A Return To Self-Sufficiency

There was a time...not that many years ago...when nearly every farmer in America consumed a portion of his own produce.  Raising grain for one's own livestock operation, of course, is a tradition that remains strong even today.  But go back 50 to 75 years and you'd find farmers trading eggs for groceries at the local market, processing their own farm-raised beef or feeding milk to the hogs while they hauled the cream to town.

Today, AmeriFuels, an enterprise of Renewable Fuels Technology Inc. (RFTI), provides farmers who irrigate with the chance to travel back to those days of self-sufficiency.  Utilizing a closed-loop energy system, the AmeriFuels 8.1 Liter Alternative Energy System affords crop producers the opportunity to sell their corn to a local ethanol plant, buy back pure ethanol and use it to fuel specially modified irrigation pump engines at a substantial savings in fuel and production costs.

Equally important, it allows farmers to partially disconnect from the geographical and political policies of the petroleum fuel industry, particularly when it comes to the most critical aspect of crop production.

More Than An Engine

Key to the AmeriFuels Alternative Fuels System is a General Motors 8.1 liter (494 cu. in.) engine that has been modified to operate on up to 100 percent ethanol.  However, government ATF regulations prohibit the sale of ethanol that doesn't have at least two to five percent gasoline in the mixture to limit its use for fuel only - which means the engine is powered on the purest form available.

AmeriFuels provides much more than an engine with its Alternative Fuels System, however.  The purchase also includes a contract for the purchase and delivery of the fuel, a special tank for storage and the personal attention of an AmeriFuels technician who can program the proprietary software for peak efficiency on each well.

Built With Proven, Existing Technology

Although RFTI has been researching and developing ethanol fueled engines for a number of years, it was only recently that the AmeriFuels GM 8.1-liter engine was developed and perfected.

On average, it takes the RFTI team between six to eight hours to modify an engine.  The plan from the beginning, of course, was to utilize a currently available engine and then add off-the-shelf components for the modification.  This helps ensure against backlogs on production or downtime necessitated by a wait on specialty parts.

Among the modifications for ethanol are an electronically controlled common-rail fuel injection system for precise fuel control; extra filtering systems, and a header exhaust system for reduced exhaust air restriction.

Real Savings

Thanks to the combination of engine modifications and its proprietary computer programming, the AmeriFuels 8.1 Liter engine has consistently exhibited ethanol-per-hour consumption ratings of 5 to 6 gallons per hour.

Although operating and economic conditions vary by region, and from one farm to the next, research has shown that the AmeriFuels 8.1 Liter engine system saves approximately $8 per hour of operation versus a diesel engine at current fuel prices.  Figuring that the average irrigation pump in the Midwest runs approximately 1,000 hours during a normal irrigation season, that's a total savings of around $8,000 per unit.

Due to the high octane level of ethanol, the AmeriFuels 8.1 Liter engine also exhibits torque and horsepower that are more comparable to a diesel engine than one powered by gasoline or natural gas.  Consequently, it has proven especially efficient when pumping water from deep wells in the southern Great Plains, pushing per-hour savings as high as $10 to $12.

Field Proven in Hundreds of Hours

Not only is the AmeriFuels 8.1 Liter Alternative Energy System based on a field-proven engine, but the system itself has already been subjected to hundreds of hours of testing.  By mid-summer 2008, there were already more than 30 AmeriFuels engines in place from central Nebraska to southwest Kansas.

All have performed flawlessly, which has prompted RFTI to back each AmeriFuels 8.1 Liter engine with a full three-year warranty.  Ironically, by current estimates under average conditions, the engine will have paid for itself in as little as two years - essentially providing customers with one more year of warranty coverage at no cost.

So, in effect, producers have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Numerous Additional Benefits

While the fuel and cost savings may be the greatest advantage of the AmeriFuels 8.1 Liter Alternative Energy System, there are a number of other benefits that are important to every farmer who lives in America.

The AmeriFuels system is better for the environment because:

• The exhaust from denatured alcohol and the AmeriFuels 8.1 Liter engine is cleaner than either diesel or natural gas.

• Energy isn't being used to ship in more diesel or pipe in more natural gas...or to transport ethanol to metropolitan areas.

• The system already meets stringent emissions requirements imposed in some areas.

• No additional infrastructure is required to deliver energy to the well site.

• Customers are not longer at the mercy of the petroleum market, which can be affected by hurricanes, refinery fires, conflicts in South America and the Middle East, or any of a number of other factors.

• The additional use of ethanol helps improve and stabilize the local market for corn and other ethanol-producing grains.

• The system has potential for use on any stationary, constant-speed power application, including power generation.

• Answer: Authorized dealers will distribute the AmeriFuels 8.1. If no dealer is available in your area, AmeriFuels will arrange delivery of a unit from a dealer in the AmeriFuels network.  Please contact a sales rep for more information!

• Answer: Service and Installation will be available from the authorized dealer where the AmeriFuels 8.1 was purchased.

• Answer: Upon the purchase of the AmeriFuels 8.1 from an authorized AmeriFuels dealer, purchasers are asked to sign an agreement which facilitates the purchase and delivery of 95% ethanol through the AmeriFuels fuel delivery network. This agreements assures an uninterrupted supply of ethanol will be delivered to the power unit(s).

• Answer: As with any engine, fuel consumption will vary according to the load placed on the unit and the speed at which the unit will operate. The higher the load and or the faster the engine turns determines the fuel consumption. The AmeriFuels 8.1 engine burning 95% denatured ethanol, delivers outstanding torque at lower rpm’s allowing producers the option “to re-gear” their system by changing the gear head (thus slowing the engine down) which maximizes fuel savings and increases the life of the engine. Please see the AmeriFuels fuel consumption table for more detail.

• Answer: Standard warranty terms will apply to the AmeriFuels 8.1 liter engine. Please see included warranty for details.

• Answer: No, there are no special maintenance requirements. See your operating manual for all maintenance questions and recommendations.

• Answer: Existing fuel tanks (ones that have been used) are not recommended. Ethanol is a solvent and can loosen material in existing tanks which could cause excessive filter failures.