Running an engine on nothing but vapor (video)

[91CavGT]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

I will be interested in how the fuel continues to burn as the tank gets lower. I hear that the "new" gas does not completely evaporate and you may end up with the tank half full of non-evaporating heavy fuel. Very impressive setup however and it is amazing that it runs that well with no carburator.

You are right! I just finished mowing some and the mower started to run low on power but there was still plenty of "gas" in the tank. I poured that tank out and replaced it with fresh gas and it went right back to normal.

[91CavGT]

Alright guys, the EGR setup is installed and it does work!! It's not automatic but hey, it works!!


Here is a video showing it mowing down some tall grass so you guys can see that it does actually have some power to it.

http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a11...nt=Dave010.flv


And here is a video showing the crude EGR setup. Unfourtunately the battery on my digital camera died so the video is only 20 seconds long.

http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a11...nt=Dave011.flv


The tank of gas did not last very long. There's still lots of gas in the tank right now, but as JanGeo said, it is heavy fuel and it won't evaporate. So that is a hurdle I need to overcome.


It is still in the prototype stage but progress is coming rapidly!! Now how do I get more of the fuel to evaporate? Add alcohol to it? hmmmm............

[spotaneagle]

Originally Posted by 91CavGT

You are right! I just finished mowing some and the mower started to run low on power but there was still plenty of "gas" in the tank. I poured that tank out and replaced it with fresh gas and it went right back to normal.

the question is are you using more gas this way?

[91CavGT]

I just mowed my front and back yard today with it!! I had to constantly adjust the air and fuel valve to keep it running right as the fuel got used. I mowed the entire 5,000 square foot yard (average city yard size) on one tank of fuel!! Actually, it only used about 1/2 a tank of fuel!!


Next weekend I think I'm going to pour in 2 cups of fuel to see how long it will run, then I'll reinstall the carb and try it again with 2 cups of fuel. This will be the fuel economy test.


I've also got some ideas on how to make the EGR and air valve be automatic.

[pgfpro]

Nice!!! keep up the good work!!!

[DRW]

To burn the heavy fuel, how about using a fuel heater? The heavy elements in fuel simply have a higher boiling point, or more accurately known as 'heat of vaporization'. Here's a chart showing how much gas turns to vapor as temperature rises in this specific fuel. www.ercracingfuels.com/ercMulA.htm
I haven't found a chart for regular pump gas, but I suspect it's similar.

[91CavGT]

Originally Posted by DRW

To burn the heavy fuel, how about using a fuel heater? The heavy elements in fuel simply have a higher boiling point, or more accurately known as 'heat of vaporization'. Here's a chart showing how much gas turns to vapor as temperature rises in this specific fuel. www.ercracingfuels.com/ercMulA.htm
I haven't found a chart for regular pump gas, but I suspect it's similar.

Before I started mowing I tried to start it up but it wouldn't run on the gas that was in the tank so I drained it out. To my amazement there was only approximately 1/4 of a cup of fuel that came out!!

[JanGeo]

Sounds about right - it is not the amount of fuel in the tank but the exposed surface area for it to evaporate that makes it work - maybe some fiberglass inthe tank to wick the fuel a little and increase the surface area would help. You probably are running on the ethanol portion first then the other heavy components - how about a hot air intake to preheat the air and fuel? Sounds like you should have kept the governor and throttle plate functioning to regulate the engine speed and power.

[91CavGT]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

Sounds about right - it is not the amount of fuel in the tank but the exposed surface area for it to evaporate that makes it work - maybe some fiberglass inthe tank to wick the fuel a little and increase the surface area would help. You probably are running on the ethanol portion first then the other heavy components - how about a hot air intake to preheat the air and fuel? Sounds like you should have kept the governor and throttle plate functioning to regulate the engine speed and power.

I want to try to stay away from preheating or a hot air intake if at all possible. You start getting on the edge of safety when you start heating up the fuel. At low temps the way I'm doing it now, the odds of something catching fire are not nearly as great as what it would be when you add preheat.

I am pretty certain I can make it idle right with varrying the EGR, air intake, and fuel intake automaticlly. It just might take a bit of time. And if the throttle plate and govenor are trying to maintain a set rpm, it is going to be really hard for me to judge how much EGR and fuel to use.

[91CavGT]

Ohh, I meant to ask you guys. How well do y'all think E85 would do instead of E10 which I'm using right now?