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Ethanol Fuel
Boiling Temperature of Water by Altitude

How the Following Boiling Temperatures by Altitude Were Determined

    I examined the stated boiling temperatures at various altitudes from several web sites, and I then entered their information into a spreadsheet. I then determined the total elevation change, and divided the change in temperature by these increments. That provided me an estimated change in degrees per change in elevation/altitude. Upon examining several web sites I selected a temperature change I felt best defined the change in temperature as a function of change in elevation. I then used that as a constant to interpolate predicted temperatures for boiling water at each change in elevation from negative 300 feet up to 20,000 feet. These represent the approximate highest and lowest points in the United States of American, and should also cover the altitude range of most populations in the world.

    In any event, anyone may duplicate my estimates and arrive at their own conclusions. It is a pretty basic process.

    Now, here's the problem: These are only estimates. Because not only does elevation effect the boiling temperature of water, but so does the barometric pressure. As most of us know, this changes as weather fronts move across our location. Therefore, if one really wants to be anal about this you will have to take air pressure into account each day you are distilling. Perhaps several times per day if your barometric pressure is changing quickly.

    An alternate plan:

    Point your browser to the above web page. Follow his instructions. This is very simple idea. It is also a good one.

  • Measure your boiling temperature of water.
  • Multiply this temperature by the constant to determine the boiling point of ethanol.
  • Multiply this temperature by the constant to determine the boiling point of an azeotropic mixture of ethanol and water.
  • These provide your important target temperatures, calibrated to your thermometer at that time/elevation/barometric pressure!

    Or, just use the table below. It should be pretty close if the weather is pleasant.

Temperature of Boiling Water
at Various Altitudes/Elevations

Col.A = Altitude/Elevation in Feet
Col.B = Temperature in Fahrenheit
Col.C = Temperature in Celsius 
Col.A   Col.B   Col.C

