.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Friday, March 31, 2006

 

Random thoughts about the vapor carburetor

One of my co-workers yesterday was talking about a show that ran on the Discovery Channel where they claimed that the oil industry and the Big Three automakers had conspired to cover up a 100 mpg carburetor in the '70s. I couldn't find any information on the show, but I presume this alleged miracle was a vapor carburetor - I've never heard of these claims being attached to any other version of a carb. While there are several debunkings of the vapor carburetor principle online, I thought I'd add a few other thoughts about what's so weird about this persistant claim.

1. The '70s saw huge gas lines and government fuel economy standards. Detroit tried to deal with this using all sorts of infamous measures like the Cadillac 8-6-4 system and feedback carburetors. If one of the companies broke with a conspiracy to conceal an ultra-high-mileage carb and suddenly rolled out a Dodge Aspen sized car that got 100 mpg without the drivability problems of other cars of the era, they'd be considered technical geniuses and would make money hand-over-fist. I don't think even the whole lot of the Arab sheiks could have afforded a large enough bribe compared to how much they'd make selling 100 mpg cars to a gas-starved nation.

2. These myths always seem to be attached to carburetors. Fuel injected cars get much better mileage and drivability, but I have never heard any claims that the oil industry is covering up a 100 mpg injector design.

3. There are already automotive fuels that are mixed as a vapor instead of a gas. If you've seen an indoor forklift, you've probably seen one example, a propane-powered engine. It's also possible to convert a gasoline engine to run on methane. None of these engines have shown huge improvements in fuel efficiency compared to gasoline.

Labels:


# posted by Mad Scientist Matt @ 7:11 AM
Comments:
Until I read your post I had forgotten about something my Physics teacher had told me back when I was in HS which would leave me think that maybe something of the sort did happen, in fact he was quite adamant about the construction of a carb system with the potential of 100mpg and the following takeover of the product/patent by the "oil industry" which company I can't remember, but it was not an auto industry but a single entity that had developed this fuel delivery system, adn as you said at the time there was a huge shortage, auto companies never are in the green enough to pay out tons of money for offhand designs by private entities so that leaves us with oil companies who have always found a way to make grossly inflated profits who would have the capital to procure such designs in order to prevent any loss of thier profits. Then again, it could just be a rumor that has been curculating for the past 20 years or so, the question is, how could we verify it?
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : Saturday, April 01, 2006 10:22:00 PM
 
build one!! thats the only way..ive had several old mechanics tell me its true and that they've seen them work
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : Wednesday, January 10, 2007 12:20:00 AM
 
I know this blog was written a couple of years ago but I felt compeled to respond. My father was president of The Carburetor Club of America in the late 70's. He was holding seminars to show the public how to achieve 100 mpg with a vapor carburetor. He was dubbed "the pot and pan carburetor man" as he had mad a simple carburetor out of a pot and pan to demonstrate how it would work. And it did. My father, a machinist by trade, was trying to educate the general public on how a vapor carb would work in hopes of generating enough intrest that others would develop a 100 mpg carb. He had several working models but none actually achieved their goal, they did have a working vapor carb that nearly doubled the mpg's (from 13 to 24 +/-) on a chevy. Through the club, he met many people on the same path as he was but through different mediums. All were tied up in court until bankrupt, involved in mysterious deaths, or had their lives threatened. My father included. He was told by a goverment offical;"...if you dont stop what you are doing, your partner will be involved in an accident on his way home from work one night. If that doesn't stop you, you will have an accident on your way home." My father has some amazing stories from that era, lots of amazing video as well. My dad was involved with the guy that Jeremi commented on in this post and I can vouch for the validity of his story. Cover up or not, there was a lot of shady happenings from that time.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : Friday, June 13, 2008 12:31:00 AM
 
Go to youtube , check out my videos on the geet system, or indianchief741, I'm driving the car now! It may not be a geet system, but for sure a on demand vapor system, I went from 17 mpg to 24 mpg, and I haven't even changed out the jets yet, and I know it's rich!!!!!!!! Indianchief741
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : Wednesday, November 05, 2008 8:59:00 PM
 
indianchief741 please email me at
vapor@gt.rr.com
I would like to talk and share thoughts on your project. I like what you did on your Kia project. I know of a friend that did about the same thing and he also wants to share thoughts.
Ken
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : Friday, December 19, 2008 1:33:00 PM
 
Dude vapor carbs are the shit i built one for a 3.5hp briggs flathead abd it ran for like 50 minutes on 100 mL of gasoline but it didnt even burn all of that it just didnt wanna vaporize but it ran great i actually use it to mow i virtually have no gas bill and its so easy im 14 and i built it go out and try one they are the bomb
# posted by Anonymous Zack : Thursday, October 08, 2009 9:28:00 PM
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?