I said I’d test it, and I’ve finally gotten my chance. I’ve got about 290 miles of interstate to cover en route to Huntersville, NC. The game plan is simple. I’ll stop at a local hardware store, pick up some “pure” acetone, then head to the gas station where I will top off the tank of my test vehicle, a ’95 Grand Prix with ~120,000 miles and some body damage, with gasoline and about 4.8 fluid ounces of acetone. The tank is about 16.5 gallons, so that should give me a ratio of about 3 ounces per 10 gallons, which is ideal according to Louis LaPointe. Once I get to Huntersville, I will top off again. Hopefully I will get receipts to verify my location, time, speed, and distance traveled.
Typically my mileage is about 27-28 mpg on the interstate. I’ll be mildly impressed by anything greater than 30. Of course if acetone is as good as is claimed, then I should get an easy 35 mpg.
On my way home, there should be between 1.5 and 2.3 fl. oz. of acetone left in my tank. That means that my trip home will provide a nice little secondary test.
I’ve written the above at about 3 PM on April 19th, 2007. I hope to be at the hardware store around 4PM and to leave the gas station by 4:45 PM. This should be achievable. [Note: I am not publishing my plan ahead of time because I really don't want to announce that I'm not going to be at my house all weekend.]
THE RESULTS:
I went to Lowe’s, got some acetone and a 1 gallon gas can (for easy mixing) and went to the gas station. There I realized that the acetone can had a lid that had to be pried off. And my test plan changed.
The new plan: stop for gas every ~95 miles. Do two segments without acetone to determine a bit of a baseline, then add it and run with it for the rest of the trip. For every segment, record mileage, average speed, and gas usage.
| Acetone content (oz per 10gal)** | miles | gallons | mileage | average speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 92.9 | 3.197 | 29.1 | 70 |
| 0 | 96.3 | 3.456* | 27.9 | 70 |
| 3.1 | 96.2 | 2.9516 | 32.6 | 71 |
| 2.6 | 104.9 | 3.355 | 31.3 | 72 |
| 2.0 | 85.9 | 2.385 | 36.0 | 72 |
| 1.7 | 92.8 | 2.932 | 31.7 | 70 |
* Gas volume + acetone added
** Initially I posted the wrong values, instead I had posted (0,0,2.6,2.0,1.7,1.4).
Much to my surprise, my mileage definitely improved after I added the acetone. The net effect, based on this data (28.4 mpg pre-acetone & 32.7 mpg with acetone), is an increase of about 15%. The most significant result here is my mileage getting over 30 mpg for an extended time. I am not willing to say with confidence that 15% was the true improvement; I reckon it could be between about 9 and 18%. Nor am I ready to say that acetone works as advertised. However, I will say that it definitely appears there was good improvement due to the acetone. There is room for further investigation. In particular, I want to test without acetone ASAP (even though I pretty much can’t), to see if the improvement stays or disappears.
Notes: There were a number of variables which weren’t controlled for. For example, the weather for the first half the trip was cool and very rainy. The other half was warm and sunny. Of course traffic was also not constant. There were several brands of gas. There were several pumps and no guarantee they all operate the same. Plus the legs aren’t equal. There are probably other variables.
UPDATE 6/4/2007:
Over the last few days, I went on a road trip that took me from Charlottesville to Huntersville, beyond, and back. I covered the same miles and stopped at most of the same gas stations. This time the weather going out was warm and clear, while the weather coming back was rainy and cool. Additionally, the car also had to deal with extra weight and moderate (compared to virtually zero the first trip). The weather and heavier traffic led to some stop-and-go driving on the way back, as well as overall slower average speeds. This time, there was no acetone added to the tank, although there should be some residual acetone leftover from the last test. That amount should be quite low, less than 0.07oz/10gal of gasoline.
The mileage comparisons are interesting, but I honestly am not sure of the best way to compare the new data to the old data.
The mileage per segment was 27.93, 26.83, 34.65, 24.95, 33.61, 29.56.
