M & W Gear Develops Two-Fuel Alcohol Kit

M & W Gear Develops Two-Fuel Alcohol Kit TRACTORS Modifications 4-5-23 With more and more fuel alcohol reaching the marketplace, M & . W Gear Company, Gibson City, Ill., has become the first major U.S. manufacturer to develop a two-fuel kit for burning straight alcohol or gasoline. A flip of a switch is all it takes to convert from one fuel to the other. "This is strictly experimental at this point, but with enough interest and alcohol to go around, we'll bring this on the market," says Bob Hall, midwest regional sales manager who unveiled the new system at the recent National Corn Growers Association meeting. The M & W kit, installed in a 460 cu. in. Ford pickup engine, consists of two separate carburetors installed in place of the pickup's original single 4-barrel carburetor. Alcohol, piped from a tank in the pickup box, runs through a regulator and into the alcohol carburetor. A simple electric fuel line switch on the dash board changes the engine from one fuel and carburetor "on the go." "It's difficult to start an engine on alcohol in cooler weather, so you'll start on gasoline and switch to alcohol as the engine warms up. If you plan to run mainly on alcohol you'll advance the timing several degrees to take advantage of the higher octane rating," says Hall. As this issue of FARM SHOW went to press, M & W was finalizing plans for production and marketing of the unit. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, M & W Gear, Rt. 47 So., Gibson City, Ill. 60936 (ph 217 784-4261).

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