E10 Petrol - (E10 Gas)

[jeff jackson]

Hi all,
Just got an interesting email come through about E10 fuel in the UK.
please see link:
https://haynes.com/en-gb/tips-tutorials ... ur-vehicle

Bit that worries me mostly is about the fuel seperating into water. Also the statement:
Ethanol is particularly bad news for solder, so older vehicles with carburettors and brass floats will be especially vulnerable

So it looks like there maybe trouble ahead.....
Regards
Jeff
72+2

[john.p.clegg]

" But if your vehicle is left unused for a couple of weeks or more, the water content in the fuel will rise because ethanol absorbs water."

I take it that this is from the air in the airspace in the fuel tank? ....is it not filled with petrol vapour?

" Ethanol is 34% less energy-dense than petrol "

Less mpg or less power ?

John

[Keith Scarfe]

But you dont need to use E10 in the Lotus. There will still be the older super unleaded available, the E5 spec, as far as I know (I do wonder for how long however), the shell vpower stuff which is what I have always used anyway. Isn't that right? I guess the odd splash of E10 if you cand find super would be OK occasionally.

[Spyder fan]

This reminds me of a paragraph in Miles Wilkins “ Lotus Twin Cam Engine” book which states something like” unleaded petrol will no doubt be unsuitable for our cars……… Let’s hope it never happens.

Someone will be along with actual quote soon


It just comes down to maintenance, are your fuel lines over 20 years old? If so it’s time to change them for the latest specification something like this https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/ethanol-p ... aEQAvD_BwE

There is already 5% ethanol in UK pump fuel, an extra 5% won’t make a huge difference in the short term.

Cue all the snake oil salesmen rubbing their hands together,,,, shame on you Mike Brewer for putting your name to those zinc fuel pellets, what a load of cobblers!

[jonnyg]

Hi all, I agree this is a bit worrying at first sight, but it's worth checking out the official Esso website re their Synergy Supreme+ 99 grade fuel for some reassurance.

It states: "Although our pumps have E5 labels on them, our Synergy Supreme+ 99 is actually ethanol free (except, due to technical supply reasons, in Devon, Cornwall, North Wales, North England and Scotland). Legislation requires us to place these E5 labels on pumps that dispense unleaded petrol with ‘up to 5% ethanol’, including those that contain no ethanol, which is why we display them on our Synergy Supreme+ 99 pumps".

Until now I have always used Shell V-Power in any and all of my cars. But since coming across the above (I forget where I first saw this mentioned recently in one of the classic car mags) I have been putting Synergy Supreme+ 99 fuel in my S4 SE (together with the usual dose of Millers VSPe Power Plus or the equivalent Castrol Classic Valvemaster Plus, both of which products claim that they 'prevent ethanol corrosion'). The Elan seems to like it, and if anything my mpg has improved marginally too. I wouldn't use anything less that 99 octane fuel in any case, but it's worth trying the Esso fuel if you can get it. Usual disclaimers.

[The Veg]

If you're really worried, maybe dig into some USA-based classic car and motorbike fora, as we've been saddled with E10 by national legislation for some years now and I think most of the motor-enthusiast community here seems to have a good handle on it by now. Don't ask me personally as I don't have such a wealth of experience with it. I have yet to have any problems related to it but then I don't have the long-term experience with multiple classic vehicle.

And I hope we can avoid getting into political muckflinging with this next bit, but I'm curious about the story of UK ethanol. Over here it's proven so durable in legislation because our ethanol is sourced from domestically-grown maize and the lobby that represents the maize-growers is really quite powerful and well-funded.

[Chrispy]

We've had E10 here in Australia for many years. I've always used either 95 or 98 octane which doesn't have ethanol in it. For a couple of $$ more there's no concern for any of my cars.

[Quart Meg Miles]

" But if your vehicle is left unused for a couple of weeks or more, the water content in the fuel will rise because ethanol absorbs water."

I take it that this is from the air in the airspace in the fuel tank? ....is it not filled with petrol vapour?

" Ethanol is 34% less energy-dense than petrol "

Less mpg or less power ?

John

The aircraft industry used to use water-injection for extra power, so we should be so lucky to get a free boost! I would expect the different vapours on top of the tank, petrol, air and water, to take up proportions governed by their respective vapour pressures. Once the water is absorbed isn't it inactive?.

10% ethanol means 3.4% less energy so perhaps 1 mpg worse. One of our forum members made that observation some years back when he travelled to his boat a few hundred miles with alcohol content in one direction only. I haven't noticed a difference after three tank loads of 10% though my journeys have been more motorway type than usual.

[nmauduit]

Once the water is absorbed isn't it inactive?.

if absorbed to saturation (level depending on the actual ethanol content of the fuel considered) at a higher temperature it may also separate when the fuel gets colder as it could not absorb as much, then for instance the water may react with the bottom of the fuel tank...