<VV> My Ethenol Experiences (slight Corvair Content)

[Tim Verthein]

All this talk about Ethanol and me out of town and too busy to toss my
hat in the ring. Now that I'm home, and since we all seem to be
relating our personal experiences, here are mine.

My first expousre to ethanol was back in 1979.  I was on my honeymoon
driving across South Dakota from Minnesota.  Station I stopped at had
ethanol.  Big signs pushing it's cleaness, environmentalness, and all
around goodness.  So I filled up my early 70's Plymouth Fury and headed
off down the interstate.  About a hundred miles later the car stopped. 
fuel filter was clogged.  Guy at the station where I went for help
explained that may happen with ethanol the first few times due to the
cleaning effects of the alchohol. Fine and dandy.  This required two
more filter changes over the next few days.  But the car seemed to run
fine other than that.

My next ethanol experience came in the early 1990's. Ethanol has long
been popular here in super enviromental Minnesota, so on a trip up the
North Shore of Lake Superior, with my Surburban, pulling our 17 foot
travel trailer in the hot summer sun, I was the victim of vapor lock. 
Repeatedly.  Until the cat at one station where I had stopped to fill
up and let it cool down since it wouldn't start, told me to stop
putting the ethanol in because it tends to cause vapor lock.  I did
what he said, bought normal gas.  No more trouble the rest of the
trip..that after three incidents of waiting for it to cool down so it
would run.

Here in good ol' Minnesota ethenol is required for all "normal"
vehicles.  The Minnesota Street Rod Association (along with others)
lobbied for, and won an exemption for collector cars, off road
vehicles, and small engines..like 4 wheelers, lawn mowers, outboard
motors, etc.  I was an active member of the group fighting for this
exemption.  I got more than my share of ethanol study time.

Why you may ask did we get this exemption? Because we could demonstrate
that the alchohol is BAD for certain parts of old cars. Fuel pump
diaphrams, carb gaskets, o rings, the list goes on. Many lawnmowers, 4
wheelers, outboards, and other small engine machines specifically state
in their manuals to NOT use fuel with alchohol to avoid damage, and
many also state at the very least to not leave ethenol in the tank, as
it can actually destroy the tank. I have a Craftsman mower with this
warning. (Briggs and Stratton engine).

When I started using ethanol in my Edsel to see what would happen I had
little o rings in the carb disintegrate and squirt fuel all over the
motor.  I replaced them. Same thing happened.  Then I got replacement o
rings at the hardware store rather than from a carb kit and they did
not have a problem.  Since, I've replaced the carb with a new modern
one and have had no trouble.

In my Corvair (110 4 speed) I have been buying ethanol premium (92
octane) as the non-ethenol stuff is only 90 octane and I figure I need
all the octane I can get..and have suffered no ill effects thus far. 
However, this car is rather modernized and has an electric fuel pump,
So I doubt vapor lock will be an issue, and since I believe the carbs
were gone thru shortly before I got the car, I don't think there will
be trouble, but I'm keeping my eyes open.

I'm all for ethanol, as long as it's being used in a motor that works
well with it.  Yes, it's subsidized by the State and Feds, but so is
tobacco.  It seems to be renewable, burns cleaner, keeps the cars
systems cleaner, and seems to be a good thing. Just don't force me to
use it in things that aren't designed for it.

you can study the politics, read all the studies, look at all the
specs, but in the final analysis it comes down to how it works in your
specific application.

Tim in Bovey

===
Stupidity is like nuclear power, it can be used for good or evil. 
But you still don't want to get any on you.
===

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