My acetone results
 

Are not availible yet! Sorry. In 2 days I will be traveling from S. Oregon to N. Washington, then back a few days later. I will use 92 octane gas, from Shell when possible, adding 2 ounces acetone (half the recommended maximum for my tank) and will also measure results without acetone, all while driving 70mph, DWL. My results will be a little different than usual for sure because I will again have a full interior and 2 passengers and all our luggage. I have read far into this subject, including testimonials from people who say it will destroy your fuel lines/gaskets/fuel pump, etc. I feel it is a risk worth taking, if only for the knowledge. Anyways, I'll post the results when I get back.

I like a little acetone in my breakfast orange juice- puts a little extra spring in my step.

It won't be valid data, but have fun with it anyway.

Well, due to greatly differing traffic conditions, weather and speeds, the results were inconclusive and I will not post them here. I will try again though, on my daily commute, which is a very consistent A-B-A route.

Have you ever considered asking a chemist what properties acetone has that might affect the function of gasoline in your engine?

Every testimonial about acetone in engines has something to do with either surface tension or atomization, neither of which is a problem in modern vehicles. Why do people still bother with this stuff?

How about calling Shell and asking about the formulation of their fuels... It's got acetone, xylene, toluene, and probably some heptane in it. Not to mention things like MTBEs and probably 200 other aromatics, and now it's even got organic alcohols in it, like ethanol.

My Dad (dgathright here) is one of those chemists.

I will try to get him to post why this is a bad idea.:thumbup:

Acetone Not A Good Fuel Additive
 

Acetone in your tank will probably do more harm than good. We use it and Toluene in our laboratory because they are both very good solvents. We have to be careful because it is harmful to breathe too much of the fumes and they attack and degrade paint, plastics, rubber and just about anything else that they encounter. Our glassware is not affect by them, however.

Components like alcohol increase the octane because they add an OH group to the mixture. The "O" is an oxygen molecule that helps to burn the fuel better. This is less expensive than adding higer octane crude components, because it is difficult to make these components, therefore more costly.

I very much doubt that you will find Acetone, Toluene, MTBE or any other unusual component in gasoline. We are not allowed to add these components to the gasoline because they are less expensive and we run tests for these and other contaminants every step of the refining process. Ethanol is the exception and we have to accurately state when it is in the gasoline and the amount that we add is carefully regulated.

I suggest that you look up the MSDS(Material Safety Data Sheet) of anything that you add to your fuel so that you don't endanger your or your family's health.

Wanna tell me again that gasoline doesn't contain those chemicals?

Chemical Compounds in Gasoline
 

The purpose, as I understand it, of Ecomodder is to increase fuel efficiency in our vehicles. Any of the compounds that we were discussing, other than the stated ones in your gasoline, in the ppm or ppb range are not going to significantly affect the miles per gallon of your vehicle.

In our area, we are not allowed to have even 1 ppm of MTBE, mostly due to the contamination of ground water than can occur. For awhile we were producing and even selling MTBE. That portion of our plant was shut down and dismantled when the studies of the harmful effects of MTBE came out.

I seem to have offended you and I am sorry if you feel offended. My purpose was to inform and possibly warn you and others about the components in gasoline that are dangerous.

The Acetone that you were adding and the Propane, Butanes and Pentanes in the gasoline are components that can flash at room temperatures and will float in the air, when given the chance.

...well, I can attest to acetone's ability to dissolve rubber gaskets in carburetors!

...back during the first OPEC embargo (1970's), put 1 pint of acetone in 12 gallons of gasoline and within 15 minutes the engine started coughing and died. Black streaks (like women's mascara in the rain) down the sides of the float bowl clued me. Pulled the top of the 2BBL carburetor (Ford Pinto 1.6 FOB) and the whole float bowl was BLACK with dissolved gasket materials.

...called the Ford dealership (my father-in-law was a mechanic there) and learned that acetone and rubber (and some cheap neoprenes) do NOT "play nice" together.

