madmanadam Posted June 19, 2002 Share Posted June 19, 2002 Has anyone ever heard of putting moth balls into the gas tank to help remove water and to up the octane? Little of the subject of Hybrids Just bought an older motorhome with 440 and 1 year old tank of gas. need to drive this beast about 80 miles to home and I do not want to emty the tank and refill. i know balls of a moth in gas would hurt but will it work? Thanks Any info would be great -Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted June 19, 2002 Share Posted June 19, 2002 Yes, I`ve heard of it and done it. When I was younger I pulled a 22 ft camper with a 3/4 ton ford van around the state of michigan to set up sound equipement at county fairs. my boss insisted on my using moth balls in every tank to help with spark knock. There were a few times that I forgot to put them in. Believe it or not, it did make a difference. I`m not sure if moth balls still have the same properties, but it worked 15 yrs ago. By the way, I ran our boat this weekend on a full tank of gas that had been in there for over 3 yrs. It ran great for about 3 hrs(untill the timing chain went out) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockjaw Posted June 19, 2002 Share Posted June 19, 2002 Why not just dump a can or two of 104 octane boost in there? Or if you can find a place that sells racing gas, add about 5 gallons. The leaded kind is the best, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bang847 Posted June 19, 2002 Share Posted June 19, 2002 http://www.georgenitta.com/mothballs/mothballs.htm I guess mothballs contain nephthlene.. It isnt the main ingredient so I guess you are adding a bunch of other things too.. wonder if the other ingredients are harmful?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAW Posted June 19, 2002 Share Posted June 19, 2002 How do you get their little legs apart? DAW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 19, 2002 Share Posted June 19, 2002 Yeah, I'm sure the moths aren't happy about it, and look how many of them it takes. Ya beat me DAW but we had the same language... Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmanadam Posted June 20, 2002 Author Share Posted June 20, 2002 Thanks for the replys and the link. And getting the legs apart that is no problem, finding them dam balls is the tuff part. Thanks -Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awd92gsx Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 Toluene works, too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bang847 Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 tri-nitro-toluene work like da bomb.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Taylor Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 My step dad used to always tell me about putting moth balls in his 427 fairlane to raise the octane. JFYI, I'm pretty sure you will need to disolve them in gas before you put them in your tank. Toluene also works good as well. Buddy of mine has had good luck with it in is WRX. JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmanadam Posted June 24, 2002 Author Share Posted June 24, 2002 Well, two bottles of 104 octane and they way it went. The RV ran great all the way home. To my surprise the RV ran handled great also. This thing has been sitting for two years. Only 65,000 miles Now can any Mopar fans or motor heads tell me the difference between a 440-1 and a 440-3 motor? They take different spark plugs. Thanks again -Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 any specifics on oz.to gal.ratio with tolulene? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 Here is a link that might be helpful. There is lots of info here, including "mothballs" and a re-iteration of the detonation information posted the other day. fuel information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boobala Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 Homebrew Gasoline Octane Boosters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bang847 Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 intersting... very interesting... but where are the balls??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 Here's the balls 6.20 Can mothballs increase octane? The legend of mothballs as an octane enhancer arose well before WWII when naphthalene was used as the active ingredient. Today, the majority of mothballs use para-dichlorobenzene in place of naphthalene, so choose carefully if you wish to experiment . There have been some concerns about the toxicity of para-dichlorobenzene, and naphthalene mothballs have again become popular. In the 1920s, typical gasoline octane ratings were 40-60 [11], and during the 1930s and 40s, the ratings increased by approximately 20 units as alkyl leads and improved refining processes became widespread [12]. Naphthalene has a blending motor octane number of 90 [52], so the addition of a significant amount of mothballs could increase the octane, and they were soluble in gasoline. The amount usually required to appreciably increase the octane also had some adverse effects. The most obvious was due to the high melting point ( 80C ), when the fuel evaporated the naphthalene would precipitate out, blocking jets and filters. With modern gasolines, naphthalene is more likely to reduce the octane rating, and the amount required for low octane fuels will also create operational and emissions problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fast Frog Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 Bang847: I think you got a hold of a bunch of female moths! Shame on you for looking!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bang847 Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 posted June 25, 2002 11:15 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bang847: I think you got a hold of a bunch of female moths! Shame on you for looking!! It was Adam who started it!! Here's the balls quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.20 Can mothballs increase octane? The legend of mothballs as an octane enhancer arose well before WWII when naphthalene was used as the active ingredient. Today, the majority of mothballs use para-dichlorobenzene in place of naphthalene, so choose carefully if you wish to experiment . There have been some concerns about the toxicity of para-dichlorobenzene, and naphthalene mothballs have again become popular. In the 1920s, typical gasoline octane ratings were 40-60 [11], and during the 1930s and 40s, the ratings increased by approximately 20 units as alkyl leads and improved refining processes became widespread [12]. Naphthalene has a blending motor octane number of 90 [52], so the addition of a significant amount of mothballs could increase the octane, and they were soluble in gasoline. The amount usually required to appreciably increase the octane also had some adverse effects. The most obvious was due to the high melting point ( 80C ), when the fuel evaporated the naphthalene would precipitate out, blocking jets and filters. With modern gasolines, naphthalene is more likely to reduce the octane rating, and the amount required for low octane fuels will also create operational and emissions problems. Hey SleeperZ, I was wondering where you quoted this from....Also I think I will whip up a batch this week... It is a cheap A$$ present for all the gearheads friends... YUP.. MY own homemade moonshine. make yer ker Goes Fatter!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boobala Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 Originally posted by bang847:intersting... very interesting... but where are the balls??? I skipped the Moth Balls because of this: Naphthalene has a blending motor octane number of 90 [52], so the addition of a significant amount of mothballs could increase the octane, and they were soluble in gasoline. The amount usually required to appreciably increase the octane also had some adverse effects. The most obvious was due to the high melting point ( 80C ), when the fuel evaporated the naphthalene would precipitate out, blocking jets and filters. With modern gasolines, naphthalene is more likely to reduce the octane rating, Besides, I have easy access to large quanities of (free) Toluene.(No, I can't get you some) Formula #1 - Toluene Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium 10%...........94.2 Octane 20%...........96.4 Octane 30%...........98.6 Octane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 That quote was from the link I posted up higher on the thread...it was a huge page, and I can't pretend I read the whole thing - I just reposted what was relevant to the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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