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Gas vapor powered stuff increase MPG a ton

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 7:13 pm
by The_Amateur
I saw some videos on youtube that have enough evidence for me to believe this. I know nothing of gas powered stuff, but for those that do, here's a youtube video of what I saw. More quick searches will yield other results as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58IkmPK6ikc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWstiuK9bqk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It makes since since if gas fumes near a gas station can explode, they should be combustable enough as is to run a car, no?

If I get a gas clunker for my first car, I'll try to experiment with this but that's years out.

Re: Gas vapor powered stuff increase MPG a ton

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:43 pm
by techman
Yes a vapor carburetor. I have looked into these and I do believe they work. The only thing that has stopped me to this day is the danger of explosion from a backfire.

It is the fumes that burn or explode and not the liquid gas. So it makes perfect sense.

Now having a container and tubes full of vapor is what scares me. I am still trying to figure out a safe way to run this. My old Toro generator will be the first engine I test with it.

Re: Gas vapor powered stuff increase MPG a ton

Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 12:04 am
by OutOfPlaceNinja
I've heard that metal screening material works good as a spark arrestor but have not been able to test it out. There are also other spark arresting methods for vapor carb setup. I have no small engine to test with so have not bothered with tests. I know from watching the troubles others have that running an engine where the RPMs can change a lot can be problematic but doable. A generator engine would be great for testing.

Some issues I've heard about with gas vaporization: the engine runs lean (the point?) and can run hotter and possibly overheat in some cases (probably depends on design). Getting the air to fuel mixture just right can be tricky. Risk of fire and explosion if some form of flame/spark arrestor is not used and other precautions taken.

One very interesting video I came across awhile back was about a guy running his push mower on gas vapor. His setup was super simple. Tube going into a big pickle jar with some gas in the bottom and another tube going out and to a valve then to the carb (with an air inlet in the line between the jar and carb but can't remember specifically where but it had a valve on it too). The point of his video was that the gas did not need to be bubbled as many people do it. It seemed to work, but he probably should have had something in place to prevent a backfire turning into a bad day.

Another method of spark arresting I've heard about but not invested too much is basically a container packed full of steel scouring pads placed near where the line enters the carb.

If anyone has experience with gas vaporization, I would love to hear it. Especially if it involves a vehicle (due to changing RPMs and loads).

EDIT: Forgot to mention that gas vapor is only a fire/explosion hazard if the air mixture is within a certain range. Also might be a good idea to put a spark/flame arrestor on the air inlet to the fuel container. The above is mostly about cold gas vaporization. There is also people talking about full vaporization of gasoline so that nothing is wasted. When doing the cold method, you will eventually be left with some unusable liquid in the fuel container. With the full vaporization (using heat to heat the gas to a certain temperature in a controlled manner), it will leave little to nothing in the fuel container.

Re: Gas vapor powered stuff increase MPG a ton

Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 12:06 pm
by techman
Until I am very sure about a good, safe backfire suppressor I will not start on this.

But I am thinking about welding supplies. The gas welders have some sort of one way gas valve that keeps the gas from burning back into the hose and exploding. Wonder if that would work.

Re: Gas vapor powered stuff increase MPG a ton

Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 8:55 am
by BioHazard