can our stovebolts run on moonshine,,, I know the electronics.. lol the coil and points will live after a EMP pulse from a nuke.. so we well still go down the road.. but if we had no more gas.. could we use grain alcohol.. home made... to run the trucks,,,, I know we would have to jet up big... and food for thought.. because I see doom in this country...
I see problems with seals and o-rings. Alcohol eats some of that rubber for lunch!
Current fleet (subject to change w/o notice) \'49 GMC 3/4-Ton , 60 Austin Healey Frog-eye Sprite (some assembly required), 2011 Dodge Avenger, 2015 Jeep Cherokee. No, they don't all run. My other ride is a (B737)no, (B767)no, A320.... Update... was Embraer E190, now Boeing B787.
Knowledge is a wonderful thing, but ignorance means you don't know you can't do something.
Getting the alcohol above 140 proof (70%) is a difficult job, requiring some very sophisticated distillation equipment. It takes two runs through the still to get it up to that strength for aging when making Bourbon, or any of the other distilled spirits. The still we ran at Gallo Winery produced 99.5% pure alcohol for fortifying certain wines, but the still was 5 stories tall, 10 feet in diameter, and the alcohol went through about 4 stages of distillation before going to a water-chilled condenser. The production capacity was 2,000 gallons per hour. It was not exactly a backyard operation! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I think you'd be better of using a wood-gas generator, than using alcohol. That can be a backyard operation, but requires lots of experimentation to keep the gas clean, and not tarry. Expect a 30% drop in power.
I hope you keep your spare coil in a faraday cage, I know I do. Hahahahaha!
Getting the alcohol above 140 proof (70%) is a difficult job, requiring some very sophisticated distillation equipment. It takes two runs through the still to get it up to that strength for aging when making Bourbon, or any of the other distilled spirits. The still we ran at Gallo Winery produced 99.5% pure alcohol for fortifying certain wines, but the still was 5 stories tall, 10 feet in diameter, and the alcohol went through about 4 stages of distillation before going to a water-chilled condenser. The production capacity was 2,000 gallons per hour. It was not exactly a backyard operation! Jerry
Got a better idea- - - - -if it's good-quality stuff, put a little in me, and I'll help push the truck! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Set up your truck for propane conversion, then buy a big storage tank.
"Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just leave me alone, you're starting to freak me out."
If you use "moonshine" will you pay road tax or consumption tax? Gotta keep the feds happy!!!
And if you are truly serious, read some of the E-85 threads on various forums.
Jon.
Good carburetion is fuelish hot air The most expensive carburetor is the wrong one you attempt to modify. If you truly believe "one size fits all," try walking a mile in your spouse's shoes! The Carburetor Shop
I think you'd be better of using a wood-gas generator, than using alcohol. That can be a backyard operation, but requires lots of experimentation to keep the gas clean, and not tarry. Expect a 30% drop in power.
I hope you keep your spare coil in a faraday cage, I know I do. Hahahahaha!
what electrical parts on our advanced design trucks would be subject to EMP , not that it could ever happen.....right
Back in the late 1970's and early 80's there were two brothers from Clements MN who designed a corn alcohol still on their farm and used the ethanol in a 1950's ford pickup truck. I saw this pick-up in operation and remember the smell of the exhaust when they drove this truck into the local grain elevator. It was the beginning of the ethanol industry. I do believe these two brothers are still alive. Jerry
P.S. to carbking regarding Road tax or Consumption tax on moonshine used as vehicle fuel, The ethanol plants have to add a certain % of Gasoline to the finished product or pay Consumption tax on it. It is then called "Denatured Alcohol"or unfit for human consumption. I kinda think that the 2 brothers above paid neither tax. LOL
Last edited by 1951Chevy1Ton; 03/08/20132:03 PM. Reason: added more info
sounds like a great idea and i would do it, but as i recall it's illegal
1949 Dodge Coronet 1955 2nd Chevy 4400 1.5 ton 1955 2nd Chevy 3100 1/2 ton 1955 2nd Chevy 3100 1/2 ton 1957 Chevy 5400 LCF 2 ton 1966 Dodge D100 Sweptline 1968 Chevy P20 stepvan 1969 GMC LWB pickup 1972 GMC Sprint 1974 CP30 shorty bus
There are three things that I've learned never discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.----Linus Van Pelt Trying to understand the behavior of some people is like trying to smell the color 9
My Father during WW2 was a Partizan in the Alps,and told me that they would run there trucks with a fire box mounted to the front of the truck,the truck would run on just the fire from that box.I saw a show not that long ago and they ran a truck the same way.I think this summer I'm going to see if I can get a old lawn engine I have to run on a fire box.
My Father during WW2 was a Partizan in the Alps,and told me that they would run there trucks with a fire box mounted to the front of the truck,the truck would run on just the fire from that box.I saw a show not that long ago and they ran a truck the same way.I think this summer I'm going to see if I can get a old lawn engine I have to run on a fire box.
All He told Me was it was a steel box and they would build a fire in it and after the fire was hot they would close up the box and it had a pipe going to the top of the carb and the truck would start and run.
a fire box is used to create wood gas as Mr. Lang stated.
If you burn wood at temps greater then 400' then petrolem by product is created . you funnel the smoke and lead it into your generator
interesting video. cool looking inline ford generator.
you know one thing I was thinking about. say we were in "martial law" and they flew over and emp'ed us, your truck would be sure to draw the attention of drones. (if your the only non military vehicle moving around.)
The correct name, I believe, for these devices is gas producer.At least that was how they were named in the old engineering books dealing with early Internal combustion engines.Liquid fuel was not so successful in the IC engine until about 1890 and even for a while after that when they were called on in remote areas the fuel would usually be a gaseous fuel and the gas producer was many times supplied by the engine maker.The fuel for the gas producer could be about anything that would burn-from coal or peat to wood products and sugar cane stems (bagasse).In operation a fire would be built in the "firebox" and the draft was choked back so that combustion was incomplete and the smoke or fumes was led to the "mixer" on the engine to be mixed with air and admitted to the cylinder.The efficiency and output quality of the producer/engine was variable and required close management to work.Engine life was poor because of impurities it had to deal with but it was still ahead of the steam engine.We have occasionally seen pictures of buses and trucks in less developed countries with a gasifier hanging on the back bumper and there is a Mercedes (about late 30's) in the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville with a producer built into the left front fender.3 years ago at our local car show in Waverly TN a 50's chevy truck was hauled in with a home built gasifier in the bed.He ran it for us but he was still working on some details to improve the performance and was driving it about in his home town in west tennessee. (Paris or Milan I think).
For a little information on a unusual application of a producer-do a search for "humphrey pump cobdogla".This is the only actual Humphrey pump still in existence.The Humphrey pump is actually an internal combustion engine with a liquid piston-which is the fluid being pumped.This one in Cobdogla Australia is the existing one of a pair installed to dewater a huge area and due to it's huge appetite for fuel and remote location, had a large gas producer set up to burn the local wood. This thing moved 1.25 MILLION gallons of water per minute. A good description and pictures of the pump here but the producer is long gone.
