Measuring the effect of air intake temperature in fuel economy

[Buzo]

Bad news for this project of using the exhaust manifold as fuel vaporizer.

I found one guy that is running his truck in gas vapors, he said something that makes a lot of sense to me, he said that the temperature of the exhaust manifold in his truck is so low that you can touch it with your bare hand. It will be hot, but will not produce burns in the skin as when the engine runs in gasoline.

It makes sense because the intense heat of the exhaust is produced by the fuel that continues to burn after the exhaust valve has opened.
So, if the gas vapors burn better in the combustion chamber, there will be no fuel to burn in the exhaust manifold to produce the intense heat to convert the fuel into vapor. And a never ending loop starts.

This guy is vaporizing the fuel using electrical heaters, which is not a re-used energy as the book & the hundred of fuel vapor patents state.

[Dr_Snooz]

I had wondered about that. I don't think using exhaust manifold heat will be completely fruitless, though. You'll still get results, they just might not be as good as they could be. Instead of getting, say, 100 MPG, you'll only get 50 MPG. That's not record-setting, but I'd still take it.

The real downside of using exhaust heat is the extraordinarily intricate apparatus needed to harness it. You'll have to spend a lot of time building a big, ugly heat exchanger and then figuring out how to stuff it under the hood. If you look at the book author's build, there is a small space station enveloping the engine. That's fine on his car, because he has plenty room in the engine bay. We have quite a lot less space under the hood. When you figure out how much time you'll spend designing and building the heat exchanger, it might not be worth it.

The bottom line is, if the guy you talked to built a successful vaporization rig, then you should give his advice a lot of weight. The best part about the electric heaters is that you can control the intake temp very precisely. With a heat exchanger, it will be a lot more difficult. Did he mention what kind of mileage he's getting? Did he give you any other good ideas?

What I wonder is, if he's getting the intake temp up to 300F+, how does that get cooled down in its short trip to the exhaust manifold? If you heat up the mix, then light it on fire, how does that make it cooler?

[noroads88mph]

wow... you have done a lot of great research. Now I think I should replace my IAT. I've been looking to improve my fuel economy. getting about 23mpg. 88 dx carb. But in order for everything to work properly I would also need to replace the air control diaphragm on top of the air box. (currently doesn't hold a vacuum). and probably need to replace the o2 sensor. (its the original). Still works, but I don't think its very effective after 28 years.

[noroads88mph]

wow... you have done a lot of great research. Now I think I should replace my IAT. I've been looking to improve my fuel economy. getting about 23mpg. 88 dx carb. But in order for everything to work properly I would also need to replace the air control diaphragm on top of the air box. (currently doesn't hold a vacuum). and probably need to replace the o2 sensor. (its the original). Still works, but I don't think its very effective after 28 years.

[Dr_Snooz]

The idea of gas vaporization has been around for a pretty long time. For instance, the Pogue Carburetor (Pogue Carburetor, 'Gasoline Vapor Maker' Increase Mileage - Sepp Hasslberger), which operated on the same principle, was invented in the 1930s. In doing some further research since I last posted in this thread, it seems that following the invention (and subsequent suppression) of the Pogue Carburetor, the oil companies began adding things to the gasoline to keep it from working. One of those additives was lead (History Of 'New Energy' Invention Suppression Cases), which did a very nice job of clogging up the Pogue Carburetor, and causing other neurological effects in humans. More recently, ethanol has taken the place of lead, and would likewise help to keep gas vaporization from working. All that to say, if we had the old style gasoline, gas vaporization would probably work a lot better.

I know that in the current energy debate, we're only allowed to 1.) talk about how much more money we'd like to give to bankers in the form of carbon taxes, or 2.) insist that there is nothing wrong in the environment whatsoever. So at the risk of being politically incorrect (horrors!), I'd like to propose an alternative position, 3.) that the oil oligopoly be dismantled and all the energy patents from Pogue, Tesla and others currently being suppressed by oil corporations and the US Patent Office, be released into the public domain.