Week Eight

This week the lab group made a trip to Jason Gallaghers house to begin testing. On the way to the testing site, gasoline was acquired to perform the control test with the engine running on its intended fuel. The lab group got to work setting up the engine and fuel tank. It was powered via the electric start using a battery powered jumper box. Once the lab group got the electrical system set up, it came time to adjust the carburetor to allow for the proper gas to air ratio so it would run properly. This took a while, as initially gasoline was just injected into the carburetor through air intake to get it started This, however, made it stall out after running for about 30 seconds. The aim was to have it run for at least a minute in order to ensure that it attained its maximum output and the data could be properly collected. After making the appropriate adjustments, the engine was finally able to run for over 2 minutes. The lab group then proceeded to attach the temperature probe to the exhaust outlet.This would keep measuring the exhaust temperature until it reached a stable maximum value which could be recorded. Lacking access to pure alcohol, it became necessary for the lab group to seek alternative sources of the alcohol. Following the  initial experiment, ethanol was acquired in the form of 190 proof (95% alcohol) Everclear. The lab group plans on finishing testing on Sunday of week 9.