john deere ethanol engine ?

[andybk]

old article (march) maybe of interest

Hydrogen is no longer the future, now it's alcohol: This engine uses the first ‘ethyl fuel’

John Deere's revolutionary 9.0-liter ethanol engine could redefine sustainable agriculture, bridging power needs with eco-friendly practices.

www.ecoticias.com

 

[Y Fan Wen]

I've been asking about ethanol for a long time with no interest from tff members. If it's ok for racers it should be ok for tractors.

 

[hoyboy]

The pulling tractors converted to run on it aren't very efficient I don't think. Something like 10 gallon a minute!

 

[Timbo]

The pulling tractors converted to run on it aren't very efficient I don't think. Something like 10 gallon a minute!

Indeed- you run them around 5-6:1 to be safe, else things melt -alot- . Stoic for methanol is 6.5:1. They run really cold and need some immense ignition system to light them off due to shear volume of fuel & boost pressure in the cylinders.

A diesel runs around 20:1 fuel:air ratio.

So you're going to need 3x the fuel tank compared to Diesel.

I reckon they will run alot leaner without melting in a industrial application though but how efficient that would be I dont know.

The other serious issue is water absorption of the fuel and corrosion from the fuel pump right through to internal components, as well as oil being contaminated with moisture and not being much of a lubricant any more.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

The pulling tractors converted to run on it aren't very efficient I don't think. Something like 10 gallon a minute!

Efficiency is a rude word to these boys. Designing a tractor to work all day at high efficiency would produce a totally different result.