Project Z06: Plug, Play, Power

Filling a gas can in the bed of a pickup? I'm all for 'splosions myself, but I prefer not to be the source of them...

te72 said:

Filling a gas can in the bed of a pickup? I'm all for 'splosions myself, but I prefer not to be the source of them...

I thought you were just supposed to keep the nozzle in contact with the surface of the can? The pump is grounded, so that completes the circuit, right?

Even if the pump is grounded, it's not the same "ground" as the truck, since the truck is insulated from the ground-ground with rubber tires.  So it's not a complete circuit.

That's just my guess though.  I'm no electrical engineer.

tyronejk said:

Even if the pump is grounded, it's not the same "ground" as the truck, since the truck is insulated from the ground-ground with rubber tires.  So it's not a complete circuit.

That's just my guess though.  I'm no electrical engineer.

You know that makes perfect sense. Glad I've avoided immolation to this point. Habit changed.

JG Pasterjak said:
On the dyno, the results were unambiguous, though. We saw gains of 15hp and 18ft./lbs. of torque, simply by switching fuel with the unit in place. That’s with no additional tuning, just plugging and playing. More power is likely available to be unlocked with a dedicated E85 tune.

This is expected. You are suppling a more oxygen per mole of E85 vs. gasoline. 

Science: 

E85 chemical makeup: C2H6O

Gasoline chemical makeup: C8H18

I.E. You are adding oxygen via a slight form of shall we call it "chemical supercharging". While pure gasoline only composes of carbon and hydrogen, ethanol includes an oxygen atom in it's chemical composition. This is generally why, when all other factors of a tune are kept the same (even timing) and the only thing that is adjusted is the fueling, E85 will gain HP/TQ because of science. Anyone who says otherwise needs to hit the books again. 

OK, so what is the correct way? Fill the cans when they are sitting on the ground? Please let us know.

I always assumed it didn't matter where you filled a plastic fuel jug because the jug itself is non-conductive. But I have been wrong before...

I fill my plastic fuel jugs often and always put them on the ground because I don't want to spill anything in my vehicles.

Thanks!

Filling jugs in the bed of the truck can result in a spark and fire. Always place them on the ground. 

CDC pamphlet on it;

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/98-111/pdfs/98-111.pdf?id=10.26616/NIOSHPUB98111

GRM:

Where the members don't talk about how cool it is to get a power bump from changing fuel, instead, argue about the proper way to fill a fuel jug. 

Gents, in reality, it's not a big risk, or even a small one. I worked at QT for years in high school and college, watched hundreds of people smoke cigarettes AS THEY WERE FILLING UP THEIR TANK...............you know how many pump fires I saw in 4 years of workin at a gas station with 20 pumps. 

If you said, ZERO, you'd be exactly correct. 

In reply to z31maniac :

But obviously it has happened, or there wouldn't be warning signs AT EVERY SINGLE PUMP.

E85 Story: Does this cause issues with fuel system components? Don't you need stainless lines and special hoses to run E85?