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Adapter Lets Any Car Use Ethanol

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by aforonda, Oct 20, 2006.

  1. aforonda

    aforonda New Member

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    In the The could be huge pile:

    Brazilian company ABC Esso will soon sell an adapter in the U.S. Abcesso that lets any gasoline vehicle burn up to 100 percent ethanol.

    The AutoFFV works with the vehicle's existing sensors to detect the ethanol/gasoline ratio and instructs the engine to operate accordingly. The company has developed adapters for Ford, GM, Honda, Mazda, Volvo and Toyota vehicles.

    The company claims there are no cold start problems when using E85. ABC Esso says some fuel pumps that are not so ethanol-tolerant may have to be replaced, and recommends that owners replace their fuel filters after the product is installed because the ethanol will scrub out impurities that will be caught in the filter.

    According to Vidar Lura, managing director of Abcesso, the product will sell for between $500 and $900, and the company is currently setting up distribution agreements in the U.S. He told me the product is used in Brazil, which primarily uses ethanol as a fuel.

    If this works as advertised (no endorsement implied) it could be a big hit here with hybrid owners and others who are concerned about the environment and prefer domestically produced fuel.
    http://blog.wired.com/cars/2006/10/adapter_lets_an.html
     
    #1 aforonda, Oct 20, 2006
  2. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    Well, it's great as far as it goes... but they don't take into account any if the potential corosive effects of the ethanol (such as on gaskets, seals, fuel lines, and for us, bladders). I'd be very skeptical of such a claim, especailly since we've already seen at least one person here accidentally use E85 with no ill effects (other than some codes and the CEL due to the change the ICE had to make to accomodate the E85).

    It seems to me that this would be more targeted towards older vehicles which don't have as high a level of computer control as we do, since we've shown that the Prius engine can adapt (even if the wear on the parts is quicker).
     
    #2 eagle33199, Oct 20, 2006
  3. Charles Suitt

    Charles Suitt Senior Member

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    :unsure: Subtitle: "How to substantially shorten the life of your Prius."

    Snake Oil
     
    #3 Charles Suitt, Oct 20, 2006
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    As already stated, there are problems with tubing, seals, and other plastic and rubber parts.

    Tom
     
    #4 qbee42, Oct 20, 2006
  5. aforonda

    aforonda New Member

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    all these replys about tubes etc are a current concern, but do you really think this will not eventually be addressed? c'mon.
     
    #5 aforonda, Oct 28, 2006
  6. Bob Allen

    Bob Allen Captainbaba

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    There will likely be lots of gizmos being offered to an environmentally conscious but naive audience as we work our way out of the petroleum mess. I'd love to be running HUMU on some sort of renewable fuel, but two things prevent me from being able to do that:
    1. There are no ethanol fuels available in Washington state other than the 10% ethanol mix used in winter.
    2. The corrosion issue needs to be addressed for those of us driving cars not specifically engineered to run on ethanol fuels.

    Does this gizmo require that only ethanol fuels be used or can one switch back and forth from gasoline to ethanol? Until ethanol is available nationally, it would not make sense to install this thing if you couldn't use whatever fuel was available. Diesel cars using biodiesel, can switch to petro-diesel when they're out of range of any biodiesel outlets.
     
    #6 Bob Allen, Oct 30, 2006
  7. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aforonda @ Oct 28 2006, 10:10 PM) [snapback]340152[/snapback]</div>
    Sure, there's a nice easy way to address them - have them all replaced. note that i didn't say cheap :lol:

    Simply put, any car not designed for ethanol will likely have these problems - "Let the buyer beware"
     
    #7 eagle33199, Oct 31, 2006
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