Elevation
in      Boil    Boil
Feet    H20*F   H20*C

-300	212.6	100.3	Approx. Lowest Elevation in the USA
-250	212.5	100.3
-200	212.4	100.2
-150	212.3	100.2
-100	212.2	100.1
-50	212.1	100.1
0	212.0	100.0	Sea Level
100	211.8	99.9
150	211.7	99.8	Approx. Elevation Bangor, ME, USA
200	211.6	99.8	Approx. Elevation Seattle, WA, USA
250	211.5	99.7	Approx. Elevation San Diego, CA, USA
300	211.4	99.7
350	211.4	99.6
400	211.3	99.6
450	211.2	99.5	Approx. Elevation Fairbanks, AK, USA
500	211.1	99.5
550	211.0	99.4
600	210.9	99.4
650	210.8	99.3	Approx. Elevation Chicago O'Hare International Airport, IL, USA
700	210.7	99.3	Approx. Elevation Toledo Express Airport, OH, USA
750	210.6	99.2
800	210.5	99.2
850	210.4	99.1	Approx. Elevation Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, MN, USA
900	210.3	99.1
950	210.3	99.0
1,000	210.2	99.0	Approx. Elevation Atlanta, GA, USA
1,050	210.1	98.9
1,100	210.0	98.9
1,150	209.9	98.8
1,200	209.8	98.8
1,250	209.7	98.7
1,300	209.6	98.7
1,350	209.5	98.6
1,365	209.5	98.6	Erik's Home - Springfield, MO, USA
1,400	209.4	98.6
1,450	209.3	98.5
1,500	209.2	98.5
1,550	209.1	98.4
1,600	209.1	98.4
1,650	209.0	98.3
1,700	208.9	98.3
1,750	208.8	98.2
1,800	208.7	98.2
1,850	208.6	98.1
1,900	208.5	98.1
1,950	208.4	98.0
2,000	208.3	98.0
2,050	208.2	97.9
2,100	208.1	97.9
2,150	208.0	97.8
2,200	208.0	97.8
2,250	207.9	97.7
2,300	207.8	97.6
2,350	207.7	97.6
2,400	207.6	97.5
2,450	207.5	97.5
2,500	207.4	97.4
2,550	207.3	97.4
2,600	207.2	97.3
2,650	207.1	97.3
2,700	207.0	97.2
2,750	206.9	97.2
2,800	206.8	97.1	Approx. Elevation Boise Air Terminal, ID, USA
2,850	206.8	97.1
2,900	206.7	97.0
2,950	206.6	97.0
3,000	206.5	96.9
3,050	206.4	96.9
3,100	206.3	96.8
3,150	206.2	96.8
3,200	206.1	96.7
3,250	206.0	96.7
3,300	205.9	96.6
3,350	205.8	96.6
3,400	205.7	96.5
3,450	205.7	96.5	Approx. Elevation Kingman, AZ, USA
3,500	205.6	96.4
3,550	205.5	96.4
3,600	205.4	96.3
3,650	205.3	96.3
3,700	205.2	96.2
3,750	205.1	96.2
3,800	205.0	96.1
3,850	204.9	96.1
3,900	204.8	96.0
3,950	204.7	96.0
4,000	204.6	95.9
4,050	204.5	95.9
4,100	204.5	95.8
4,150	204.4	95.8
4,200	204.3	95.7
4,250	204.2	95.7
4,300	204.1	95.6
4,350	204.0	95.6
4,400	203.9	95.5
4,450	203.8	95.5
4,500	203.7	95.4
4,550	203.6	95.3
4,600	203.5	95.3
4,650	203.4	95.2
4,700	203.4	95.2
4,750	203.3	95.1
4,800	203.2	95.1
4,850	203.1	95.0
4,900	203.0	95.0
4,950	202.9	94.9
5,000	202.8	94.9
5,050	202.7	94.8
5,100	202.6	94.8
5,150	202.5	94.7
5,200	202.4	94.7
5,250	202.3	94.6
5,300	202.3	94.6	Denver, CO, USA - Elevation Approx. 1-Mile
5,350	202.2	94.5
5,400	202.1	94.5
5,450	202.0	94.4
5,500	201.9	94.4
5,550	201.8	94.3
5,600	201.7	94.3
5,650	201.6	94.2
5,700	201.5	94.2
5,750	201.4	94.1
5,800	201.3	94.1
5,850	201.2	94.0
5,900	201.1	94.0
5,950	201.1	93.9
6,000	201.0	93.9
6,050	200.9	93.8
6,100	200.8	93.8
6,150	200.7	93.7
6,200	200.6	93.7
6,250	200.5	93.6
6,300	200.4	93.6
6,350	200.3	93.5
6,400	200.2	93.5
6,450	200.1	93.4
6,500	200.0	93.4
6,550	200.0	93.3
6,600	199.9	93.3
6,650	199.8	93.2
6,700	199.7	93.2
6,750	199.6	93.1
6,800	199.5	93.1
6,850	199.4	93.0
6,900	199.3	92.9
6,950	199.2	92.9
7,000	199.1	92.8
7,050	199.0	92.8
7,100	198.9	92.7
7,150	198.8	92.7
7,200	198.8	92.6
7,250	198.7	92.6
7,300	198.6	92.5
7,350	198.5	92.5
7,400	198.4	92.4
7,450	198.3	92.4
7,500	198.2	92.3
7,550	198.1	92.3
7,600	198.0	92.2
7,650	197.9	92.2
7,700	197.8	92.1
7,750	197.7	92.1
7,800	197.7	92.0
7,850	197.6	92.0
7,900	197.5	91.9
7,950	197.4	91.9
8,000	197.3	91.8
8,050	197.2	91.8
8,100	197.1	91.7
8,150	197.0	91.7
8,200	196.9	91.6
8,250	196.8	91.6
8,300	196.7	91.5
8,350	196.6	91.5
8,400	196.5	91.4
8,450	196.5	91.4
8,500	196.4	91.3
8,550	196.3	91.3
8,600	196.2	91.2
8,650	196.1	91.2
8,700	196.0	91.1
8,750	195.9	91.1
8,800	195.8	91.0
8,850	195.7	91.0
8,900	195.6	90.9
8,950	195.5	90.9
9,000	195.4	90.8
9,050	195.4	90.8
9,100	195.3	90.7
9,150	195.2	90.6
9,200	195.1	90.6
9,250	195.0	90.5
9,300	194.9	90.5
9,350	194.8	90.4
9,400	194.7	90.4
9,450	194.6	90.3
9,500	194.5	90.3
9,550	194.4	90.2
9,600	194.3	90.2
9,650	194.2	90.1
9,700	194.2	90.1
9,750	194.1	90.0
