Guest Martin F Posted July 5, 2001 Share Posted July 5, 2001 Hi My MKIV has the ERL water injection system fitted, and takes it's water from the washer bottle. I know some people also have this system, and i was wondering what additives you put into the water. All the screen washes i have come across seem to include Ethanol, which according to the ERL website is a no,no. Is there any screen washes that are safe to use?? Or is a Methanol mixture the only option? TIA Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Martin F Posted July 9, 2001 Share Posted July 9, 2001 Hmmmmmm no responses. Am i the only person registered on here at the moment with Water Injection ?? Martin 95 UKTT + murky windscreen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ash Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 Sorry, but chemistry was not my subject. Yours, J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wall Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 No Chemist either. How about some Lavender water for a nice smell as you rip past everyone. Most windscreen methanol additives will probably be in such low concentration that they wont do any harm. You never know if you use it neat you may get a few bhp extra. I am meeting with a very experience chemical engineer later to day I will ask his opinion. (Edited by Phil Wall at 9:46 am on July 10, 2001) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doughie Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 Martin I remember some discussion about this on the Big List. I now have 16,000 emails from the Big List on my hard drive, so will find the one's relating to additives for water injection tonight at home. cheers ps. but safe to say - don't use nitromethane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Martin F Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 Cheers guys, any (sensible) suggestions appreciated. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wall Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 I put the question of washer bottles as sources for water injection to my chemist expert this evening. He agrees with the benefits of water injection but offers the following advice. Any water being injected into an aluminium engine should be pure ie distilled. Tap water contains many salts some of which are alkaline, which in the environment inside the combustion chamber could lead to attack on the aluminium. As far as additives go Ethanol will break down into acetic and prophreonic( not sure about spelling) acids which will attack aluminium Methanol based additives would lead to the production of formaldehyde that would brake down into formic acid, which in the engine environment could attack the aluminium. He could not suggest any additive that would be safe in the combustion chamber and be satisfactory as a washer additive. He will give it some thought and let me know. His recommendation would be to use a separate reservoir and use only distilled water for any water injection system. He suggested adding ether to the water, as it would give extra power. It is the main ingredient in Start Right a spray used for damp starting. It has a low flash point and would help create a more explosive mixture in the cylinder, with no attack on the aluminium of the engine. The only problem is keeping it from settling out in the water tank as is does not dissolve in water, it just creates an emulsion. You can also use it ans an anaesthetic to knock out your passengers. I would just stick to water this one sounds a bit risky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Martin F Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 Thanks for that Phil. The other installation i have seen had a seperate tank as well, so i think maybe that is the way to go. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wall Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 Martin Based on the advice I got this evening. I would stop using it until you can get another tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted July 11, 2001 Share Posted July 11, 2001 Tony Wright actually runs a seperate water bottle for his WI. He uses one of the cycling water bottles with distilled water and some other additive. I have a picture somewhere if you want to see how he has it installed. JB Shop!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doughie Posted July 11, 2001 Share Posted July 11, 2001 I found the posts back in Feb.2001 about Water injection. Chris Wilson mentioned a mix of methanol and water. think it was 50/50 mix. I've forwarded the posts to Martin for his perusal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted July 11, 2001 Share Posted July 11, 2001 the water bottle that tony uses, it tucks down beside his small battery. http://www.btinternet.com/~branners/resources/gallery/001028-018_small.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted September 17, 2001 Share Posted September 17, 2001 Stu, can you forward to me the same info from Chris Wilson about the water/methanol mix? Muchly apprciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doughie Posted September 17, 2001 Share Posted September 17, 2001 sure - i'll find them when i get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.