Injecting Xylene mix instead of Methanol?

[cmj]

I'm thinking about trying a mix of water/xylene, has anyone tried this? Methanol is about 101 octane, Xylene is about 116. I have a chemical compatibility chart that shows Xylene having the same effects on my system as Methanol.

[JohnA]

First of all, where do you find pure xylene mate?

[cmj]

I've found pure Xylene at Home Depot, they also have toluene which is almost the same at 114 octane.

[Richard L]

Did some stationary shopping today and saw a label on a felt-tip pen, it says - contain no Xylene.

It must have some heath and safety issue?

[JohnA]

I've found pure Xylene at Home Depot, they also have toluene which is almost the same at 114 octane.
Ah, you're in the States :lol:

Here in Europe it's hard even to find fizzy water...

[Richard L]

I have half a bottle of fizzy water if you want to share it with me.

[JohnA]

Cheers Richard,

that's very refreshing! :lol:

[Richard L]

Are you insurred?

I may ask you to sign a form first. Just in case your make a claim if you spilt some onto your shirt.

You really need to be very careful in Europe with all those rules and regulations from Brussels that come through my office everyday.

[cmj]

Did some stationary shopping today and saw a label on a felt-tip pen, it says - contain no Xylene.

It must have some heath and safety issue?

It is toxic.

[hotrod]

Sorry but that won't work.

xylene is a pure hydrocarbon, like toluene, and benzine, and will not mix with water.

It is a member of the aromatic family (ie related to benzine) and is also called dimethylbenzene. It is a powerful solvent, and present in small amounts in high octane unleaded gasoline blends.

It is used by some folks like toluene as a home brew octane enhancer, and works fairly well in that role due to its high natural octane.

It does have some draw backs that precludes its use in high amounts in high octane gasoline.

Its combustion leads to chemicals that are strong precursors to photochemical smog, so the emissions folks do not like it much.

Commonly available "mixed xylene's" is a mixture of 3 isomers of the chemical, ortho-xylene, meta-xylene and para-xylene. The para-xylene has a high freezing point (near 50 deg F if I recall correctly) which causes it to freeze out in mixtures at cool temps creating a cloudy mixture. I believe there is some risk of it clogging fuel filters in cold weather for that reason.

The xylenes also are of very low volatility, (evaporate slowly) which leads to problems if they are present in high percentage in gasoline, as you end up with some of the xylene not evaporating and burning in the time available during an engines power stroke. Like Toluene if it is present in high quantities you can end up blowing burning fuel out the exhaust valve, which results in very high exhaust gas temps, and a waste of fuel for useful power production.

I've used it in gasoline in hot temps ( near 80 deg F) with no problems and it does bump the octane a useful amount.

Unfortunately it will not mix with water.

Larry