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[PeteF]

Interesting stuff Nigel, but the state of soil structure in Norfolk (and other parts of the country) is only partly due to growing maize. It is also due to many years of over reliance on artificial fertilizers and uprooting of hedges. Fortunately lots of farmers have now realised this and it's heartening to see muck spreaders in the fields again over recent years and even some new hedges been planted. Too late for parts of my local Yorkshire Wolds where we are down to the bedrock in places.,
You might realise this is a bit of a hobby horse with me:-)

[Thack]

Nigel writes: "The main thing is that Methanol is an alcohol derived from Oil whereas Bioethanol comes from crops (93%) and 'animal sources' (7%)."



Not wishing to nitpick, but methanol is not made from oil but from natural gas. Originally it was made by distillation (hence its name "wood alcohol"). Nowadays it is made in chemical plants from hydrogen and carbon monoxide: 2H2 + CO --> CH3OH



The hydrogen and carbon monoxide are produced by breaking down methane, which is in turn extracted from natural gas. (All this from my numerous chemistry text books, so it's bound to be true.)

[nigelphoto]

Thack, my nits are well and truly picked. Actually, I should have said that Methanol is derived from hydrocarbons, traditionally from wood (also was called 'wood alcohol' in the UK) but the biggest single producer (about 40%) is China nowadays who extract it from coal.

[Phil Ashbrook]

Intresting replys , a few points on the subject are that Methonal comes from coal not oil and China is the worlds biggest producer so as to cut down on it's horrific smog , Ethonal in Australia and Brazil comes from sugar cane and due to the few amount of cars in each country I dont think it could have much impact on rain forest, in Brazil land is cleared for cattle farming. In Australia most of the land used for sugar cane is for sugar which is a non food , we can afford to do E85 but unless we stop selling sugar Englands Maze plan is pretty terrible . In Australia right now E85 is $1.00 a litre and that's about 50 p , As far as corrosion of metal fuel tanks I do not no what metal you specify , I know Aluminium is OK and steel is considered OK so that issue is bit of a puzzle . All corrosive parts in my Amal Carb have been replaced with official Amal parts and I have the right fuel pipes and a Methonal Hi Flow fuel tap .
To use the fuel each day one should empty the float chamber at the end of a run and if fussy empty the tank each night and put in an airtight container . Minimum of 10;1 comp ratio needed and mixture should be grey and wet on the plug after getting engine warm , ignition timing must be changed and Synthetic oil is recomended or one can use Castor oil if Racing as it will varnish up the rings . Alcohol does not like mineral oil and contamination past rings or guides can occur .
Fuel consumption will go up 100% but due to the low cost of fuel I find this no problem , with all the Hydroscopic down sides if one does not use the bike much and does not drain the tank....well I can live with it just fine for a chance to get more power from my Race tuned 612 . You guys can get bottles of lead from F1 suppliers like I did in the 80's but it means thick rubber gloves at the petrol station .

[PeteF]

Interesting spellings Phil, were ethonal and methonal just typos or alternative spellings? Not come across them before.

[vince]

Hi,
I converted a matchless single ATD for my Enfield, machined centre out of an enfield distributor gear and took sprocket teeth off matchless and married them together with epoxy, its been running for 4years . Vince

[Scalyback]

WOW! Thanks Nigelphoto. Is it any good for cleaning up old coins? Found some in the garden.

[Gwilly]

Many thanks to all contributors.. Love a good discussion.

[Adrian]

For Pete F, Ethanol and Methanol (ethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol) are two different forms of alcohol, Methanol, CH3OH is only ever (legally) used in industrial or fuel applications. Ethanol, C2H5OH is the form of alcohol we find in alcoholic beverages, and is only toxic if consumed to excess.



For the record, meths or methylated spirits (anyone still use a fondue set?) is mostly ethanol, but with added dye and also added methanol in an effort to make it unpalatable for drinking purposes, which is why meths drinkers aren't doing themselves a lot of good.