acetone

[tdub]

I just saw SeaBronc post about acetone in the tank. I've talked to some car guys and they said acetone is a solvent and that gasoline acts as a lubricant for the fuel pump. Is amount of acetone so marginal that it does not affect the anything? My dad also told me a story of him running almost straight solvent (because it was combistible) in an engine to drive it a couple of miles, and that's all it drove. Anyhow I was wondering if all this stuff on this website http://www.lubedev.com/smartgas/tips.htm would work to increase fuel economy. I drive a bronco and would take the wallet beating to continue to drive it, but I'm just curious if there's a cheaper way to drive the beast. I hope all the stuff in the link works and that we can all benefit from it.

 

[Seabronc]

Yes, acetone is a solvent. The same thing that your mother uses to take off her nail polish and it is also a paint thinner. Acetone used with fuel must be 100 % pure. If you went to the Lubedev site, you have probably read all about it. One reason for trusting the recommendations and research of that site is; "THEY DON"T HAVE ANYTHING TO SELL YOU". Plenty of sites put out great reports on things but have the ulterior motive of selling you their product which, "You can't get along without and can only theirs will work". The guys / gals at the Lubedev site have spent years testing automotive lubes and additive. As they explained, Acetone may only be used in a maximum amount of 3 Ounces per 10 gallons, I'd call that minute. The effect of Acetone is to emulsify water which ethanol attracts and also make your fuel vaporize better. Everyone I know of that has followed the recommendations of the Lubedev site has had a positive result. It takes a little time and controlled testing but I have found their claims to be true. I personally get a 10% difference between using it and not using it.

That's my personal experience with it and by the way I have slowly implemented other of their recommendations.

Good luck,

>-

 

[Broncobill78]

Yes, acetone is a solvent. The same thing that your mother uses to take off her nail polish and it is also a paint thinner. Acetone used with fuel must be 100 % pure. If you went to the Lubedev site, you have probably read all about it. One reason for trusting the recommendations and research of that site is; "THEY DON"T HAVE ANYTHING TO SELL YOU". Plenty of sites put out great reports on things but have the ulterior motive of selling you their product which, "You can't get along without and can only theirs will work". The guys / gals at the Lubedev site have spent years testing automotive lubes and additive. As they explained, Acetone may only be used in a maximum amount of 3 Ounces per 10 gallons, I'd call that minute. The effect of Acetone is to emulsify water which ethanol attracts and also make your fuel vaporize better. Everyone I know of that has followed the recommendations of the Lubedev site has had a positive result. It takes a little time and controlled testing but I have found their claims to be true. I personally get a 10% difference between using it and not using it.
That's my personal experience with it and by the way I have slowly implemented other of their recommendations.

Good luck,

>-

Any other info on it other than the site mantioned ? I just HAVE to think that acetone has got to be tough on the seals in a fuel injected system. I had a friend who'd Old Man worked at Wyman-Gordan iin Worcester, Mass and he had access to to pure 100% octane. He kept a big glass gallon jug of it in his shop and would throw a cup or two into his gastank for an extra kick. Never seemed to cause a problem until he switched trucks and bought a fuelie F250 and after replacing 3 fuel pumps and a dozen or so injectors within a year he quit using it. Carburated fuel systems don't have too many rubber seals outside of the fuelpump diaphram and those seemed more robust but all the rubber seals in the fuel injected truck just got ate up. Acetone is the primary ingredient in nail polish remover and I don't put a lot of *that* in my fuel either. How much water & ethanol is there in pump gas ? I know the ethanol content has been climbing but I also thought that it capped out at a fairly low percentage because that stuff attacks & dries out the seals as well. Don't get me wrong here, I'm just interested in the concept and looking for more than a single refrence point.

Ok, quick edit here. Just finished looking into it and I'm still not convinced. While hardly scientific I understand that the guys from MythBusters did a show on it and came away unconvinced. I lent a little more creedence to the chemical engineering forums. Just a couple of the sites I checked:

http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?bo...y;threadid=2517

and

http://neubranderinc.com/blog/2007/01/03/a...asoline-busted/

If nothing else there sure is a lot being said about it online. I have a couple friends who are chem. engineers and I'm going to drop them a note and ask. I think it's worth noting that it tends to react with the O2 sensors and it seems to trick them into indicating a rich condition that doesn't really exist, as a result the injectors deliver a leaner mixture and *that's* where the increased mileage come from. Add to that the cost of replacing the O2 sensors after they get cooked.