The mileage per segment compared to the first test was -1.13, -1.04, +1.72, -6.02, -2.40, -2.09. Basically, five out of six segments were worse than before.
In the first test, the first two legs had gas with no acetone. Comparing those first two legs, the mileage dropped from 28.44 to 27.35, or about 4%. For the last 4 legs, the mileage dropped from 32.67 to 30.20, or about 8%.
In calculating the results for the first test, I compared the average mileage of the last 4 segments with the average mileage of the first 2. That seemed to show about a 15% improvement. Doing the same for the latest test shows a 10% improvement.
So by this data, the acetone may have accounted for an 8% improvement. It’s not shabby, but it is nowhere near the 30 or 35 percent that some people claim to find. And even that 8% is questionable. On the second trip the car carried more weight, which should reduce mileage anyway. But I went slower which should increase mileage. Although it wasn’t a constant average because it included some stops due to wrecks. And the trip out was in May and the trip back was in June. June 1st is the day to switch to summer blend gasoline. So there may have been more ethanol in the tank on the way back which could also have reduced mileage.
The most important thing that can be taken from this is how hard it is to accurately measure the change caused by a variation of just one of the many factors that affect fuel mileage. There are just too many uncontrollable factors involved in road-testing to be definitive.
nobrainer Says:
I’m working on updates to this data. Last night I drove a virtually identical Charlottesville to Huntersville trip. This includes stopping at 3 of the 4 gas stations (the first 3) used before… and I believe I even used the same pumps.
For the first leg: 27.93mpg.
2nd leg: 26.83 mpg
3rd leg: 34.65 mpg
More to follow.
Dennis Says:
I seriously question your ability to calculate your gas mileage when you are only partially filling the tank.
Were you just trusting the accuracy of your gas gage to tell you when you’re tank was empty?
Let’s look at your best leg:
Miles Gals Mileage
85.9 2.385 36.0
If you miscalculated your gas usage by only 1/4th a gallon which would have been very easy for you to do, your mileage could have actually been:
Miles Gals Mileage
85.9 2.635 32.5
Off by 1/2 a gallon?
Miles Gals Mileage
85.9 2.885 29.7
nobrainer Says:
1 – I was using a full tank.
2 – I said “There were several pumps and no guarantee they all operate the same.” Which means they could be off by various fractions of a gallon.
Dennis Says:
Thanks for the clarification on that point.
I don’t think you are going to get a lot of variability based on the accuracy of various pumps. I believe your variability is going to come from the shut off mechanism on the pumps. Even though you may think you are “topping” off your tank, there could easily be a variability of +/- a quarter of a gallon between different pumps when they shut off.
If you are measuring your gas mileage by emptying an entire tank of fuel and refilling it, that variability isn’t going to make a big difference on your overall MPG calculation. In your case where you are only burning a few gallons of fuel and then topping off, this becomes a big factor.
Thanks for posting all the articles about acetone and gasoline. I’ve enjoyed reading them all.
mike Says:
I have been a tech for 20 years on auto and heavy off road equip, this is just bull shit. FACT
Karl Says:
I go to the SAME gas station every time.
I top off the tank in EXACTLY the same manner every time.
I have verified through many many visits to the station and the usage of different pumps at this same station that the pump shut-off mechanisms can vary up to 1 GALLON (±0.5 gallon) from one pump to the next!!!
This makes all the “top-off” experiments completely invalid.
1) ALWAYS use the same pump
2) ALWAYS empty the tank before filling up to reduce variability
If you follow the above procedure, you can compare mileage with minimal error (probably ±2% or so). Otherwise you are just pissing in the wind.
Paul Says:
I have ran 5 consecutive test using Acetone in my 2002 Avalanche and I still get an average of 15.89 mpg. I have sent Nobrainer an e-mail with no response.
nobrainer Says:
I can’t fathom why you sent me an email. But I most assuredly did not receive it.
