4strokes that are E85 ready

[eRick]

Are any of the newer 4 stroke o/bs set up to run on E85? We need to decide on o/bs for transport in remote islands and fuel prices are likely to double in the next 12 months according to the govt. Islanders cant aford current prices let alone double so we are setting up for ethanol production from sago palm. Brazil runs a big proportion of its autos on pure ethanol now and there are lots of US vehicles that are made to run on E85. What if any modifications are needed to get new generation 4 strokes to handle ethanol rich fuel.... yes I understand about the solvent problems and water absorbtion etc. The locals use their boats every day so fuel does not sit around here. Hope someone has some good news on ethanol as so far everything I've read in this forum seems to be rather negative on the subject.

 

[orca]

Re: 4strokes that are E85 ready

Can't help you regarding E85 rick, Maybee another member can shed some light, however Mercury have developed an optimax motor which can run on JP5 class jet fuel, this may be an alternative if a good scource of gasoline is not available, look at mercurymarine.com.au and go to latest news for more information

 

[eRick]

Re: 4strokes that are E85 ready

Thanks whaley, kerosene outboards are common in Indonesia. Yamaha and Johnson both produced special ceramic parts for these and they only sell in this country.... they smoke like hell and would never be considered anywhere else. I'm not sure but I think the JP5 jet fuel is very close to kerosene. Kero is currently subsidized by the GoI and used for cooking and lighting in villages! More expensive to refine than gasoline so not a sustainable situation at all. Recent hikes in oil have forced GoI hand and the subsidies have to go so kero is not the way home. Fishermen and villages need 8ph to 40hp engines and a better solution. If vehicles can be designed from the ground up for E85 then I guess boat engines will follow. Huge market for the right solution and seems to me 4 stroke designed for ethanol would be hard to beat.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: 4strokes that are E85 ready

A carbed 4-stroke should be able to convert rather easily I'd think. Just a matter of jetting. As far as what sizes to use? Anybody's guess. EFIs would need the computer reprogrammed for it. Naturally there are other parts to consider, but I'm sure it's possible. Feasibility is the question.<br /><br />In the future I can see motors sensing what fuel they have and adjusting accordingly. I believe Dodge had a van back in the 60s that would run on gas or LP at the flip of a switch. But I think other technologies will replace the internal combustion engine before that. The internal combustion motor's days are numbered. No point in beating a dead horse by sticking alot of research money into it when it can be better spent on developing something entirely different. We have to stop producing greenhouse gasses. If Internal combustion motors are to survive, they'll have to run on hydrogen and oxygen.

 

[Realgun]

Re: 4strokes that are E85 ready

E-85 will need a stanless steel tank and any rubber parts will have to be alcohol resistant. For gas you use a 14:1 ratio of air:fuel. For E-85 you will need to get 9:1. I had a Ranger that was duel fuel and the only things that were different was the SS tank and any plastic parts were alcohol resistant. It would have run better on just E-85. Milage would have been better than it was on just E-85. The Octane rating for most E-85 is over 100. So you can run a higher compresion.

 

[eRick]

Re: 4strokes that are E85 ready

rotomolded cross-linked polyethylene tanks are common here and as far as I can find out ethanol wont effect that material. Agree ss for custom tanks for larger boats is the go. Are you saying that your Ranger did not run well on E85 and that the mileage was below par on E85. Higher compression seems to be the answer to compensate for slightly lower energy content + higher octane in ethanol. That will have to come later when some kind of distribution system is in place. Wonder how they handled this in Brazil? ie switching between gasoline and high ethanol blends in engines with higher compression ratios? Any stock car racers in the audience?