Ford F150 - More on Acetone

I had said that I was going to try Acetone in the gas on my 94 explorer 4.0 L engine.

I ran 280 miles yesterday. Here in WV that means a good number of those miles were in the mountains. I ran about 25 of them start/stop in town. So I think I was doing the type of driving that is "average" for me. My Explorer was normally getting 19 mpg. With the Acetone I got 22 mpg. A 3 mpg increase.

Normally on a hard pull in these hills my Explorer would give some detonation or spark knock. With the Acetone that went away. It also seemed that the car idled and ran more smoothly. "Seemed" isn't something that you can quantify, but I do think it runs more smoothly.

I plan two more Acetone tests in the next week if the weather is good:

1. My F150, 5.0L, has duel gas tanks. I plan to put Acetone in one tank and none in the other tank and then do a "crude" power test. I have a place here on a mountain where I always check things when I make a change. I hit the starting point at 55mph and kick it open up to the ending point which is about 1/4 mile. I watch for how many mph gain I get. --I plan to check it with the "regular" tank, then switch to the Acetone tank, run it a few miles to clear the lines, and try the acetone tank. I can repeat the process enough times to be sure of what readings I'm getting.

2. I plan to use a lawnmower for another test. A 3hp, air cooled, 4 stroke, engine. I'm going to mount a temperature sensor in the oil fill hole and attach the hook up to an outboard engine temperature guage so that I can monitor the temperature. ---Then I'll run it untill I'm sure of the temperature on regular gasoline. --Then I plan to add ONE OUNCE OF ACETONE TO THE ONE QUART TANK. This is 8 times the strength that we've all been talking about using in automoblle engines. ---- I'll monitor the temperature for any heat increase. I also plan to let the little motor run for perhaps an entire day, through several tanks of gas/acetone mixture to see if there might be damage in any way.

I'll post the results of these tests when I get them done.

anything that will stop detonation/pinging will do more good than bad.

if one ounce dosent hurt it, then try mixing it 1/4 ratio, then half ratio. it will be neat to see how it works. but you have to remember, a lawnmower is air cooled. but i dont know if it will make any difference.

Intresting thought. I think by now its been confirmed that using acetone in your fuel will give you a few more MPG, but now it seems that everyone is starting to look at the long term effects of acetone on your engine, fuel lines, and gas tank.

Now, "IF" this truely adds MPG without any harm to our engines why haven't the gasoline companies done anything with acetone yet? I would think they would have been the very first to even test acetone in a fuel system before we even herd of it. At least thats my opinion on the matter, but for all I know the gas companies could be so blind and so far under their rocks they don't even know about this yet.

Still though, I want to wait for much more extensive testing before I try it in my gas tank. I can't stand to have my truck down. Besides, the engine I want is by no way cheap

Lloyd,
you be the man! Thats what we are all after, test results.. Also, I got some 2 cents worth for ya...(make that 1cent)... I don't believe you will find a temp. change in the crank.. (or one that would pick up). You should probably pull the plug (s) and check for a color change. I think what people were suggesting is slight combustion temp. increase that would mean (long term) that the plug would then be a wrong heat range (running too hot) and that could lead to a burnt piston.. If a plug is running too hot, you can tell. I don't think that would be the case, but who knows...It would be interesting to see... too bad you don't have a old injector or fuel pump, you could try the "soak test". I know 100% acetone will degrade some plastics pretty fast..
Are you going to try running it long term to see if you get any problems??

I think we should send you one of those long white Lab coats!

"WV testing labs"

what do you think?

joe

How much is being added to a tank of gas? I have an 02 w/ a 4.2 and a 25 gallon tank. I would like to try it but don't know exactly how much to put. When I know how much to use, I will test it on my 03 Camry first since it's still under warranty and my fiance's ride. It has a 19 gallon tank. I was getting 18/20 mpg in my truck with the factory rims and 255/70/16 tires. Now that I put on 18" rims and 285/60/18 tires and I'm carrying the old rims and tires in the bed I'm down to 16 in the city. Which is perfect for me anyway, since I'm known for having a heavy foot.

the site where all of this started stated a 1:3000 to 1:5000 mix depending on the engine. there is a certain point where the acetone doesnt help mpg or performance anymore.
i'm thinking that because our engines are prone to ping a 1:5000 mix should be fine. i doubt that any damage will happen and it will probably do more good than bad in an engine that pinged before adding acetone to the gas.

Stonecrazy, that mix that Steve is talking about comes out to about 2 1/2 ounces per 10 gallon of gasoline.

Joe, Thanks, I'll look at plug color also. Am I right that one burning too hot will burn really white or lite brownish?

I think a better test would be to set aside about 8 hours.

Drive 2 hours away from home on the highway with the cruise on, turn around and go home. Measure MPG.