Paul Says:
The reason I sent you an e-mail is because you put out this report and as my entry on May 7th states, Acetone does not increase fuel millage like you state. My questions is what could be the reason why? Also the last test I ran with Acetone, I got 13.89 mpg. I normally average between 13.8 city and 15.8 highway, with or without Acetone. Do you have a better address to contact you?
nobrainer Says:
My conclusion was that my tests were far from definitive. If you read some of my other commentary on the matter, you’ll find that I highly skeptical that acetone really improves mileage. So, to answer your first question, I think there are 2 possible reasons. First it could be acetone just doesn’t work. Or it could be that acetone works and your test stinks (I say this not to be insulting, as I would classify my own test as a stinker).
As for a better email address, the one listed should work just fine. However, if you have thoughtful, insightful, funny, or otherwise amusing commentary or questions, I’d prefer that you go ahead and post them here.
jpad Says:
Wow! guy just tests acetone with gas and everyone is like “your wrong!, let me send you an email”! Maybe it does work, maybe it does not. I pat the guy on the back for trying. Theres people who follow and people who strive for change, LEADERS! Go ahead and post with your, ” i got 20+ years of exp. crap”! “this is a fact”. Whatever! And you keep paying your $4.00 for 1 gal of gas!
Clive Says:
The fact that you are conducting a test and are therefore very aware of your driving ( moreso than usual I suspect) could be the reason for the positive results as you are driving more carefully ( avoiding over braking, accelerating etc.) – just a thought. What about these hydrogen splitters kits that are appearing on the net to improve combustion? e.g. http://www.squidoo.com/gasfuel
nobrainer Says:
I’m highly skeptical. Does adding hydrogen improve combustion and efficiency? Perhaps. To my knowledge, which is admittedly very limited, there isn’t any great evidence that gasoline/hydrogen mixtures are significantly more efficient than gasoline only mixtures. If the mixture is an improvement, one must then consider the amount of hydrogen necessary and the energy required to produce that hydrogen.
Jake Says:
I’m glad to see you finally tried it. I, too, am going to give it a whirl. I have the luxury of having very close to a true 50/50 mix of highway and city driving in my daily commute, day in-day out for the last year. I live on the Gulf Coast, and the weather here is pretty constant for long stretches.
I was lucky enough to find a true “little old lady car”, a 1991 Civic LX sedan with 80K miles(!!) about a year ago. I’ve always used 87 octane gas, from a Kangaroo station that just opened up 3/4 mile from my house right before I bought the car. I have ALWAYS checked the mileage on every tank of fuel since I bought this car, running it to around 1/4 tank or so each time before fill-up. After the first two tanks of unimpressive mileage numbers (I’ve always owned big V-8 vehicles, and never cared about fuel mileage before), I figured out “how to drive” this car, and have gotten a very steady average of around 30 MPG. I had an out-of-the-ordinary highway trip recently, which netted a good average of 34.8. This was all highway, over a course of about 1100 miles round trip. On the trip, I had roughly the same weather/temps/winds.
I also go into this “experiment” with some predisposed notions (bias) in mind. I think that there are probably going to be two things at the heart of this. First, I think the solvent properties of pure acetone will probably do a wonderful cleaning job on my 16 year old injector/injectors (I do know it’s fuel injected, I just honestly don’t know whether it has one or two injectors). Second, I agree that there is almost no way to judge whether I am affecting the results of my own experiment. But given the maturity of my commute–with this car, with this gas station, with my already “corrected” driving style, etc., I would think that that part might be minimized? Another benefit (also due to its cleaning properties) is an expected increase in performance/idle quality, so I hope that doesn’t cause me to skew the results in an unexpected way.
I will try to keep you informed of my results. If I can get this thing to 35 MPG in my regular commute I’ll be ecstatic, regardless of which factor actually makes it happen! Especially considering that the EPA numbers for the car showed 26 MPG (old number) and 23 (revised number) for HIGHWAY mileage!! See http://www.fueleconomy.gov for their stuff. We’ll see what happens.
