Gas line anti-freeze?

It doesn't require "nuclear types of temperatures" to disassociate water into its constitutent elements. Burning metal will do it, which is why firefighters don't fight metal fires by spraying them with water.

You keep repeating this, but I'm not sure what you're attempting to say, and you're not any more correct because you use CAPITAL LETTERS. You can turn water (H2O) into hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by bubbling ozone through it; let's see, accepts an oxygen atom, oxidation state increases, sounds like the exact same chemical reaction as what you'd colloquially call "burning" to me. Spray fluorine on water, and you'll get a vigorously dynamic reaction that produces oxygen and ozone and hydrofluoric acid, and while chemically that's not the same thing as "burning" the water, you'd be hard pressed to tell that by looking at the reaction occuring.

Not to mention that your claim that it's not the water that burns, it's the hydrogen and oxygen that are disassociated from the water, is a pretty meaningless semantic game. You might as well claim that *wood* DOES NOT burn, it's really just the gases coming out of the wood as it is heated past the point of ignition; technically, that's true, but that's a pretty small comfort to anyone whose wood-framed house is now a pile of ashes.

Uh...what? The perfect combustion of any hydrocarbon in an oxygen atmosphere will yield varying amounts of carbon dioxide and water. That's it. Impure combustion in a mixed nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere will yield all sorts of other stuff besides, but you're still going to get carbon dioxide and water.

Reply to
Brian Trosko
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JazzMan wrote in article ...

Do you really enjoy playing the role of a troll????

I believe any differences among various alcohols mentioned in this thread in their ability to absorb water would be so slight as to be insignificant.

The alcohol - any alcohol - mixes with the water, and serves as an anti-freeze to keep the water from freezing in the gas line.

In the ''40s and '50s, "non-permanent" anti-freeze was made of methanol, and that seemed to mix well with the water, and worked okay in the car's cooling system.

I repeat....if I have two gallons of alcohol - any alcohol - in my tank, adding another six-ounces of alcohol - any alcohol - isn't going to make a difference between a frozen gas line or not.

It is my opinion that people who buy "gas line antifreeze" or "dry gas" are simply wasting their money by adding a miniscule amount of alcohol to a fairly significant, pre-existing gasoline/alcohol blend.

If it makes you more comfortable to do that, fine....I live in the USA where anybody is allowed to make his/her own decisions.

I fault nobody for their decisions, although I reserve my right to have and express the opinion that their decisions are incorrect.

Bob Paulin - R.A.C.E. Chassis Analysis Services

Reply to
Bob Paulin

Agreed. To my way of thinking "burning" has to be both an oxidation reaction and an exothermic reaction. By that definition, water cannot possibly burn under any circumstance, not even in Chernobyl. That was "burning" of the byproducts of dissociating water, not the water itself because the reaction that broke down the water molecules was ENDOTHERMIC and required a nuclear reaction to power it.

Sure it is. Gasoline contains tons of carbon and hydrogen atoms. The carbons get combined with oxygen to form CO and CO2, the hydrogens wind up combined with oxygen to form H2O- water. I forget the exact ratios, but probably close to half the exhaust mass from a gasoline burning engine is water vapor, even if the intake air were 100% dry (zero moisture content).

Reply to
Steve

But that's a net endothermic reaction (counting the energy required to form the ozone), not exothermic like "burning" generally is considered.

Reply to
Steve

By that definition, burning gasoline is a net endothermic reaction - counting the energy required to make the gasoline.

Reply to
Brian Trosko

Can I use isopropyl alcohol, as gas line antifreeze, direct from the drug store or do I need to buy it "mixed" in a commercial product?

John >>

Reply to
neon

Why would you buy it from a drugstore? Try an automotive supply store or a hardware store. And don't get rubbing alcohol, that's half water. You want annyhydrous isopropanol.

Reply to
John Ings

I'd really like to know if its true and it costs more.

Reply to
neon

Some places sell nearly the pure '99%' type. I use this in my snowblower's gas. The same stuff labelled as premium gas line antifreeze costs about twice as much.

Reply to
R

You might be able to buy "pure" isopropyl in some drug stores for such as alcohol burners, etc. Is not completely pure alcohol as in absolute alcohol, but is good enough. Stay away from rubbing alcohol.

Reply to
L0nD0t.$t0we11

You're calling me a troll because I disagree with your understanding of chemistry? Oh well, can't help you with that.

This is a belief based upon chemistry knowledge, or a belief based on faith? One works, the other makes you feel good I suppose.

Good luck with that, Bob...

JazzMan

Reply to
JazzMan

You would need to get pure isopropyl alcohol, most sold in stores is diluted with water, i.e. "rubbing alcohol". Not sure where to find that, though.

JazzMan

Reply to
JazzMan

I've used rubbing alcohol purchased in the supermarket for years. It cost 70 cents for a pint, and it works. That is I've had no freeze-ups. Even at 70% alcohol it's enough to take care of condensed water in the tank. I've also had water pumped into my tank from stations with problems. No amount of alcohol will resolve that.

Chas Hurst

Reply to
Chas Hurst

I've never seen 99% isopropyl in a drug store, grocery store or discounter. Not around here.

This is why I spend the $0.75 on a 12oz bottle of Christy's.

--- Bror Jace

Reply to
Bror Jace

The closest I've seen is 90%, I use it for cleaning mainly, and occasional disinfectant. Don't see too many days below freezing here in Texas. :)

JazzMan

Reply to
JazzMan

Crazee Bob, You might be right ... but my brother hauls fuels and was really appalled at the variation of blending among local retailers ... especially diesel. I don't trust them either.

I probably go through 4 - 6 bottles of Christy's isopropyl drygas per year ... $3-4 worth. As Kim Possible says: "No big."

If I never saw it have an effect, I wouldn't use it but my own personal anecdotal evidence is that it helps with vehicles/equipment which have moisture in the fuel.

--- Bror Jace

Reply to
Bror Jace

Bror Jace wrote in article ...

And, my anecdotal evidence would be that I have not installed a single ounce of "dry gas" and/or "gas line antifreeze" or any other fuel or oil additive in nearly 30 years of living in Maine - and another decade prior to that driving in Massachusetts - with no problems whatsoever.

That's more than 40 years of driving and maintaining an automobile in New England's four-season climate without a single gasline freezup - not one!.

In central and southern Maine, most gas stations/convenience stores buy their fuel from a single, generic tank farm - despite the brand name sign hanging out front.

Irving, out of New Brunswick, is one of the few brands that provides their own fuel to stations displaying their signs in Maine. Cumberland Farms convenience stores carry the Gulf brand - which they own.

I consistently run my vehicles into the 200,000 mile range with standard, API rated motor oils changed at 3,500 miles - with no additives whatsoever.

There is a lot of smoke and mirrors in the automotive chemical/additive business - a business with its roots coming from "dry gas."

Bob Paulin - R.A.C.E. Chassis Analysis Services

Reply to
Bob Paulin

(snip)

Consider yourself lucky, Bob. I and people I know have run into numerous driveability problems and the addition of isopropyl drygas cleared things up almost instantly.

At $3-4 per year, the additive industry isn't thriving on people like me.

--- Bror Jace

Reply to
Bror Jace

Wow. That's actually cheaper. It's c$1.50 /500mL here.

Reply to
R

But no car driver gives a damn about the net overall effect, do they? We only care about the exothermic effect of BURNING the gasoline, eh? Or have I missed something here?

We all know that the exothermically released energy origated at the sun and we are go> By that definition, burning gasoline is a net endothermic reaction -

Reply to
Ken Pisichko

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