 

[2NDTOUR89]

I do the acetone thing as well and have in all of my vehicles for the past 3 years with no problems. Here is a couple more sites..

http://www.pureenergysystems.com/news/2005...900069_Acetone/

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/reports.htm

http://www.smartgas.net/

http://www.chicagogasprices.com/Forum_MSG....4&page_no=1

These show both sides of the story but in my experience, I have noticed that the engines do burn cleaner and may increase mileage up to 10% at 2oz per 10 gal. I have had NO failure of seals, gaskets, injectors etc. I took my old truck to the smog check station and while running this in the fuel along with a couple of other mods (ignition etc.) and the guy at the station did not believe that my 460 with 185k on it was running that clean. I feel that it did give the vehicle more pep as well as cleaning the systems and adding the fuel economy. Now as for the fuel economy benefit, think about it, my 10% was 1-2 miles per gallon as it probably would be with you but the engines do run better and cleaner and I am a full proponent of using acetone. In my experience, I have had quite a few friends do this trial as well and they noticed the same effects that I did and they have not had any problems with seals etc either. Try it on your own for a couple of tanks, if nothing else, you will have some solvent left over to clean your paint brushes if you think it doesnt work....

 

[Seabronc]

To be honest, I had one thing happen that I believe was the result of using Acetone. I had see through plugs on my float bowls and they got soft so I switched back to the original brass. I'm not sure what the material of the see through plugs is, but I have not gone through the effort to buy a new set and expose them to the same concentration of Acetone to prove one way or the other that Acetone was the cause, I may try that though, but it is after all a solvent as is gasoline. Fuel system components are made from materials that are impervious to solvents. However, a cup of acetone is well above the recommended usage that the guys/gals at Lubdev recommend and they specifically state that you should not use concentrations higher than 3 oz. per 10 gallons, I don't know, nor am inclined to calculate how many parts per million that is, but it is small.

The Mythbusters test was hardly scientific and it is not my intention to try to convince anyone to use it. I'm only relating my experience for what it is worth like any other comment I post. I have spent the time to test and it works for me .

If you are going to try it, do what they suggest for a test procedure or you can't actually know if it does or doesn't help. All I know is I've been using it for several years and it has only helped with no negative effect to the engine or my fuel system.

If Lubdev had something to sell me, I'd be more sceptacle of their claims so if you want to try it you might like it or Don't.

Good luck,

>-

 

[Broncobill78]

To be honest, I had one thing happen that I believe was the result of using Acetone. I had see through plugs on my float bowls and they got soft so I switched back to the original brass. I'm not sure what the material of the see through plugs is, but I have not gone through the effort to buy a new set and expose them to the same concentration of Acetone to prove one way or the other that Acetone was the cause, I may try that though, but it is after all a solvent as is gasoline. Fuel system components are made from materials that are impervious to solvents. However, a cup of acetone is well above the recommended usage that the guys/gals at Lubdev recommend and they specifically state that you should not use concentrations higher than 3 oz. per 10 gallons, I don't know, nor am inclined to calculate how many parts per million that is, but it is small.
The Mythbusters test was hardly scientific and it is not my intention to try to convince anyone to use it. I'm only relating my experience for what it is worth like any other comment I post. I have spent the time to test and it works for me .

If you are going to try it, do what they suggest for a test procedure or you can't actually know if it does or doesn't help. All I know is I've been using it for several years and it has only helped with no negative effect to the engine or my fuel system.

If Lubdev had something to sell me, I'd be more sceptacle of their claims so if you want to try it you might like it or Don't.