Mission Cat Says:
I found out about acetone 18 months ago and tested my mileage with and without it. I told several other engineers about it, and one of them decided to do a test and also recorded improvement in a straight-6 Ford Ranger in Los Angeles.
My test is between Montgomery AL and Knoxville TN, 337 miles. the altitude in Montgomery is 800 feet and in Knoxville about 2000 feet. The half of the trip near Knoxville has quite a bit of mountainous ups and downs which partially compresses the effect of the climbing difference between 800 and 2000 feet.
However my main indicator of acetone effect is my “Low Fuel” lamp. Since the trip is 337 miles and I have an 18 gallon tank, the light has always come on near the end of the trip because of the known milage in my 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis 350 of about 18.5 mpg. 18 gallons x 18.5 mpg = 333 miles.
I used Shell Premium on the trip out and back. I topped the fuel off such that I could peer into the fill pipe and see gas.
The trip up measured about 18.5 mpg and the “Low Fuel” lamp came on near the end of the trip. On the way back I used 2oz of acetone from the WalMart paint dept. The “Low Fuel” lamp did not come on, and I measured 24mpg.
Out of about 6 trips along the same highway, this was the first trip I drove when the Low Fuel lamp did not come on.
SavageUrge Says:
Many people will say “BULLSHIT”, however I’m recording an average of 2+MPG by adding acetone in a concentration of 4oz to 18.5gal of gasoline. I’ve researched this topic ad-nauseam, and decided after determining that no real danger exists, to actually do it myself! GEE, THERE’S A FREAKIN’ CONCEPT, EH? So many people *claim* that they are “automotive technicians with X years of experience and this is all just hokum”. So you’re telling me you’ve never talked to your customers about it? You’ve never brought this up to them as perhaps a way to improve mileage and engine performance and possibly longer life for your engine? So of course you’ve never received any feedback on whether or not this might actually work from your obviously VAST network of automotive consumers! Then you are a piss-poor mechanic in my opinion. My mechanic talks to me and makes suggestions regarding possible future issues and ways to resolve them without spending the big bucks if it isn’t absolutely necessary! My mechanic isn’t “in it for the money”, he’s in it for the people that keep coming back to him because he is an honest man that does honest work! He’s not the sort of mechanic that tapes the bolt underneath the dash because he knows you’ll be coming back for it! Please do some research, and figure this one out for yourself instead of waving your hand and turning your head. You may be surprised at your results. For the love of God, DO YOUR RESEARCH! Damn, I HATE stupid people!
Mr. Rob Says:
Louis LaP. has test data listed on his site, acetone at heavy concentrations
(like 10% or more) was shown to have no effect on fuel lines even using long term exposure…
My personal experiences with acetone were very good, and the data was extremely repeatable and precise. I used the same gas, pump, route, travel speed, yada yada etc. and it was 35 MPG without acetone and a minimum of 41 MPG with it. Occasionally I could hit 43 MPG with the additive, but the 6 MPG increase was basically a done deal on any trip. I did this for SEVERAL MONTHS in fact, and as Louis LaP. states, the “effects” of acetone linger on for a bit if acetone is not used. 1st tank without it is nearly as good, then tank 2 is like a 10% gain, tank 3 is minimal benefit and tank 4 is back to baseline. My 17 to 20% increase is too good to be due to variables (which I controlled quite well) and I am personally convinced. I now use it all the time and also add a shot of Marvel Mystery Oil as a fuel injector cleaner and maintainer occasionally.
It is my opinion that basically acetone offsets the anti-evaporation additives the oil companies use to reduce product loss before point of sale. Probably not a “conspiracy” but it does invoke the law of unintended consequences to reduce mileage in our vehicles. Acetone is best added in your tank or injected before the fuel rail but the only system that does this is sold by Louis La Pointe. Too pricy when all I gotta do is mix it myself.
