If I buy a GM flex-fuel car can I make my own ethanol?

Question

I'm tired of giving my money to the muzzies (and Chavez). I'd rather give it to our corn farmers in the midwest. But they don't sell any E-85 here in North Texas. So can I set up a still like people have micro-breweries, and start driving green? If not, is there some all-electric vehicle that I can buy?

Answer 1

According to some people, it cost too much to produce ethanol. Also, ethanol is only a few cents lower than Gasoline. Then there is this problem about live stock feeds, since a lot of corn are now being converted to ethanol. So what is really practical?

I own a flex fuel van from dodge. Theres an ethanol station 2 miles from where I live. Yet I'm building this crazy idea that I had 30 years ago. Its Hydrogen from water.  I waited this long because I was afraid of what the oil companies might do.

If you search the net, there are some people who has caught up with this idea. If you want to do this, be very careful because theres a lot of scammers out there.

Just to give you an idea, hydrogen is 6 times more powerful than gasoline. Thus, you would have more milleage on the same volume of fuel used. Hydrogen is safer than gasoline. Hydrogen is combustible and so is Oxygen ( at the right temperature and pressure )

If you want an electric car, there is this very cool one that is made by an  Israelite who use to work in the silicon valley. Check it out...it is the Tesla car. You have to get on the waiting list to buy one of this baby.

Answer 2

Yes,their is a man in Memphis that sells legal stills.You have to mix at least one gal. gasoline to make the fuel undrinkable.Check with your state.Government license is cheap.

Answer 3

Federal law requires your to get a license.

Answer 4

Lotta ignorance being spewed, but a couple gems.  Yes, you need a permit, yes you can do it, yes, you can blend Ethanol into your gas on a non-ffv vehicle in some quantities, it's been my experience that about 25% ethanol in a non-ffv car made after 1991 is fine.  (less mileage, less pollution.)

North Texas is probably a good place to buy lots of cheap land and buy an e-85 liscense and go into business if you want.  

On the electric car thing, Tesla is making 1-2 cars a week, and has a backlog of a couple years.  Try Phoenix motors or get a PMB (private mailbox) in California and buy an aptera for $30k that gets 300mpg, or $27k that is only electric.  Conversions are not good because lead acid batteries are almost as bad as oil - but at least you're not supporting Chavez - your call.

Converted cars have about a 40 mile range at best, and we're talking a stripped Festiva.  

If you want to drive greener faster, get a diesel economy car, like a VW, and find a greasy spoon restaurant near you - look up how to turn their free waste grease into diesel, forget the permit you don't need, and start making fuel.

I can't believe some goofball said gas pollutes less than ethanol.  Shows why our nation is in the pickle it is...

Answer 5

If you have the space to set up, yes. And a 50/50 water/ethanol mix shouldn't destroy your engine.

It just won't run.

You can buy a Tesla for 100 grand, or you can convert your present car to electric for around 5k.

Answer 6

Corn Ethanol is a joke...it's inefficient to make, and with the high corn prices, it's expensive!

I don't want to give money to the farmers to fuel my car, I rather give them money so I can eat! It's pretty bad that a tank of corn ethanol could have fed a person in a third world country for a year.

Politics aside, I rather buy a hybrid then drive a ethanol automobile. When the technology gets better, hybrids will be cheaper.

Answer 7

Making your own ethanol, you have to check your state laws for permits or licenses because the state could consider it a still, and most of those are illegal.

What sucks is each of us that wants to do this would have to setup our own LLC and have a small area away from residential communities because it can be dangerous to make your own.

If i had the space i would get into potatoes to ethanol.

There is some engineering that goes into this for large volumes, you just can't use the first distillate that comes out.  Your first distillate will be 50% water and 50% ethanol.

You then have to concentrate your distillates to get to the final 200 or better proof in order for there to be no water at all in the ethanol and most likely  no damage to your engine.

Answer 8

Sure, but you'll use less energy, spend less money and pollute less by using gasoline.  Ethanol only provides 70% as much energy as gasoline and ethanol production is more damaging to the environment than petroleum.

Answer 9

Thanks to Jimmy Carter (try not to laugh too hard) you can brew your own beer and make your own wine. But if you try to separate the spirit from the brew, you just became a Felon in the United States, and are subject to arrest by the "Revenuers", these days more commonly known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF).

However, given the fuel situation and our dependence on the foreign oil hypodermic, this is a series of statutes that may have become obsolete. These laws were intended to destroy organized crime and bootleggers during prohibition. This just isn't a problem in 2008. At some point, a case will come up where some poor guy was held to account to a law that simply doesn't apply to circumstance. More than likely, the court will strike it down, but this is conjecture.

It should also be noted that the various states can and probably do have separate regulation(s) not addressed herein.

Answer 10

I think what Jblanc was getting at is that they both have damaging effects. If we switch to ethanol production, we will be farming mass amounts more land. This has a lot of environmental impacts and in theory could set us up for another Dust Bowl. But it does cut down on Co2 emissions which is the main priority right now.