Snow - What kind of "alky"?

[SlowBlackCar]

Someone mentioned that the snow kit would sieze under true methanol

What else could I/Should I use? Denatured alcohol?

Any ratios of anything I need to mix?

I didnt buy the kit, it came with the car...

Thanks!

[Grumpy]

we have used Methonal with them ... they do have some "pump issue's" ... Call them

[teamgn87]

There is a oneway valve in the line between the tank and pump.If you use straight Methanol it will corrode and seize up. You dont need that valve as the pump has one as well. The Shurflo pump is supposed to be able to handle straight Meth. My pump is fine so far with 2 seasons of Meth through it.HTH

[Grumpy]

just watch the pump

[teamgn87]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

just watch the pump

What kind of problems have you had with your pumps?

[coolingmist]

Originally Posted by teamgn87

There is a oneway valve in the line between the tank and pump.If you use straight Methanol it will corrode and seize up. You dont need that valve as the pump has one as well. The Shurflo pump is supposed to be able to handle straight Meth. My pump is fine so far with 2 seasons of Meth through it.HTH

Off the shelf shurflo pumps have VITON seals. You need BUNA or EPDM like ours. If you have any of the northern tool shurflo pumps or the ones you see for sale on the net, they will have VITON.

Viton=bad
Buna=good meth resistance, fair heat resistance
EPDM is best.

[teamgn87]

My pump came with the Snow Performance kit my wife bought me as a gift.Thats the only reason I'm using it. I dont know what kind of seals it has but I havent had any problems with the pump as yet--Just the controller. I would love to get another kit but I just cant right now.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by teamgn87

What kind of problems have you had with your pumps?

leaking

[SlowBlackCar]

Should I diloute the meth with say 25% water?

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by SlowBlackCar

Should I diloute the meth with say 25% water?

I wouldn't

[coolingmist]

Originally Posted by SlowBlackCar

Should I diloute the meth with say 25% water?

if it has Viton seals you can run no more than 50% meth. when you take the black pump head off you will see the seal, if its yellow/white its viton.

David

[Bob Avellar]

Originally Posted by coolingmist

if it has Viton seals you can run no more than 50% meth. when you take the black pump head off you will see the seal, if its yellow/white its viton.

David

Hmm, I don't get where these numbers come from. Must have come from somewhere. I've used the same pump (from Norther Hydraulics) for 8 yrs. I had 1 oring swell. That would make the pump loose its prime but it still worked fine once primed. I did have the pump output start to decrease one time. I replaced the pump head with a rebuild kit and all has been good. The weak pump head had some distortion to it. I soaked it in plain water and it returned to its original shape. I consider myself lucky to have anything last as long as this pump with as little trouble. I'm happy if I can get a light bulb last a month in my house-and that's the "best ones" I can buy. Granted, a modified pump is an improvement-but my experience tells me that its not that big a deal. Other than the first few months, I have used nothing but methanol. If you run any alky you need to be checking things-everything. Unless its an electrical or mechanical problem I don't think methanol is going to kill these pumps in the middle of a 1/4 mile pass. BMW insists that you use only their oil in their vehicles- so they can make a tidy profit. Its special!! Not saying that's the motivation here. Just saying we get way to anal about these cars sometimes. I've been guilty of it too. But I'm over it. Hey, not flaming anyone-that's just my own experience-that's how I form my own opinions. Happy New year, everyone!

[coolingmist]

Bob,

In my post I said if it has viton seals you cant run more than 50% methanol. Viton is not methanol compatible. If the pump has Buna or EPDM you can run methanol all day long. The numbers I came up with are simply the chemical resistance of Viton VS Buna or EPDM. I hope that makes sense.

David

Originally Posted by Bob Avellar

Hmm, I don't get where these numbers come from. Must have come from somewhere. I've used the same pump (from Norther Hydraulics) for 8 yrs. I had 1 oring swell. That would make the pump loose its prime but it still worked fine once primed. I did have the pump output start to decrease one time. I replaced the pump head with a rebuild kit and all has been good. The weak pump head had some distortion to it. I soaked it in plain water and it returned to its original shape. I consider myself lucky to have anything last as long as this pump with as little trouble. I'm happy if I can get a light bulb last a month in my house-and that's the "best ones" I can buy. Granted, a modified pump is an improvement-but my experience tells me that its not that big a deal. Other than the first few months, I have used nothing but methanol. If you run any alky you need to be checking things-everything. Unless its an electrical or mechanical problem I don't think methanol is going to kill these pumps in the middle of a 1/4 mile pass. BMW insists that you use only their oil in their vehicles- so they can make a tidy profit. Its special!! Not saying that's the motivation here. Just saying we get way to anal about these cars sometimes. I've been guilty of it too. But I'm over it. Hey, not flaming anyone-that's just my own experience-that's how I form my own opinions. Happy New year, everyone!

[Bob Avellar]

Well, I assume my pump has viton seals since I bought it directly from Northern. I also don't think that these pumps were supposed to run a flammable fluid either? I know manufactures make recommendations to be safe, and methanol is pretty mean on some products but hey I must just be lucky. I can't even get my custom made aluminum tank to start corroding. Two years with alky in it and nothing doggone it. Keep waiting for something interesting to happen so I can report it but alas-nothing,nada,ziltch. Maybe the guy with the methanol at the track is screwing with me or we must have a different kind of methanol where I live.
I know what you are saying is pretty much accepted as fact and is easily found in the tech data. Just wonder why I don't really see corrosion or drastic pump failure when I've been using it for so long.