Good luck,

>-

Well, $hit, I don't think a man could ask for a more honest response. But here's the rub, and I just hafta know. I spent the $$$ to call both friends who are professional chemical engineers and they both scoffed at the idea, I've looked into every chemical & engineering forumn that Google turns up (20+ pages down in a few cases) and I have yet to find anyone who says that it makes s *stastically significant* difference. Considering all the variables involved I can honestly believe the pro's who say that watching your odo & writing down what you pump in from the gas station is just not repeatably scientific. I have 10+ yrs in a medical teaching facility and have a fairly good grasp of what constitutes a legimate scientific study and *nobody* I've found has done one on this. So here's my deal, and I hope that everyone believes that I ask this in all honesty and not just to be contentious. I really do respect the **** out of the moderators here and the high-end posters. What I've read from you guys makes me believe beyond any doubt that you 1) know your $hit and 2) have no axes to grind. Everytime I think I've posted a good answer one of you comes along and posts something I completely forgot about (like that damn voltage regulator I completely ignored). But what I've been told makes alot of sense to me and I have to ask, if the acetone *really* does give a significant boost to your milage then why is it that the major (or minor for that matter) refineries don't include it in the standard mix ? Are they trying to bury it like the 100mpg carburator everyone hears about in some big conspiricy or is it perhaps damaging to *SOME* fuel systems and not others so they choose not to mass market it or is it something else ? Mobil, Exxon, BP and all the others have very competent chem. engineers on staff and if they're not adding it I have to ask why ? I mean, if one of them could add this and then advertise that THIER fuel got you a 10% increase or better then why don't they ? With all the attention & internet buzz then I have to think that they're aware of the issue. I'll grant that the Mythbusters guys are more entertainment than science but they do at least show people what the Scientific Method consists of, but one of my friends just called me back after ck'ing with a prof. friend at MIT and he said the same thing, it's just a no go. So if the science guys say it's a bust and the numbers guys say the home-grown tests aren't really binding then why is it that major oil companies don't add it to the refining process ? I can't help but think that if one of them had the chance to gain an edge by promoting greater milage from *thier* blend of fuel they would. I really do doubt that they kidnapped the 100mpg carb guy to keep him quiet and I honestly do wonder about this one as well. I'm really not trying to start an issue where one doesn't exist and I'm sure not going to get into a pi$$ing match over who can post more links about it but I honestly do wonder why you guys think it's not already in current fuel formulations if it helps milage.

I hope everyone takes this post in the spirit in which it was written and understands that the last thing I want to do is generate divisions within the community. Sometimes you just *can't* get into these issues without creating a backlash and that's really NOT what I'm trying to do here, I just feel as though I have a legimate question and I hope that everyone involved will be willing to answer/talk about it without creating some silly-a$$ flame war.

 

[Seabronc]

I'm really not trying to start an issue where one doesn't exist and I'm sure not going to get into a pi$$ing match over who can post more links about it but I honestly do wonder why you guys think it's not already in current fuel formulations if it helps milage.

If you are in the business of making money off selling gas, would you do anything at all to reduce sales? Would you even admit it if you knew of way? I happen to know an ex Texaco chemist who says it will work and that they tested many fuel formulas that give much higher mileage than what is sold on the market today. They ran years and years of testing with vehicles on dyno stands to get "scientific results". Believe it or not, those high mileage formulas were put aside in favor of corporate profits.

I can't think of most any "Scientific study" that doesn't have counter claims and counter studies by another group that doesn't want to accept it. Granted, it is a difficult thing to do a scientific study, and street driving puts in too many doubtful variables for one. If it works for, or at least one mentally thinks it is working, it is for them. So if the choice is not to believe that something works then there is no reason to use or discuss it. No level of, "Scientific study", will convince a skeptic.

A pure scientific study on anything is not necessary as far as I'm concerned, results are /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> . This is like talking religion. People believe what they want /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> , all I know is I can see a direct relationship between using Acetone and not.

That's the end of my .02 on the subject.

Good luck,

>-

 

[2NDTOUR89]

"A pure scientific study on anything is not necessary as far as I'm concerned, results are . This is like talking religion. People believe what they want , all I know is I can see a direct relationship between using Acetone and not."

[Amen.. I totally agree. I use it and have found that has made some improvement however like I have posted before, I have done other enhancements to try to promote a more effecient engine (which provides more **** and economy). And like I said before, the difference of 10% on a car is not much, especially rides like ours that dont get the best mileage in the first place. There is room for calculation error, getting gas on hot days when the fuel expands then contracts in the cool of the night leaving voids therefore you didnt really get that full tank you thought etc. There are hundreds of theories out there and I still stand by the statement of try it for yourself and if you get no change in any degree (mileage, performance, emissions etc.) you now have a really good solvent for your next cleanup project... If anyone who is reading this has the miracle mileage snake oil, I am sure we all want some and would even buy stock in the company that produces it but I really dont think that acetone is the cure all, like I said, I feel it made an improvement and the emissions test is enough proof for me that it is doing SOMETHING. I also hope none of my posts are taken out of context and take no offense in what you write as well.

 

[Broncobill78]

If you are in the business of making money off selling gas, would you do anything at all to reduce sales? Would you even admit it if you knew of way?

Well, quite frankly yes, I would. If it means I can sell my product for the the next 50yrs instead of the next 20 then sure, I'd be real interested, *especially* if the bottom line was my own personal bank account (and my ability to keep depositing into it) and particularly so if public scrutiny was part of the deal, but it's real obvious this is one of those "To each his own" issues and in the interest of domestic tranquility I guess we'll just leave it at that.