[53az]

Hi All, Finally got out in my Sprint car. Anybody ever get a yellow tint to their methanol after draining the lines after a race? It goes in clear/blueish, comes out yellowish. New tank leeching rubber? new lines leeching? I've got a gold fuel fiter, coming from that maybe? Thanks for any insight.

[Bad Dad 54]

Did you leave the fuel in there a while? don't do that, when I was tech insp I always checked the tracks fuel right from the tank, was there when the tank was unlocked once & got a sample, it was yellow. Do you know of someone w/ a fuel checker? I used High Desert Engineering, they can check your fuel, never mailed a sample though so not sure how that's done. Should empty out fuel lines as alcohol is corrosive nasty stuff, rubber glove recommended, it's also a cancer causing agent. Empty out fuel system then purge it w/ a WD-40 type liquid

[TQ29m]

Ever watch "moonshiners"? How they ck their product? About the same deal with alcohol, only I use a Jiffy peanut butter jar, about a pint size one, put it half full of good clean water, and the same amount of your alcohol, shake it real good, and if it clears up quick, it's OK, if it doesn't, I'd have someone with a hydrometer ck it, or buy yourself one, they aren't that expensive, eBay has them. Lots of bad alcohol out there this time of year, overstock from last season, not stored properly, bad stuff. You might be getting some discoloration from the filter, just take the filter off, and drain some thru without it, quick ck. Bob

[53az]

I'm going to fill up the filter and shake it, let sit, then drain to see what's going on there.

[DAD]

Originally Posted by TQ29m Ever watch "moonshiners"? How they ck their product? About the same deal with alcohol, only I use a Jiffy peanut butter jar, about a pint size one, put it half full of good clean water, and the same amount of your alcohol, shake it real good, and if it clears up quick, it's OK, if it doesn't, I'd have someone with a hydrometer ck it, or buy yourself one, they aren't that expensive, eBay has them. Lots of bad alcohol out there this time of year, overstock from last season, not stored properly, bad stuff. You might be getting some discoloration from the filter, just take the filter off, and drain some thru without it, quick ck. Bob

Bob I learned this trick the hard way. Dad always kept jars of moonshine (200 proof) he got from a friend around in the deep freeze. He would take a sip ever so often and mark the jar. Well about 15 years old me and a couple of friends decided to try it out. We drank about a forth of it and I went to the tap and filled it up to the line again with tap water. A couple of weeks later he goes for a sip of shine. He shook that jar up real good and I can still hear him yelling my name. That old shine clouded up because of the tap water and I caught Holly Hell for messing up his shine.

[Racer12]

That is normal, it gets that color from the bladder. Often referred to as “pump out” fuel. It is fine to use.

Bob

[Backitin]

drain your fuel always after race night and always use fresh fuel from a secure jug and I wouldn't worry much.

p.s. the only reason shiners put water into shine is to get it down to about 100 proof. Adding water and shaking doesn't tell you the quality of your product. Burning a small amount will, you wont even see the flame on good shine. 200 proof, pure alcohol is almost impossible to distill in a home still. It is also undrinkable straight up and has no flavor from the mash. About 160 proof is all you can distill unless you have a high tech column still. Better yet is a run of about 145-150 proof. Most folks don't know that the first moonshiners weren't in the south, it started in PA not far from here by Irish land settlers my great granddad being one of them. I currently hold about 6 classes a year in the art of still making, it's a hoot and we distill a run of water at the end of the class. I love talking copper and such pm if you have any questions or want to compare recipes.
Luther Mills
Dark Hollow Copper Works

[DAD]

My Dad's good stuff didn't cloud up when you shook it up>>>>

We also had a guy by the name of ET Morris, who owned 21 Brands Distillery. He ran his Sprint cars on 200 proof whisky before it was taxed.

[Backitin]

Originally Posted by DAD My Dad's good stuff didn't cloud up when you shook it up>>>> We also had a guy by the name of ET Morris, who owned 21 Brands Distillery. He ran his Sprint cars on 200 proof whisky before it was taxed.

Yep good whiskey no matter the proof will not cloud up when you shake it even after you cut it with water. All distilled alcohol should run crystal clear from the still no matter the proof. Dad the sad part is that I couldn't legally make a couple gallons of alcohol for my speedwaybikes, not unless I spent tens of thousands of dollars for a permit. The government uses a danger clause to outlaw moonshine when in reality it is very safe. Moonshine got a bad name and hurt people when unscrupulous shinners used auto radiators and such for distilling during prohibition. I guess if I was to ever make a run of shine everyone who would taste it would say it's the best they ever had, all speculation of course.
Good to see you typing some Dad.

[TQ29m]

My comment was only for reference, it is a cheap way to see how much water the racing alcohol has already in it, it is primarily used to dry Propane, therefore, it could be very heavy with water, and still run, back in the day, most racers preferred what was then known as 82%, which meant it had 12% water in it, made a better bang in the cylinder, and ran a bit cooler, but then the best was more expensive, and called " Hospital Grade", I had a friend who worked at a chemical supply warehouse, and he gave me a good deal on it, so I used it, 2-8% is considered good in today's market, plus, if you drink it, you won't have a hangover, ever again! Bob