I wrote:
>This probably won't reach you in time, but couldn't you just burn a
>small sample of the suspect petrol? I would assume that burning
>sugar-contaminated fuel would result in a black, sticky mess, or some
>similarly horrible residue... .
>
>(In fact, maybe I'll prepare a test sample this evening and give it a
> try, just for future reference.)
and Shel Hall wrote:
>RE: Sugar in gasoline
>---------------------
>
>Before you get all het up about the possibility of sugar in your gasoline,
>try to disolve some sugar in a glass of gas and see what happens.
After extensive scientific testing (read "screwing around"), I've come
to the following conclusions:
1. Shel's right: Sugar doesn't dissolve in gasoline worth
beans.
2. Burning is not a reliable test of whether there's sugar in
your gas. (I couldn't see any difference between the
residue from clean petrol and petrol which had been in close
association with a high concentration of sugar.)
Relying on sketchy memories of chemistry (a subject I was never worth
much in anyhow), sugar (sucrose?) is a polar molecule, highly soluable
in a polar solvent such as water, but possessing low soluability in a
nonpolar solvent such as gasoline. The upshot is that the sugar sits in
the bottom of a container of gasoline like so much sand. In fact, I
wonder whether most of the damage to an automobile wouldn't be due more
to the clogging effect of sugar crystals carried through the fuel system
than to sugar actually making it to the combustion chamber. (Although I
could envision some abrasive action if the sugar crystals managed to
sneak through all the filters before the carburettor bowl ran dry.)
And as Scott mentioned, if you add water to the gasoline/sugar mixture,
the sugar dissolves nicely. (Of course, then you have the problem of
how to get the water out of your gas.)
In line with this discussion, has anyone else heard what I assume is an
urban legend about the guy who replaced his motor oil with Coca-Cola? I
don't remember the exact details, but the story was that the Coke formed
a carmelized layer on the hot interior surfaces of the engine, aiding
the lubricating effect when (one assumes) he replaced the oil.
-coryc
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