Ok...I have had just about enough of all this talk about increasing MPG using acetone, so I am going to run an experiment. All I ask is that you post links in this thread, both the positives and negatives, regarding using it in your gas tank.


Abstract:
I have acquired a few gaskets that are in the xBs fuel system, along with some various other gaskets/materials (like the rubber hose used in fuel lines) that I am going to soak in straight acetone, and also in a acetone/fuel mixture (using around .78 cc per liter or one ounce per 10 gallons, or percentage-wise, 0.0003% by volume). My concern is with the effect acetone may have on various materials in the fuel system. I am considering using various metals as well.


I will be taking pictures of the before and after stages. Unfortunatly, I am having issues going from camera to computer, so please bear with me here.

 

Aganist the use:
http://www.cartalk.com/content/colum...anuary/08.html

 

For the use:

http://www.pureenergysystems.com/new...00069_Acetone/

 

Chemical Compatibility

http://www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/chemcomp.asp

Note their compatibility with this material in particular: Buna-N (nitrile). Note that it has "excellent" compatibility with gasoline, but it will have a "severe effect" with acetone.

Why is this important? Because most seals and o-rings in fuel systems are made from Buna-N.

 

here is one for you.....http://www.wisebread.com/can-acetone...ur-gas-mileage

and glad to see you remembering that the consentration of acetone to gas is different than pure acetone for the testing of the o-rings,fuel lines, and gaskets.

and we do remember that most fuel system cleaners and additives are acetone, right?

and remember to take anything told to you by the big oil companies with a grain of salt, if we use less gas, they make less profit.

 

did you guys watch the mpg episode of mythbusters ?

acetone provided no benefit at all

 

Trying to be fair as possible. I am still open to constructive suggestions to this "experiment".

This is true, and they are used infrequently (every 3 months) when compared to using acetone in every fill up.

Fair enough, but I dont feel the big oil companies or car manufactures are "out to get us".

 

How was this "proven"?

 

One of my biggest concerns is how how acetone reacts to other chemicals already in fuel.

I am not too concerned with what it may or may not do by itself, but what chemically happens when it mixes with 2,2,4-Trimethyl heptanes, 2,3,4-Trimethyl Pentanes, C7 (Heptanes), etc.

The third link allows you to select different chemicals and see the compatibility between them....I have yet to play around with that...

 

acetone and ethyl alcohol do not like each other, has shown that if fuel contains ethyl alchol the effects don't occur, so if your using a fuel with ethyl alchol ( read in oxyginators) your effects will be nill.

hotbox05 Posted: 7/13/07 7:32AM Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

did you guys watch the mpg episode of mythbusters ?

acetone provided no benefit at all


You believe EVERYTHING THEY SAY? they don't always "test" their myths in the real world, they sometimes have a tendency to take the myth too literally and use their own definitions of variables.

 

i'm not saying i believe evry thing they say but a lot of their testing is done in a prettyy logical and controlled way.

 

this is how they proved it, they got two cars, one was an old carbuerated buick from like the 80's, and the other was like an early 90's toyota corolla or camry 4cyl with fuel injection.

they ran both cars on a treadmill with a set amount of fuel in an extremely consistant and repeatable manner.

they did both cars initially with no modifications for improving gas mileage to get a baseline, then they did various items like a magnet on the fuel line, and adding acetone to the gas. none of them showed any improvement, infact, i'm pretty certain that most of them lowered mpg.

 

Mythbusters is 'pop science' in a lot of ways, dumbed down and packaged nicely into 15 minute chunks for people to conveniently watch. Remember, its a tv show, and tv watchers dont want to necessarily feel challenged by anything. So Mythbusters has an incentive to see things from the 'man on the street' point of view.

My point being, I would like to keep this thread about compelling evidence, one way or the other, not hearsay or junk tv science. Not hatin', just sayin'. I am first looking into any possible harm acetone may cause, because any increase in MPG is NOT worth damaging o-rings, seals, etc. If it is shown to be harmful, I would not consider using it even for a 20% increase in MPG. But.....

Acetone is already being added to gasoline:
I have the proof that Acetone is used in gasoline…check out the MSDS on Berryman products:
http://www.berrymanproducts.com/Port...0MSDS/0216.pdf

Yes, a carburetor cleaner (cleans fuel injectors too) that some may have used. Or the ChemTool. Both contain about 25% acetone (3 to 4 oz per treatment). If it was eating at the fuel lines and "O" rings and what-nots then this fuel additive would not be on the market.

I seems that Techron is protected as a trade secret. We dont know what is added to the mixture. Maybe that is part or all of how their blend helps keep things cleaner.

 

here is somemore interesting reading......

http://neubranderinc.com/blog/2007/0...soline-busted/

all this reading is going to cause headaches, better get the advil out

 

I am watching. I want to know if it really works. I saw the mythbuster episode, and though I don't really agree with the whole "it's dumbed down so it's prolly not true" additude simply because it's TV, I am very interested in the "real" results.

 

Works for me.

11% gain last two tanks.

 

http://www.lubedev.com/smartgas/additive.htm


The key to acetone helping in MPG, I believe, is using it in very small quantities. i.e. 2-3 oz. per 10 gallons of gas. If more than that is used, it can be detrimental to gas mileage.

 

my friend tried it with a 97 honda accord. i dont remember his numbers, but he definitely saw a significant increase in MPG. good luck with you experiment, keep us updated. i'm really curious as well.

(i think i read somewhere where the brand of gas will have an impact in this experiment as well, so make sure you note that)

 

A very interesting experiment and a very nicely formulated hypothesis.

But do not forget to weigh the cost benefits of the experiment.

i.e.. Will the cost of 2 or 3 ounces of pure acetone per tank full be more or less expensive than the percentage of gas it might save. If it is less expensive, and there is a savings, as the cost of gas rises, as it surely will, so will the value of your excellent experiment.

Thanks and keep us posted.

 

I'm willing to bet the higher mpg numbers are from the acetone cleaning out gunk in the engine and fuel systems , not because it helps mpg.