Methanol storage?

How long do most leave alcohol in the plastic fuel jugs in the trailer after an event? Or do you empty all of the unused fuel back into the steel 55 gallon drum after each event?

I know what the right way is, but curious what everyone else does.

 

I Am Not A National Event Racer,just Match Racer, So Therefore I Don't Have To Have May Fuel Pass Tech. It Does Get Rotated In The Trailer As Being Used.i Have Kept It In Jugs For Months And Even Over The Winter.i See No Different In The Cars Performance...

 

Storage

I put mine back in the steel drum and then I have a vacuum pump that I put on the drum with a good ball
valve. I pull all the air out. No air !!! No water !!!
Stays good as long as your ball valve holds vacuum.

 

I know alcohol is hygroscopic and has a great propensity to soak things up so I keep mine wrapped in a photograph of Manzo...I need all the help I can get

 

i dont think that guy has a clue

 

Whats up Mike,
Here is a link to the timers for the shifter circuit. You will need two, I would get 3 so you have one as a spare.
http://www.alliedelec.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?SKU=8920026&MPN=12D1-10SHDOD&R=8920026&SEARCH=8920026&DESC=12D1-10SHDOD

 

Now that's funny!!! Problem is, though, Manzo is still hanging in there!

 

Alcohol Storage.

So Bill,

What is the correct method?

Thanks

Gary Mangiafico

 

Bill:

Full jugs with the lid on tight in a dark cool place off the ground will last a long time. I'm pretty sure VP doesn't throw away all the left over alky in November and deliver fresh new stuff in February.

RG

 

alk storage

keep it in a metal drum I have read that a plastic drum or jug will let the moisture in slowly but it will not let the alk out also if you have fuel checks the purple or red jugs will contaminate the alk enough that it will not pass I read this in the how to make 5000 hp on meth it is a good read go to hre.com you can order one there kep it in metal I like the vacuum idea

 

Earlier this year I bought some alky at Las Vegas when we were licensing John Lombardo, Jr. The guy in the fuel trailer lifted the plastic pump out of the racing gas drum and started to drop it in the drum of alky. "HOLD IT" I said.

He grabbed another plastic siphon pump and dropped it in the drum of alky, but it was pretty obvious it was used to pump racing gas, too, as evidenced by the red dye stains in the clear plastic discharge hose.

We were in a jam for alky, so I took it anyway. Long story short, we ran all the jugs to fuel check in Seattle and the fuel from Las Vegas checked fine (much to my surprise).

The only time we've ever had a fuel check problem it was due to too much moisture in the fuel, and that was in Houston in 1994.

RG

 

Methanol storage

I would not store fuel under a vacuum. This increases odds of moisture entering container. A very slight 1/4 psi positive pressure would be better.

Like Will said in cool place, in shade, off the ground.

 

5000 HP methanol book source correction

for 5000 HP on Methanol, go to www.racecarbook.com not hre. Bob Szabo

 

I agree with a-fuel 100%, I recall buying alky out of a tank at the track one time and asking if it was fresh and the guy telling us his tank was pressurized to prevent migration.

Now it gets me to wondering if nitrogen is absorbed by alcohol, if it isn't then someone should make a cap to run on your standard 55gallon drums with a small nitrogen cylinder and regulator to pressurize the drums to 1/4 psi.

PS before some weenie starts talking alky bomb
A-fuel and I are only talking 1/4 lb and the regulator would of course be eqiupped with a secondary blow off valve in case of regulator malfunction.

 

Hey ......... what could happen!

 

Under a vacuum is not the correct way to store anything that you dont want the possibility of something to enter it. We store Metal Sodium here (in 55 gal drums) at are facility and Du Pont would have a heart attack if we were to decide that instead of under a Nitorgen blanket we would use a vacuum. Out the door would go that license. Also all large (read expensieve) electrical transformers use an elaborate Nitrogen blanket system to keep the moisture out and the insulating oil dry. We are talking about keeping out parts per billion of moisture in suspension here, with a item that may cost a couple mill to replace and take a year to get. If you are off the deep end store your alku under Nitrogen with a positive pressure of just a few ounces of pressure. Or just race a lot and burn it up to keep your drum fresh.

 

"Or just race a lot and burn it up to keep your drum fresh."

Believe me, that was my original plan for this year. But three weeks ago everything changed when after 22 years of proudly representing Standard Abrasives my job (along with 25 others) was eliminated by our new owners. All plans changed after that.

 

Chamwow!!

On the same subject while trying to find out more information on methanol storage and whether nitrogen would react to alcohol, I read that you can run wet methanol through chamois to separate the water. The website was a treehugger site dealing with alternative fuels so who knows if it is creditable.

The article said that the water molecules would not pass easily through the chamois but that the alcohol would, leaving you with a wet chamy and dry alky. Now whether this will work or not I am not sure but I plan to look into it who know's maybe the chamois will lube the cylinders too....

Richard Gavle

 

My friend who I have been helping putting together a IHRA nitro F/C together for the past year and a half (which is why I have not kept up with the current alky/a fuel setups, my &$$ is still burning from everyones flames BTW), my friends dad (who is an retired engineer, not a railroad engineer!) who has been drag racing practically forever told me he always used a chamois to separate any water from alky, "and nitro" as long as he's been racing.