Alternate fuels in the UK

A lot of that cost is tax, and fuel alcohol would also (presumably) be taxed a a similar rate. Although, I don't know what would prevent you from running a car on Tennant's Superlager....

--scott

They are....ever been pubbing with a Brit?

$1.99?? Where are you? It's running $2.50+ here in AZ...

It's all tax!

Propane ("autogas") is only cheaper because the government are taxing it less, as a social engineering tool.

Yes but in the land of cottage industry, I'm sure it's no harder to buy a drum of alcohol than it is here, and it doesn't carry road tax. Put in your car, who's to know?

How many cars will readily burn more than 10% alcohol without damage?

In my area of Canada (as of this minute and this second...) it's the equivalent of $2.76US for a US gallon for regular. 91 pump octane is $3.09.

Ford's new propaganda says that their cars will do so. We were doing it in Brasil in the 70's.

How many can handle it now?? I have no idea, but it aint rocket science.

On the topic of various units of measure, a local (Canadian) dealership is advertising gas milage on its vehicles in kilometers per (Imperial) gallon. Anything to make the public think it's getting a deal. :)

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All of them if you modify them enough.

So the smallest distance measurement and the largest fuel volume measurement.

Rotters.

What dealer is this?

If they do, they doubtless prefer to keep mum about it. See for example the analyses in the recent biodiesel thread and also in Harrison et al. (1966): "Drive your car, I'll tax the street."

In the UK, taxes make up some 75% of the pump price, slightly more than the European average and far more than the ~27% (varying state to state) of the US.

Being caught using ersatz fuels that carry a lower tax rate and perhaps send forth their taxes into a different revenue stream (quite aside from any social-policy aims involved in setting the rates so high in the first place) would doubtless bring H.M. officials to your door with the message that "we are not amused."

This of course assumes that your car is set up to run decently on high-alcohol fuels and live to tell, which could range from "it already is even if an E85/M85 option is not presented to the user" to "extensive conversion required":

--Joe

A GM dealership with new vehicles parked out front with, one example, 59 km / gal painted(?) on the side. That would be about the 30 mpg US above.

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Carbureted cars are easiest to convert, you rejet the carb and replace the hoses, lines and gaskets with alcohol proof ones. Most carbed cars are old enough they could stand fuel system furbishment anyway. For methanol you may want to replace or slosh the fuel tank as well.

In my part of the US it is possible to get away with backfitting FI cars: my daily driver is a nineties car with a carb and aftermarket distributor ignition. In many states and areas this wouldn't at all do. I don't know what the UK allows and disallows.

And that's the thing, isn't it? They're not compatible out-of-the-box.

LOL!!!

I believe that the alloys that were used in the fuels systems some years ago were also a problem for alcohol based fuels. But as you say, the revisions were relatively minor. We discussed, in a previous thread, a researcher from Australia who was running his car on methane from a chicken poop digester. I would suppose that at some point the taxing authorities would take a dim view of this too.

Most of them, IF the fuel lines are replaced with hoses that can handle alcohol.

--scott

The only tax problem I know of is when fuel sold tax-free, for say farm machinery, is used in road-driven vehicles. For example diesel fuel sold tax-free to farmers is identified with a red dye. People have been caught removing the dye and selling the tax-free fuel for road use.

I don't think an alternative fuel such as methane would be taxed or the user bothered. If anything there would likely be a government subsidy to encourage farmers to burn methane. :)

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