower if you're trying to improve your fuel economy.

This just sounds a bit homeopathic to me.

[Generic Other]

16. Finger nail polish remover is made of acetone

Dumb trivia.

[insanity]

17. I don't think it would work

I'm sure the plastic in the metals has atleast some solubility in acetone. Plus, I think if mixed with a percent of water, acetone would undergo partial ionization which might cause rust. However, I haven't taken a chem class in a few years so I might just be talking out of my ass.
Heres a classic example the polystyrene (styrofoam) and acetone reactions. Acetone dissolves the plastic because of its high solubility in acetone (this is the most drastic example I could think of).

[Must_B_Free]

18. Thi sreminds me of the time Will Pitt had that idea

"run out in the street and stop the war"

rememeber that? It turns out on second thought it wasn't such a great idea...

But if you want to fuck up your car go ahead...

[NorthernSpy]

19. kaboom...?

Look -- I don't know jack about cars, but pouring acetone in the gas tank sure sounds dangerous...

:nuke::think:

[Bernardo de La Paz]

24. Gasoline is extremely dangerous. More dangerous than hydrogen

Gasoline is extremely dangerous. First, its vapors are heavy and creep along the ground. Hydrogen vapors escape high up into the atmosphere and out into space. Second, gasoline vapor and air forms explosive mixtures over a wider range of concentrations than hydrogen and air.

I will be trying the acetone mixture soon at about 2.5 ounces per ten gallons. That is about a 0.2 % concentration. Hardly likely to harm engine components.

[LeftyMom]

20. I have a plastic car

so that wouldn't be a very good idea for me to try.

[KharmaTrain]

22. Maple Syrup

Of course this only works efficiently in cars with "W" stickers. It's a special Repugnican additive...formula U812...that will go into spin at the drop of a Clenis.

[SlowDownFast]

25. Yes, and Karo syrup works well for NeoCon Brand SUV's, too.

Or otherwise known as RU4EL. It drastically reduces emissions and overall fuel consumption.

Use 2 bottles per tank of gas.

disclaimer: DO NOT USE THIS FORMULA FOR NON-NEOCON BRAND SUV'S!

[genieroze]

27. I think that's a urban legend, I know sugar in the tank is.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/grace/sugar.asp