...never wanted to repeat that "experiment" again. But, you're welcomed to "learn for yourself"! Maybe today's gasket materials are impervious to acetone (?!?) but with todays fuel injection, instead of carburetors, it's gonna co$t a lot more to undo any disasterous learning lesson(s).

Not offended, just providing references as to what is actually in gasoline. Regionally, it could be formulated differently, but I wasn't lying when I said it was there.

I've tried acetone. I live out in very rural farm country, where the quality of gas is definitely lower tier. Finding anything more than 87 octane at most stations is a surprise. So, I tried it. At 2.39 a gallon gasoline and 12.39 a gallon of acetone, it was slightly worse than a wash. But....
When a car sits over the winter (or in the case of my Merc, over the summer because the A/C don't work!) tossing in a couple of ounces per 10 gallons of what got left in the tank is a good way of restoring the volatile level. Same thing with the gas I store for the generator. And every "new" car I latch onto gets a couple tanks enhanced with acetone, because it cleans a fuel system out as good as seafoam, and I always have a can of it in the garage.
But I agree that it's bogus as an ongoing fuel saving technique.

Dad, do not worry. We jump on each other all the time online. Just the name of the game in these communities.:cool:

I will say that Dan comes from 30+ years of working with gasoline/oil testing and knows more about what is in these compounds than 99.999% of all Americans.

If you have any follow up questions, please ask them since he can give you some very, voluminous, discussions on petrochemical mixtures.:thumbup:

...it's what we call "Redneck Peer Reviewing" where we beat the 'horse' thesis until it either: (a) gets group consensus agreement, or (2) gets group consensus dis-agreement. ;)

Sir!

I don't even know for sure , but If I recall the MSDS does not have to show a chemical if its a proprietary compound and there are already sufficient warnings covering it by the base mixture. So would a MSDS give the whole story? Being the conspiracy fan that I am,,, Hmm..


Dave

Dave -
I believe that the MSDS has to list all base chemicals, and any reactionary compounds that would be present. I don't think it matters if something is proprietary, just the same as ingredient listing on food products.

What doesn't have to be listed is the actual chemical makeup of the product in question.

Mr. MMPG, can you direct me to a post or link that tells what valid data would be? I have not had time to look around much yet, TIA!

This is a good thread to read through for that:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ery-11445.html

Thank You, DAOX!

:thumbup:

I tried acetone back in 2008 or so when fuel was pricey.

It gave more low end (idle) torque to the point where I didn't even had to push the gas pedal at all for rush hour traffic. (It was on a manual transmission car, and I only needed to shift gear and slowly release the clutch pedal to move the car a few feet).
I did some tests and it appeared to improve mpg a bit but rush hour traffic is impossible to compare accurately as it is never the same everyday.

Reportedly it allows fuel to vaporize much better by reducing surface tension.
Surface tension - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Acetone In Fuel Said to Increase Mileage

You have to use very little of it as too much can actually hinder fuel economy.
The Mythbusters used too much and got no better mpg.
I used a medical syringe without the needle as you only had to measure a few cc's every time you pump gas.
I don't remember the exact amount but I believe it was UP TO 2 cc's for every gallon. Do NOT use any more than that.

IMO fuel economy can be improved only if your driving habits allow you to use the higher torque at lower rpms.
For highway driving it might increase mpg only as long as you are able to drive at lower rpms at higher gear.

Anecdotal experiences suggest that it works better on older cars where the computer or Oxygen sensor doesn't fine tune the fuel mixture so much.

I just would love to point out here that in almost any car, you can slowly release the clutch without feathering, or touching at all, the accelerator.

In fact, if I'm ever in a car in which I /can't/ do this, I consider it a fault worthy of diagnosis and begin working on it.

You should be able to start in 1st or 2nd and run it up to it's highest gear on flat, level ground without ever touching the accelerator.

I do apologize for the older thread bump but I had an older I think 1989 Subaru that would not let you do that unless throttle was held..

Perhaps the Acetone could help prevent pre-detonation if it's increasing octane levels and allow you to advance your timing and increase HAI temps?

Please don't bump sham methodologies. It gets people to think they might work.

Adding acetone to fuel does nothing good for economy and damages fuel system components.