The Efuel100 Microfueler
Save Money on Gas by Using this Machine to Make Ethanol at Home
May 23, 2008
Creative ways to ease the high costs of gas at the pump are being sought by everyone. One California company has answered this call by making a device that lets users make ethanol at home. The device called the micro-fueler even comes with a pump so the consumer who wishes to spend less on gas can pump the ethanol into his vehicle.
The Efuel100 may spark a movement of car owners making their fuel at home, but there are some problems with Microfueler. The largest problem for American consumers, according to Wired, is that it is illegal for American residents to run their cars off of pure ethanol.
The Efuel100 Microfueler will not entirely eliminate American dependence on foreign oil, but when the price of the unit comes down to where the average consumer can afford it, it could greatly reduce transportation costs, nor is the idea of producing ethanol in the privacy of an individual's home a new idea. The Efuel100 produces fuel grade ethanol. Moonshiners have been producing ethanol at home for centuries.
The Cost of Making Fuel-Grade Ethanol at Home
The E-Fueler corporation says it can produce ethanol for less than a dollar a gallon, making it seem that the product they are selling will eventually pay for itself. This statement may be true if gas prices continue to climb at their current rates. The price tag of $10,000 US for the Efuel100 Microfueler means that most consumers may have to pay the high gas prices at the pump a little while longer. When the price does come down to where the average consumer can afford the device, the goal of the designers for every household having its own ethanol making machine may become a reality.
The EFuel100 is not yet ready to start a revolution in how people fuel their cars or add a new appliance that people buy so that they can save money on gas by making the alternative fuel ethanol instead.
E-Fueler corporation's new device features a gas pump handle that can be used to fill the owner's gas tank. According to the E-fueler corporation's web site, each unit includes a key that allows the user to operate it. The owner of an Efuel100 can save money on gas by producing a gallon of ethanol in the privacy of his own home for less than $1 US a gallon. (A license may be required in some states to produce ethanol, which is also known as moonshine.)
The Efuel100 Microfueler requires its own yeast stock to make home-made ethanol that at present time must be bought by the company. If the device takes off, enterprising individuals might find creative ways around this restriction, such as alcoholic stock left over after a New Year's Eve Party
The Home Fueling Revolution: A Real Revolution or a Historical Curiosity?
According to the E-fuel corporation web site, Henry Ford was the first American to introduce a car designed to run on Ethanol. The two-minute video clip states that the plan to use Ethanol as a fuel for automobiles was sidetracked in the United States when prohibition was passed in 1921.
The distilling process used by the Efuel100 is hardly a new process. People around the world have been making ethanol and other forms of alcohol for centuries. This unique still produces fuel grade ethanol that can be used to power vehicles.
Resources:
“Make Fuel at Home With Portable DIY Refinery.” Chuck Squatriglia. Wired. May 8, 2008