9,800	194.0	90.0
9,850	193.9	89.9
9,900	193.8	89.9
9,950	193.7	89.8
10,000	193.6	89.8
10,050	193.5	89.7
10,100	193.4	89.7
10,150	193.3	89.6
10,200	193.2	89.6
10,250	193.1	89.5
10,300	193.1	89.5
10,350	193.0	89.4
10,400	192.9	89.4
10,450	192.8	89.3
10,500	192.7	89.3
10,550	192.6	89.2	Elevation Approx. 2-Miles
10,600	192.5	89.2
10,650	192.4	89.1
10,700	192.3	89.1
10,750	192.2	89.0
10,800	192.1	89.0
10,850	192.0	88.9
10,900	191.9	88.9
10,950	191.9	88.8
11,000	191.8	88.8
11,050	191.7	88.7
11,100	191.6	88.7
11,150	191.5	88.6
11,200	191.4	88.6
11,250	191.3	88.5
11,300	191.2	88.5
11,350	191.1	88.4
11,400	191.0	88.3
11,450	190.9	88.3
11,500	190.8	88.2
11,550	190.8	88.2
11,600	190.7	88.1
11,650	190.6	88.1
11,700	190.5	88.0
11,750	190.4	88.0
11,800	190.3	87.9
11,850	190.2	87.9
11,900	190.1	87.8
11,950	190.0	87.8
12,000	189.9	87.7
12,050	189.8	87.7
12,100	189.7	87.6
12,150	189.6	87.6
12,200	189.6	87.5
12,250	189.5	87.5
12,300	189.4	87.4
12,350	189.3	87.4
12,400	189.2	87.3
12,450	189.1	87.3
12,500	189.0	87.2
12,550	188.9	87.2
12,600	188.8	87.1
12,650	188.7	87.1
12,700	188.6	87.0
12,750	188.5	87.0
12,800	188.5	86.9
12,850	188.4	86.9
12,900	188.3	86.8
12,950	188.2	86.8
13,000	188.1	86.7
13,050	188.0	86.7
13,100	187.9	86.6
13,150	187.8	86.6
13,200	187.7	86.5
13,250	187.6	86.5
13,300	187.5	86.4
13,350	187.4	86.4
13,400	187.3	86.3
13,450	187.3	86.3
13,500	187.2	86.2
13,550	187.1	86.2
13,600	187.0	86.1
13,650	186.9	86.0
13,700	186.8	86.0
13,750	186.7	85.9
13,800	186.6	85.9
13,850	186.5	85.8
13,900	186.4	85.8
13,950	186.3	85.7
14,000	186.2	85.7
14,050	186.2	85.6
14,100	186.1	85.6
14,150	186.0	85.5
14,200	185.9	85.5
14,250	185.8	85.4
14,300	185.7	85.4
14,350	185.6	85.3
14,400	185.5	85.3
14,450	185.4	85.2
14,500	185.3	85.2
14,550	185.2	85.1
14,600	185.1	85.1
14,650	185.1	85.0
14,700	185.0	85.0
14,750	184.9	84.9
14,800	184.8	84.9
14,850	184.7	84.8
14,900	184.6	84.8
14,950	184.5	84.7
15,000	184.4	84.7
15,050	184.3	84.6
15,100	184.2	84.6
15,150	184.1	84.5
15,200	184.0	84.5
15,250	183.9	84.4
15,300	183.9	84.4
15,350	183.8	84.3
15,400	183.7	84.3
15,450	183.6	84.2
15,500	183.5	84.2
15,550	183.4	84.1
15,600	183.3	84.1
15,650	183.2	84.0
15,700	183.1	84.0
15,750	183.0	83.9
15,800	182.9	83.9	Elevation Approx. 3-Miles
15,850	182.8	83.8
15,900	182.8	83.8
15,950	182.7	83.7
16,000	182.6	83.6
16,050	182.5	83.6
16,100	182.4	83.5
16,150	182.3	83.5
16,200	182.2	83.4
16,250	182.1	83.4
16,300	182.0	83.3
16,350	181.9	83.3
16,400	181.8	83.2
16,450	181.7	83.2
16,500	181.6	83.1
16,550	181.6	83.1
16,600	181.5	83.0
16,650	181.4	83.0
16,700	181.3	82.9
16,750	181.2	82.9
16,800	181.1	82.8
16,850	181.0	82.8
16,900	180.9	82.7
16,950	180.8	82.7
17,000	180.7	82.6
17,050	180.6	82.6
17,100	180.5	82.5
17,150	180.5	82.5
17,200	180.4	82.4
17,250	180.3	82.4
17,300	180.2	82.3
17,350	180.1	82.3
17,400	180.0	82.2
17,450	179.9	82.2
17,500	179.8	82.1
17,550	179.7	82.1
17,600	179.6	82.0
17,650	179.5	82.0
17,700	179.4	81.9
17,750	179.3	81.9
17,800	179.3	81.8
17,850	179.2	81.8
17,900	179.1	81.7
17,950	179.0	81.7
18,000	178.9	81.6
18,050	178.8	81.6
18,100	178.7	81.5
18,150	178.6	81.5
18,200	178.5	81.4
18,250	178.4	81.3
18,300	178.3	81.3
18,350	178.2	81.2
18,400	178.2	81.2
18,450	178.1	81.1
18,500	178.0	81.1
18,550	177.9	81.0
18,600	177.8	81.0
18,650	177.7	80.9
18,700	177.6	80.9
18,750	177.5	80.8
18,800	177.4	80.8
18,850	177.3	80.7
18,900	177.2	80.7
18,950	177.1	80.6
19,000	177.0	80.6
19,050	177.0	80.5
19,100	176.9	80.5
19,150	176.8	80.4
19,200	176.7	80.4
19,250	176.6	80.3
19,300	176.5	80.3
19,350	176.4	80.2
19,400	176.3	80.2
19,450	176.2	80.1
19,500	176.1	80.1
19,550	176.0	80.0
19,600	175.9	80.0
19,650	175.9	79.9
19,700	175.8	79.9
19,750	175.7	79.8
19,800	175.6	79.8
19,850	175.5	79.7
19,900	175.4	79.7
19,950	175.3	79.6
20,000	175.2	79.6	Approx. Highest Elevation in the USA

 
Elevation estimates sourced from the USGS/GNIS web site (http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=105:1:3201730209069045) except my elevation which was determined by direct GPS evaluation.

 


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