Acetone added to fuel??? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Ron Johnstone · #1 11-17-2005, 04:48 PM

A recent issue of Auto Week had an article by Denise McCluggage that advocated the adding of small amounts of acetone to both gasoline and diesel fuel. A Google search reveals a number of very positive articles. Basically, they say, adding 2-3 ounces of good acetone to 10 gallons of fuel will give you about a 20% increase in mileage plus better emissions, etc. without danger to your rubber seals or engine. A good article is: http://www.pureenergysystems.com/news/2005/03/17/6900069_Acetone/

Surely one of my compadres out there has tried it and will comment. What say you?

t walgamuth · #2 11-17-2005, 04:57 PM

where would you get some?

tom w

Ron Johnstone · #3 11-17-2005, 05:06 PM

Acetone can be found at any decent hardware store and even some big drug stores. According to the articles, you must be certain that it is pure acetone without water or any additives such as odorizers. To test for water, put some gasoline in a clear jar and add a bit of acetone. The mixture should be clear. Cloudy indicates water.

oxymoron · #4 11-17-2005, 05:08 PM

take a look at this discussion:

http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?t=678946&highlight=acetone

read it all and find a link to a discussion right here on mercedesshop.

When I re-read the jeep forum discussion, it reminds me of how very civil people are to each other on this board for the most part. Those jeep cats are pretty abusive sometimes.

My personal experience is that it IS harmful to rubber. I was experimenting with fuel recipes in my 6.9 after reading some posts on m-100.cc about fuel additives such as toluene and acetone for knock resistance and cleaning properties and power adding. Admittedly, I did not factor in the age and condition of my fuel hoses and I ended up replacing them all, and there are a lot of them, after they turned into dust.

One guy one the jeep discussion documented his results with pictures and the evidence is there to see.

Acetone is nail polish remover among other uses.

mctwin2kman · #5 11-17-2005, 05:11 PM

I know it will eat through Super Glue! So I have an issue with adding that to my fuel tank... Anything that can disolve super glue instantly does not sound to good to me....

Ron Johnstone · #6 11-17-2005, 06:54 PM

I ran a search for acetone before I posted this thread and for some reason, I didn't come up with: Acetone In Fuel Said to Increase Mileage 15-35%
Which covers a lot of points. One thing to consider however is that 3 ounces of acetone in 10 gallons of fuel is only a 2.3% concentration. The naysayers that fortell disaster to plastics and rubber are using a concentrated acetone, not the diluted version that is being advocated by some (not me, I'm just looking for advice here.) There are a lot of folks that say they have tested rubber, etc. with the diluted version with no real adverse results.

As to the economics, if Acetone costs $22/gallon and you use 3 ounces, that costs you 0.50 cents. If it raises your mileage 30% from 18 to 23.4 MPG, that gets you 54 miles farther down the road or a saving of 2.3 gallons of gas which, at a retail of $2.50/gallon means $5.76 - .50 (for the acetone) = $5.26 saved for every 10 gallons of gas burned. Folks, that's getting up into the "folding money" category over the course of a year.

nhdoc · #7 11-17-2005, 07:22 PM

The idiots on our local news did a story featuring some old guy who tried adding the acetone to his tank and he claimed he got better mileage (I think it was up about 10%). I would dispute it and also noted that when they showed him adding the acetone he was using a plastic measuring cup that was disolving as he was pouring the stuff into his tank! Wait until some of that plastic residue starts clogging up his injectors or fouls his fuel pump up...then we'll see some lost economy!

I conclude that we all perform flawed tests when we try to prove things like the acetone theory. Subconciously this old guy wanted to believe he could save some gas by adding a couple of ounces of miracle acetone to his tank - so what does he do? Subconciously he drives a little lighter on the gas pedal, maybe coasts a little more to the stop sign and red lights, perhaps instead of 65 he does 60 on the highway...that would easily cut 10% off most people's fuel consumption. So my theory is that acetone is not a miracle additive...if it was wouldn't some genious be selling it in 3 ounce bottles at pep boys? Or better yet, wouldn't the oil companies just love to sell super premium fuel that gets 30% better mileage for just 20% more money??? Sure they would if it worked...I would bet anything that if a blind test were performed using a sizeable sample that no measurable gain in fuel economy would result from the adding of acetone to fuel...just my $0.02.

Kestas · #8 11-17-2005, 07:42 PM

Here's some good discussion from people who have tried it:
Thread

boneheaddoctor · #9 11-17-2005, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kestas

Here's some good discussion from people who have tried it:
Thread

Been discussed here to and proven wrong....few months ago.

Duke2.6 · #10 11-17-2005, 10:35 PM

Acetone is a VERY POWERFUL organic solvent and will attack most elastomers used in modern fuel systems.

If you want to experiment, buy an elastomeric fuel system part and immerse it in acetone for a day and see what it looks like - if it's even recognizable - then dry and handle it to get a subjective feel for different properties versus before the part was exposed to acetone. Even in small concentrations acetone will shorten the life of fuel system elastomers.

Any claims for significantly better overall fuel consumption with a small dose of acetone are just pure BS!

None of these people appear to have even a rudimentary background in organic chemistry.

Don't add acetone to your fuel!!!

Duke

pcmaher · #11 11-18-2005, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Johnstone

One thing to consider however is that 3 ounces of acetone in 10 gallons of fuel is only a 2.3% concentration.

3 ounces in 10 gallons is ~0.23%.

t walgamuth · #12 11-18-2005, 09:27 AM

that sounded high.

tom w

Ron Johnstone · #13 11-18-2005, 01:00 PM

2.3% to 0.23%. Damn, you just can't get good help these days. Must have been that cheap calculator. Thanks!

beevly · #14 11-18-2005, 01:06 PM

A minor point - acetone is a good solvent, but not quite as strong as it's made out to be here. It dissolves a lot of things well (paint, for example), but does a poor job with some oils and greases like silicone. I have several 1-liter bottles of acetone out in my lab right now; they are in the same Nalgene bottles (low-density polyethylene) they have been in for several years, and those bottles still look and feel quite healthy. It is very unlikely such a low concentration of acetone in gasoline would change the solubilizing characteristics of gasoline in any meaningful way.

Also, it is sold and stored in metal containers not because that's the only thing that will hold it, but more so because of the danger from static discharge when dispensing, i.e. you can ground metal.

Claims that this small amount of acetone would change the properties of gasoline so dramatically as to raise mileage 20-30% are just nonsense.

JBR · #15 11-18-2005, 06:26 AM

I tested the acetone in my 02 dakota this summer. The test lasted for 3 weeks, I always added the correct amont of acetone per the amont of new fuel. I noticed zero increaes in mileage and no increases in performance. I have been checking the MPG on the dakota since Feb 05. The only increases I have noticed was after the following.
Tune up- plugs,wires,air cleaner, ect.
Tires - narrower tires,up the psi
super chip- super chip micro tuner.^ 2.5mpg
o2 sensor- change don't wait till it goes bad.
These are my results, total increases about 4.5-5 MPG