Drive 2 hours home, return, and measure MPG.

This would eliminate everything except a small change in ambient temps. Same roads, should be the same wind conditions, etc etc etc.

Heck, with the change in weather we've had recently my aspire has gone from 31 mpg last week to 36 mpg this week....without acetone or anything else different except warmer weather.

Thanks, that's about what I figured up. We put 4 ounces in the Camry today and I haven't really got a chance to drive it much. My g/f keeps calling saying it's running a lot faster. Then again she don't know much. I will also put some in my truck I use at work it's a 02 S10 with a 4.3. It's ragged out constantly running 24/7, so if it does burn it up maybe they will hurry up and get us those new F150 SCABS.

Well, I have some results on the acetone in the 03 Camry. My g/f and her friends went riding around last night like a bunch of 16yr old virgins on prom night. Too bad it's not prom night for me every night.

Anyway, we were getting about 22/31 mpg before I added the acetone. This morning being the lucky man that I am, I had to go refuel the car on my dime and see the change. And I have to say I was quite amazed at the results. She got 26.8 mpg, which I think is pretty darn good a 4.8 increase.

Also consider that 5 of them were in the car and I would say that all their weight would be around 600lbs. So she was caring extra weight. She'd probably have a fit if she heard me say that. Damn I think I make 3 of them.

I do think that if this catches on and that it doesn't hurt your vehicle that the price of acetone will go up.

what would a strong ratio of acetone do to the gas milage and possibly the engine?

Peperc, according to that research that is out once you get "too strong" of a mixture, (apparently over 3 oz per ten gallon) the mpg results start back the other way. None of us know the effect on an engine. That's part of what I plan to do with that air cooled engine, maybe today. Run it just saturated with acetone (and ounce in the QUART tank) at full throttle for the entire day and see if it does anything to it.

Here's the link to that research. http://pesn.com/2005/03/17/6900069_Acetone/

Also, run Acetone in Gasoline on a good search engine and you will get more information. There are several talk forums about it right now. I saw an entry last night that a guy had been using it for a year and had no problems. I've seen nothing but prue conjecture about any problems, except that you shouldn't get the stuff on your paint or on your hands. It apparrently is a carcenogen (spell) and is unhealthy in your body, but then so is gasoline.

Lloyd,
as far as the color change on the plugs, I believe your right (check the color pics, in your haynes). I think a better route might to run for awhile (no acetone) stop, note plug(s) conditions, and then same after acetone. Mostly looking for a change... (I'd love to see pictures of the plugs)..
As fas as Acetone goes, the main ingredient in Absorbene jr (spelling) muscle rub, and also nail polish remover (check your wifes bottle) is acetone. Its not too bad "health wise" if you get it on you, but like anything else, too much of anything is bad... Its much more heathly for you than gas, thats for sure..
by the way, I hope your old small engine holds up screaming all day....

ONE MORE PART OF THIS "RESEARCH PROJECT" IS COMPLETE

Anyone not knowing just what that means needs to read the first post on this thread.

I Completed the testing of the 3hp, air cooled engine. While I have this written up as to all of the procedures involved, in the interest of space I'll just give the results here.

I made a change in the initial plans: I decided to check the temperature of the engine head as opposed to the crank case temperature as stated earlier. I mounted a temperature sending unit between the fins on the head right near the spark plug. Varying amounts of acetone were added to the one quart fuel tank and the temperature results were as follows.

Remember that a full ounce PER QUART is equal to 4 full ounces PER GALLON. (The recommended amount for automobiles is 2 1/2 ounces PER 10 GALLON) So an ounce per quart would be 8 times the strength recommended for automobiles.

1. Six drops added to the fuel (this would be somewhat close to the recommended amount for automobiles)------NO Temperature change.

2. 1/4 ounce added to the tank------ 1 to 2 degrees rise in temperature.

3. 1/2 ounce added to the tank------4 degrees rise in temperature.

4. ONE FULL OUNCE added--------8 degrees rise in head temperature.

This process was repeated two times to validate results. Both times the readings were the same.

I then ran the little motor with ONE FULL OUNCE per quart tank, at full throttle, for 10 hours strait, stopping only briefly to refuel when needed. --Remember, this would be at the 8 degree head temperature increase.

The motor ran fine for the entire period and does not appear to be suffering any damage of any kind. I checked the plug coloration before and after the run and it was the same. It did not show hot (whitish or lite brownish) but was more of a blackened color that is normal for a spark plug in this small engine.

Everyone can draw their own conclusions; For me, I no longer have any concerns that using the recommended amount in my truck is going to burn a valve or piston. That puts this issue to rest for me.

I still have the "two tank" comparison to make in my F-150, as well as running long enough to get a close reading on mpg. I'll post those results when I get the time to do that part.

Now I'm going to go drink beer.