Two-strokes, alcohol and emissions

[laser]

Does anyone here has any experience running alcohol in a hi-perf two-stroke?

I was just thinking that Alcohol with Castor oil would be an excellent alternative for high performance and clean emissions.

I don't have any experience with the combo so any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Locally I can get 55 gallon drums of methanol and without the road tax its pretty reasonable. I believe ethanol is available also.

Gas is really not that unreasonable yet, however it would be nice to have some options.

[Michael Martin]

Alcohol is a cooler running fuel but it's very "dry" I guess maby because of the evaperation rate being faster on alco. Dont know....

Mike

[Gary Hamer]

I do know that alcohol's correct air to fuel ratio is almost double that of gas so you would need to revamp your fuel system. It also attack a lot of the rubber components in the fuel system as well. So you would need to get alcohol approved lines, injectors pumps etc. It has a higher octane rating than pump gas so you could run more sqeeze, but when you have to run twice as much fuel does it really gain you anything.
I'm not sure about the castor oil I kinda of remember that it will gum up if left in your fuel system . I think you have to flush the motor and lines with gas when your done using it. Probobly someone can let you know for sure on that.
The bragging factor at the dock would be cool saying you have a bad a**'ed alcohol injected motor :p :p

[laser]

I realize that all of the components that come into contact with alcohol would have to be tested.

My tank would be fine. The fuel lines would be easy. As would the pump and filter. The carb gaskets and floats I'm not so sure about. Also the reeds, could just involve a call to Boyesen.

I have read that with jetting. If you leave the air jets the same size, plan on increasing the fuel jets by a factor of 1.27. A starting point at least.

And yes, push the compression up as high as reasonable to take advantage of the octane.

[Mark75H]

Alcohol's octane number is only 105, so don't go too far on the squeeze

[laser]

With 105 octane, would 150 - 160 psi be reasonable?

[Darrylb]

It will also attack the aluminum innards of your carb and cause rust inside your motor if left unrun for any period of time. You will have to flush motor with gas and fog when shutting down for the day, it is highly corrosive has a slowercooler burn than gas. Also absorbs water (humidity) like a sponge out of the air so you have to make sure your supplyer knows the precautions on maintaining freshness, does not like heat wich causes it to go stale, also your tank should be burned up as quick as possible or empty by end of days running to avoid water absorbtion. Water absorbtion, gasket and seal degradation will be your biggest problem . Jetting has more room for eror for max hp as long it is on the rich side, I believe klotz makes a oil that is good with alcohol,my opinion nothing smells better than alcohol burning in a motor and love the power it makes. Bottom line is how much extra precautions and tinkering do you want to go through and is all this extra work worth it to you. But the benifits are sweet. I do know you dont want to run straight ethanol. My experience with alcohol are on Mod 5hp Briggs Engines with tillotson carbs for racing. Not boats yet.

[Rusrog]

Methanol has many positives and many negatives. Two of the main positives are the power and the price. Power is good and the price is down. My buddy had a methanol injected Yamaha V-6 back in the early 90's and it really ran good. We were running over 190#'s of compression with no problem. We ran a Klotz oil but I can't remember which one.....:confused:
The biggest problem with methanol is that it is a pain to run. You must flush the motor out at the end of the day or you will rust the inside of the motor. Cranks will water mark, rods, everything....
The simple solution to that is to add a small remote tank, a couple of gallons would be plenty, and a switch valve between the two tanks. While on gas the motor would be very rich but that would ensure a good 'wash' of the motor. On your way to the trailer at the end of the day, simply switch over and ease in the last mile or so...
The other great thing about methanol is nitro....The power there is limited only by the thermal strength of the parts in your motor....and the ability of your wallet to replace parts....
Klotz makes several good oils that are much cleaner and easier to use than the old castor oil blends. They don't smell quite as good but they still get the job done.

[JR IN JAX]

I USED TO RUN METHANOL / NITROMETHANE IN MY UNLIMTED 2 STORE GOKART MOTOR [YAMAHA 100CC]. METHANOL, IN A TWO STROKE ALKY HAS THE ADVANTAGE OF FUEL COOLING THE PISTON TOP AND THE EXHAUST BRIDGE IN ULTRA HIGH RPM APPLICATIONS.
THE MASSIVE AMMOUNT OF FUEL EVAPORATING KEEPS ALL THE FLAME EXPOSED AREAS MUCH COOLER. WE WERE TURNING 18K RPM [FOR 2 SECONDS IN THE STRAIGHTWAYS] AND WERE NOT CONCERNED WITH ENGINE LIFE [WHICH WAS LESS THAN 3 HOURS]. EVEN WITH THE ALKY WE STUCK DOZENS OF PISTONS.
THE ALCOHOL WOULD HARDEN ALL THE PLASTIC AND RUBBER, INCLUDING CRANKSEALS. THE FUEL PROOF PLASTIC FUEL LINES WOULD EVEN HARDEN WITH TIME. YOU ALSO COULD NOT STORE ANY LEFTOVER FUEL AND HAD TO CHOKE THE ENGINE DOWN ON A 50/50 GAS OIL MIX AT THE END OF RACE NIGHT. WE HAD TO PULL DOWN THE ENGINE THE NEXT DAY.
THE MASSIVE COST AFTER 3 YEARS, ACTUALLY KILLED THE CLASS [AND MY BUDGET].
THANKS,
JR