alternate fuel

So I'm at work listening to the news talk about gas being at $3 freakin bucks and was looking around the internet at alternate fuels. I was wondering if anyone on here has actually tried swapping to some form of biodiesl or another alternate fuel source.

Some have tried acetone. Mixing it with the regular gas to improve mileage. Diesels can run propane with a few converted parts.

Just unplug two sparkplugs and injectors, you'll get 33% better gas milage (not).

ethanol is the only alternative i kno of, or veggie oil actually, saw it somewher, cant remember where tho, and yes it was straight veggie oil

XJAnthony said:

ethanol is the only alternative i kno of, or veggie oil actually, saw it somewher, cant remember where tho, and yes it was straight veggie oil

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Veggie oil NO,ethanol if you convert the entire system and dont go back(and its only like 6 bucks a gallon at the race track,good luck finding it somewhere else)!No E-85 either!

covert a diesel engine over to use veg oil. Older gas engines were converted to propane, supposed to barley wear the engine, although dont see it being cheaper. Perhaps a 2.5L swap out.

There is none for gas engines and there will be none, the 'establishment' is making billions that they can't make anywhere else. If you developed a pill that you could add to water to make gas you would not live long enough to patent it. An alternative fuel source that was practical, could be put into the existing infrastructure and would run in any gas burning engine developer would meet the same fate as the above pill developer. I find it impossible to believe that over the past 50 years NOBODY has developed a replacement fuel source. That someone/group has developed it and locked it in a vault somewhere I would find believeable or conceivable at any rate. It would upset too many apple carts and be a very inconvienent development for too many countries/govts/corps...
If you did develop it, manage to live long enough to patent it and actually get it into production I bet those same people would keep you tied up in court for YEARS before you sold your first production run... Just my opinion...
The germans were big on synthetics during WWII and they got pretty far with some of it...

Alternatively, develop a reasonably cheap alternative and then release it to the public domain as a service - while you won't make any money that way, you could release the stranglehold that petrochemistry has on the industry - somewhat.

It would be similar to figuring out a cheap and clean way to produce massive amounts of electricity - and then releasing it so that ANYONE could do it. Part of the conflict comes from the fact that fuel/electricity is probably the most profitable industry out there - but if you're not taking away their profits for your own use (just depriving them of a significant portion directly,) they've already lost half of the fight...

5-90

5-90 said:

Alternatively, develop a reasonably cheap alternative and then release it to the public domain as a service - while you won't make any money that way, you could release the stranglehold that petrochemistry has on the industry - somewhat.

It would be similar to figuring out a cheap and clean way to produce massive amounts of electricity - and then releasing it so that ANYONE could do it. Part of the conflict comes from the fact that fuel/electricity is probably the most profitable industry out there - but if you're not taking away their profits for your own use (just depriving them of a significant portion directly,) they've already lost half of the fight...

5-90

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There are alternatives for electricity, I did the math on replacing my roof with solar shingles, cost about $6K w/converter smart box to pump back out into the grid, I would have about $60 a month income with 600 sq/ft, that was based on family of 4, two teenagers over the past 6 years electric bills. Thats on this house which faces E/W, downside is I just spent $3K on a new roof and skylights two years ago and I'm not about to tear it off and start over. We only plan on staying here another 3 years, about year 2 we will be starting construction on a new house with a much larger roof and orientated south east for max gain on both the front in the morning and back in the afternoon. I think it was the Univ of Mi that has developed a solar cell that works even in the UV area and is around 80% efficient so it will work well on overcast days.
The only way to survive upsetting the apple cart with a gas replacement would be to turn it over to the public domain, publish it on the net to every single usenet newsgroup and forum you could find and then go hide for a while till the dust settled. gettin way off topic so I'll quit for now, gotta call it a nite...

Actually govt is the most profitable industry out there that provides very little in return for the amount you pay...

I run LPG which is under $2 a gallon here (11:1 compression stroker 6) I'm trying to get time to finish assembling my new stroker so I can go injected propane next.

RichP said:

Actually govt is the most profitable industry out there that provides very little in return for the amount you pay...

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"Very little?" Try "squat" and you're close. I'm not going to say there is NO use for government (gimme a bit, and I'll think of something...) but there's damn little they do that is purely useful.

Government - elected roles and mid-level functionaries - has largely become a sinecure for the incompetent: those people who lack the wit or the skill to make it doing something productive. There are also useful people who work in government - but they are also few and far between. Elected personnel have only one commodity to offer - jawbone.

"What do you get when you put fifty Senators and fifty lesbians in a room together? One hundred people who don't do dick."

5-90

dj's 2000 xj said:

Perhaps a 2.5L swap out.

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Now you are talking my language! What ever happened to the gasihol of the 70's? Do the new engines have something that willnot let them run on really good alchol?

how dificult would it be to swap to LPG? I know its not going to be the easiest/cheapest thing to do, but its could be worth looking into. I have thought about it before but never really looked into it yet. And how much *could* it save? any good writeups on it, and whats the difference between propane and LPG?

here are 2 links to what seems to be the most popular alt. fuel sites.
the first link is what chevorlete is using as an alt. fuel for some of the new vehicles that they are puttin on the market. the second is a link to BioDiesel, aparently this is getting to be kind of big. From what i understand, and correct me if i'm wrong, biodiesel will run in any diesel engine with no mods made.

http://www.e85fuel.com/index.php
http://www.biodiesel.org/

thought those were neat.
i do agree with RichP's comment as well.

I have heard that the biodiesel can run in any diesel engine but it may leak if seals are going already or you may find problems down the line due to the oils in it causeing it to lubricate differently. I am not sure if I am confusing a different type of alt fuel I read about but I think that was it. They reported problems like leaking from locations where they didnt leak before, but like I said, not 100% sure

My new engine is a 4.6L stroker built with 11:1 compression to take advantage of the 130 octane of LPG. Desktop dyno says @300 HP and 350 ftlbs of torque with the right cam.

carnuck said:

My new engine is a 4.6L stroker built with 11:1 compression to take advantage of the 130 octane of LPG. Desktop dyno says @300 HP and 350 ftlbs of torque with the right cam.

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let us know what kind of freeway mileage you get with it when it's running, this is something I've considered with the lower price.

Theyre watching us.

Used veggie oil.....
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Transportation/2004_August_September/Burnin-Oil-on-Wheels
Got to have a diesel tho


From what I have read (and the article above mentions it) bio diesel is just veggie oil with alcohol and some other additives to keep its viscosity to a point that it flows easily. Any diesel put together in the last 10 years should run biodiesel without issue.

i have changed to propane in many forklifts i dont see why you couldnt do your jeep