Ethanol injectors/pump/regulator

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bohalrantipol
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Ethanol injectors/pump/regulator

Post by bohalrantipol »

I am in the process of building a 914 engine (stroked and bored out to 2.7 liter). It will have a compression ratio of about 13:1. I kinda built it originally with the intentions of putting race gas through it, but recent aquisitions of brewing equipment has sent me down the path of ethanol. the cooling effect for my engine would be phenomenol also since these engines are notorious for heat associated damage. The question i have for you guys is what adjustments i need to make? What size injectors should i go with? and what kind of treatments should i do the the fue ltank/lines to make it more "compatible"? Also I have an aeromotive a1000 regulator, and i do not know if that is ethanol compatible, plus i need a pump. any comments would be greatly appreciated. I am have not set up the megasquirt system yet is there any changes to that design that i need to do? I am also planning on running a wideband O2 sensor with the inova
bohalrantipol
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Post by bohalrantipol »

inovative controller sorry, and it is in a 1978 914, so plastic lines, steel tank etc.
Thanks
schmidt
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Post by schmidt »

Hi,

Ethanol injectors are ~ 30 - 40% bigger than Gasoline injectors... About the steel tank, just clean it very well and you're good (ethanol takes all the dirt that gas don't). Make shure that you don't have rust on it...
You won't have any problems with plastic lines too.

Is your 914 engine air-cooled ? Here in Brazil most of racing VW boxer engines runs with gas due the high ethanol consumption, so if you don't care about this, go ahead ! (we have ethanol on the gas station :))

FYI, you MUST have a fuel pump that can support ethanol !

Cheers
Daniel[/quote]
Turbo 1996 Fox Wagon @ MS4AVP ECU running MS2-Extra ! :D
bohalrantipol
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Post by bohalrantipol »

yeah it is aircooled type 4 engine. I am actually gonna make my own ethanol, got some pretty decent science equipment at my disposal so i hope to be ablt to manufacture some decent quality stuff. About the pump, what do you recommend? I have been haveing problems finding one suitable.
schmidt
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Post by schmidt »

You can try one from K-Jetronic systems (VW fox pump), people here used to use them on drag racing due it's high flow(nowdays they run with aeromotive), but I don't know how long it can deal with ethanol...

Maybe you can try one from Chevy Flexfuel trucks, I'm pretty shure that a pump that can resist to E85 can run E100 without any issue.

If you don't care about your current fuel pump, just wash the tank, put a new fuel filter (and change every 5k miles). It'll work, but you don't know for how long ... I know people running with stock gas pumps with ethanol for 100.000 Km, but it seems more lucky than any other thing.

Sry about my english.

Cheers
Turbo 1996 Fox Wagon @ MS4AVP ECU running MS2-Extra ! :D
bohalrantipol
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Post by bohalrantipol »

English is fine, mine is just as bad and its supposed to be mynative language. Thanks for the help.
flyinhillbilly
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Post by flyinhillbilly »

so is the only diffrence the size of the injectors, or are the seals made of a diffrent material? i'm looking at some 96 lb/hr injectors made by venom, i found on ebay, i'm looking for something that can handle methanol for my soon to be turbo ( nitrous now ) 406.
flyinhillbilly
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Post by flyinhillbilly »

i asked the seller and they said the injectors are compatable with methanol. :oops: guess i should have done that first
bohalrantipol
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Post by bohalrantipol »

those are some big injectors. So are all of venoms products compatible with methanol/ethanol? I am still kinda in the market.
flyinhillbilly
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Post by flyinhillbilly »

yea, they are huge, but they're gonna have to be if i'm going to reach my goal of 1000 rwhp, as far as i know all of them are compatable with methanol, i'd ask just to be sure.
flyinhillbilly
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Re: Ethanol injectors/pump/regulator

Post by flyinhillbilly »

bohalrantipol wrote: I have an aeromotive a1000 regulator, and i do not know if that is ethanol compatible
it is
bohalrantipol
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Post by bohalrantipol »

Thanks, I actually talked with someone at areomotive and they said this:

"Many use the A1000 fuel pump for up to 550 HP naturally aspirated, up to 400
HP forced induction. It will last as long as any of the other pumps that
are recommended for alcohol use, even though the A1000 is not. Normally you
can get a minimum of one racing season, sometimes as much as 2, before
returning for rebuild/repair."

Sounds pretty bad allthough i do not know if ethanol is as harsh as methanol.
bohalrantipol
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Post by bohalrantipol »

And what type of rubber hose can i use for flexable connections? i have a bunch of SS braided fuel hose, would that get eaten up by the ethanol?
aero
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Post by aero »

bohalrantipol wrote: Sounds pretty bad allthough i do not know if ethanol is as harsh as methanol.
Ethanol is much less corrosive than methanol.
flyinhillbilly
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Post by flyinhillbilly »

bohalrantipol wrote:And what type of rubber hose can i use for flexable connections? i have a bunch of SS braided fuel hose, would that get eaten up by the ethanol?
most of your good quailty braided stainless hoses are ok for methanol.
bohalrantipol
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Post by bohalrantipol »

Can you use normal fuel hose? I get conflicting oppinions on that one.
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Post by jsmcortina »

Check with your supplier before you buy and/or switch to a supplier familiar with these fuels.

If they don't _think_ it supports methanol/ethanol or do not know what they are talking about then do not buy.

James
I can repair or upgrade Megasquirts in UK. http://www.jamesmurrayengineering.co.uk

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