[tiller]Can you use alcohol in tiller to till garden?

[Onebyone]

Someone on another forum suggested that you can use home brewed alcohol in a tiller to till your garden if TSHTF.

Does anyone know if this is really possible and what you would need to do to the tiller to make it work. What parts or whatever would you need on hand to make it work?

 

[Mrs Smith]

If the SHTF, why would you want to waste perfectly good alcohol?


Naw, tillers won't run on vodka and kahlua.......use manual labor.

 

[Opus Dei]

It's possible to do it, but I don't know if parts are available. You'd probably need a copper or stainless-steel fuel system, different carburetor metering, alcohol-resistant gaskets, and an oil that would withstand higher volatility. Probably lowered compression as well.

A blended fuel is certainly more feasible. Or making a steam engine to run off pure alcohol.

 

[vlad]

Briefly, yes. Any engine that runs on gasoline will run on alcohol.

15 parts air to one part gasoline.

9 parts air to one part alcohol.

I can pull the manual choke out about halfway and my 76 GMC will run OK on alky.

for the long answer click here http://www.ukcar.com/features/tech/Engine/fuel.htm

 

[Hamilton Felix]

Alcohol has more "octane," that is, resistance to detonation -- but not quite as much energy. What you'll find when you talk to the Modified and Sprint car guys at the dirt track, then compare with Super Stock, is that the alchohol version of a given engine can run more compression and/or spark advance than the gasoline version, but will need bigger jets to run more fuel. You can get more HP out of the alchohol engine because it lets you run that extra advance and compression, but you get that power by burning MORE fuel.

In something like a little old Briggs in a rototiller, I'd guess maybe a tiny bit bigger carburetor jet, and a hair more spark advance if you can do it, would have your engine running well enough to do the job.

Just my hyperinflated $0.02 worth.

 

[Brooks]

Not what you would want to hear, but unless it is a very large garden I don't believe in mechanical tillers. They tend to create hard pan and to do it at a relatively shallow depth. They can also destroy the texture of the soil. Do it by hand if possible, or don't do it at all by just adding a lot of organic material on top.