This stuff works, if you do it as stated on Louie’s website. He tells you how to DIY-it for every device he sells as well, so it is not a get rich type of site, in fact, he used to only post instructions long before he ever sold anything!
Thanks, and good luck in your experiments!
Rob
Will Nesling Says:
Hello No-brainer and everyone.I am totally convinced Acetone helps engines run smoother,cleaner and more efficiently. I am a marine engineer and diesel mechanic,by trade, and not one to “toe the company line”…ie i tried this stuff and it works. I have tried it on at least five different engines. My latest effort was a 18000km road trip around Australia. I used 2ml of acetone for every litre of petrol {gas} that i put in the tank. I kept strict records. I filled the tank totally every fill up. I did NOT fry anything ,even when i overheated the engine a bit. I was driving hard {for me} maybe 130-140km/hr for about an hour . It was more than 34 degrees celsius outside. It was fun till that temp needle started climbing fast. Anyway my ’89 mitsubishi never missed a beat.I would say mileage went from ~25-6mpg to over 30mpg by using acetone. A couple of notes. As acetone cleans out carbon ,expect mileage to drop a bit on first tankfull,during your test .Do try to fill tank on the slower pump speed {more accurate} I absolutely believe 10%-30% fuel savings are “do-able” like mr. lapointe suggests:I now have a VW diesel ,i run 1.5ml Acetone to one litre Diesel. My best mileage is 58mpg {imperial} Definitely agree..a person will drive a bit kinder if he is doing a mileage test..still my averages don’t lie. Engine should be tight and tuned up,clean oil and filters,tires checked. Buy acetone from beauty supply shop. …Will
Richard Says:
An imagination shows intelligence, that a lot more than Mepps who can only roll their eyes and all they see is empty space in their head. Look up the word intelligence, sorry Mepps you are not able, you can only roll your eyes.
Would someone point out the FACT where it has been stated it will always work under every condition? Or it will always “insert your statement”. No one is stating that fact or making that universal statement and says it will apply to all.
So test it for yourself it may work as it has for me and so many others or it may not work for you do to your lack of imagination and intelligence to do the testing.
Kelsey Tidwell, Alabama Says:
Seems to me an improvement in mileage, whether real or imagined (doesn’t matter which) is an improvement. Improvement=good. So why get so up in arms about the legitimacy of the test? If it works for you, just do it and save money. Don’t worry if someone thinks you’re an idiot…it’s working for you, so who’s the idiot?
Robert Says:
When I first read about the acetone thing several years ago, I scoffed.
But I was also a film student regularly commuting to UCLA, 187 miles round trip multiple times each week, spending a fortune on gas.
A few people said acetone worked. Many more said it didn’t/couldn’t. NPR’s Car Guys asked an oil company executive who said it definitely did not work. And the Car Guys warned that my car might be damaged.
But I tried it. Nervously.
And guess what? It worked. My MPG increased significantly and consistently. And my car had more power and ran smoother.
My test continued for well over 30,000 miles. Each trip exactly the same length. Each meticulously logged. The results were always the same. Acetone improved my mileage. Regular gas did not.
My driving style was always the same — get into and out of LA as quickly as possible. Anyone who drives through LA understands this primary consideration.
In all those miles … and the many miles thereafter, acetone has served my engine well. In over 263,000 miles — enough to get to the moon — it’s never had an engine problem.
My original film school logs can be found here:
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Acetone_as_a_Fuel_Additive#Individual_Reports
Under the heading:
Acetone Gets Me to Film School for Less, and Helps the Environment Too
Honda Del Sol 1993 SI – An overly-exhaustive treatise on the experiences of a UCLA graduate film student (author and former newspaper reporter) using acetone for over 30,000 miles as he commutes between San Diego and Los Angeles. Short version: Definite increase in efficiency from 27-29 mpg without acetone to 33-35 mpg with acetone. Also more power and nice, smooth-running engine.
holy crap