How long does alcohol last
 

I know that might like a dumb question but I went to get some methanol yesterday and all they will sell it in is the 55gal drum. I only need about 5 gals for now. If I buy a drum, will it be good for next year. Also, I have seen were people add "lube" to methanol, what is this for and what kind of lube? Sorry for all the questions but this is my first time dealing with methanol.

Chris

Re: How long does alcohol last
 

Chris many will say alky goes bad but I live in michigan (cold winters) my alky sits in the cans in the trailer, or if I have a drum it also goes in the trailer for storage. Next spring I put it in and runs like it did the year before. I will say this though dont keep it on a concrete floor put some 2x4's under it to keep it off the ground.

the lube is top end lube

I HAVE FRIENDS THAT SAY ALCOHOL DOES NOT LAST LONG WHEN SITTING -SO THEY DRINK ALL THE BEERS REAL FAST :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

LIVELY

:) Lively glad to see you're still alert and able to smile with the home building trade so bad.

But Chris, i'm with David on this one, alcohol does not go bad as long as you keep it tightly capped when not in use. If the cap is loose it will evaporate. It will sweat like a big dog in the winter and put water on your shop floor (mine does and i'm in the same climate as you are) but if you put a hydrometer on it, it will not be more than 1 point difference from one yr. before.
I would suggest you go ahead and buy the drum, today the price is around $4.00 a gallon, next yr. it might be $6.00 a gallon because all the bio fuel industries are buying up all the supplies, because it's cheaper to buy rather than produce. I think VP is right at $220.00 a drum now, buy it and don't worry about it. I've got a 3 yr. old drum in my shop and i can assure it's runs the same as when purchased. Heck we got a couple drums of 5 yr. old nitro, you think we're going to throw it away, I DON'T THINK SO.

Zip.

ZIP---I HAVE NEVER SLOWED DOWN IN THE LAST 2 YEARS[ I TAKE THE JOBS LARGE OR SMALL AND AM WORKING 6 - 7 DAYS A WEEK] I STILL HAVE TWIN BOYS IN COLLEGE!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU GOTTA SMILE AND LAUGH MOST OF THE TIME WHEN YOU GET MY AGE :lol: :lol: :lol:

LIVELY

Good for you Lively, i'm glad to hear that you're staying busy, most of the people i know here in the south are very slow in the housing industrie, even in La.
Keep up the good work and i'm sure we'll see your ride in the near future.

Zip.

Zip your VP dealer is ripping you guys off :wink:

Just sold 8 drums for $150.00 each :lol:

We stored methanol drums outside here in western Pennsylvania for years. So they were sometimes bitter cold and then extremely hot. We used the methanol as a solvent pumping it through our pilot plants to clean and absorb water. The 2 biggest problems with long term storage is not having the bung tight and using non-lined metal drums. Eventually the drums will deteriorate and contaminate the methanol. Plastic drums or drums lined with a phenolic resin are the best storage containers. You can tell if a drum has the phenolic resin liner by looking into the drum. If the walls seem to have brown color, that's the resin coating.

Thanks guys, I feel a little better now about having to get a drum just to start my car. :D :D I will keep it in my shop on some 2x4's

Chris

Alcohol
 

As long as it is sealed tightly, it should last indefinitely. As stated above, keep the drum off the concrete or ground to minimize corrosion of the container. Good luck with the alky.

Hey Chris,
We started using Klotz top end lube and we really like it alot. We actually picked up some et using it over whatever they were putting in when we bought our fuel with the lube already in it. David is right it will keep just fine.

Curtis

What is the lube for and where can I get some?

Chris

Klotz
 

You can get some info at this site:



http://www.klotzlube.com/storeProdDetails.asp?pi=21

Don't worry as fast as you burn alcohol it wont last long. Usually when someone gets a new alcohol engine theyll burn a drum just tuning their car in the shop.
If you'll install a 3/8 fitting on the plenum of your intake and run a hose back to the cab of your car with a gas ball valve on your end. You can heat up your engine in about 1/3 the time. When you open the valve it will give you a vacuum leak that will lean your engine. It will heat up aleast 3 times faster. Which means you use 3 times less fuel.

Alcohol is a really dry fuel having no lubricating qualities like gas. It helps out on the valve stems and leaves a light coat of oil when the alcohol drys.

Re: Klotz
 

Thanks, that help.

Chris

I have another question. Since my car runs on alcohol, could I run E-85 in it? Again sorry for all the questions but first time with an alcohol setup.

Chris

Because E-85 is a mixture of ethanol and gas it takes a different A-F ratio so you have to have a different set up for that.

Curtis

Thanks Curtis,
I see now, I have a lot to learn.............. :? :?

Chris

Actually David i payed 120.00 for the last barrel of alcohol, but the price has gone up. The price quoted was last spring an Jimmy smith was the dealer, i think it has come down since then. I'm not really sure what the price is today. Either way alcohol is the way to go period.

Zip.