I'm not at all concerned and don't expect E10 to give too many problems - as long as the van's in regular use. Maybe my old and original Pierburg fuel pump will finally give up the ghost but I'm prepared for that. Fuel hose is cheap and I'll keep a close eye on the carb, float bowl condition etc. Generally I don't use mine during the winter months and so I probably will fill it with premium (E5 or less) for its annual lay up + a dose of fuel stabilizer as I did last year. Otherwise I'm confident vigilance and regular maintenance will keep us on the road for now. It's future, misguided government legislation I'm more worried about!
Yep, I'm fully prepared for them to start taxing us off the roads. Pay per mile smart tolls, mandatory trackers etc etc. I do struggle with Govmt obsession to need to be a world leader in everything
I note that signage notifying of the change and advising caution by users of older vehicles and motorcycles they may need to get further information. Parts effected won’t be just petrol pipe but float needles, o rings and float seals possibly. Not sure about octane rating of the new fuel. Also. It is hygroscopic so tanks may be affected or fuel standing in carbs etc… who knows. I shall use it and see. Btw the expensive stuff is a higher octane rating. I use it in my scoot and you can actually tell the difference on a small engine.
I switched to super to and fro on our Welsh expedition a couple of weeks ago. A bit more expensive, granted, but the bus likes it.
What I use, maybe snake oil but seems popular in the US with good reviews. I paid £11.50 Inc p&p for 473ml which treats over 300l fuel...
I’d like to know what this stuff is supposed to do. Anyway, factoring the extra effective 4p per litre it’s bound to be cheaper than the difference between unleaded and super (I admit I haven’t looked)
Does the van run hotter that you've noticed. I've actually used Redex octane booster for years, which is fine. Tried their fuel additive cleaner and the head temp rose significantly as it burns hotter to remove deposits. Used once, never again..
So far I've only used it during the last winter lay up, more as a long term protectant to keep the fuel fresh and help prevent any corrosion. So I've yet to use it in anger with E10, in fact I've not actually seen any E10 for sale around here yet. Certainly didn't notice any detrimental effects when the bus came out of hibernation in the spring. I also put a dash in the tank of my old Briggs engined mower and that readily fired into life in the spring with 9 month old fuel in it - although admittedly E5. Now you've mentioned it I'll certainly keep an eye on engine temps if/when I start using the Lucas stuff regularly
The difference is we can re-jet carburettors up to E85 if we have to as the octane rating increases but with less economy. The older fixed EFI systems would need some hardware hacking for the different fuel. Modern flex-fuel EFI cars can automatically switch from E5/E10 to E85, having an ethanol/water percentage detector in the fuel feed to the engine.. The rubber rots with heat as much as the fuel inside. Not worried, used E10 in the past, just felt a little less "lively"
Everyone has an opinion on Ethenol and the lasting problems it causes. The enthesis seems to relate to rubber failure. I Drove to LeMan on E10 without a problem , replaced my fuel lines as they were splitting on the out side due to atmospheric conditions etc. I split the rubber hose to discover the inside was like new , So I’m probably of a minority that doesn’t seem concerned about rubber deterioration and slightly more concerned with effects on the brass components in the Carb Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
What I've seen with today's fuel... is if a car is layed up for a SHORT while the carb jet orifices can skin over with like a very thin varnish. It's enough to stop fuel flowing. I had it the other day on some webers. 1 cylinder wouldn't fire. There was no muck in the carb, but the tiny 52 idle jet hole was skinned over.
E10 is available here for a while. I don't use it because; My generator was seized due to it. Yes, seized. I left the tank valve (or tap? Faucet? Don't know how to translate that ) open. The carb stuck and there was fuel inside the cylinder. As I don't use it often, but run it once in a while though, fuel perished and the cylinder was full of rust! I discovered it during the historic flooding we had 3 weeks ago... Had to remove the head, unstuck piston, clean cylinder and carb to have it run. My father's microbull ran like crap with, switch to E5 98, much better. It is a Koelher engine. Every 2 stroke engines we have run significantly better with E5. So, yes, I'm concerned. Same goes for diesel and red fuel. Bacteria problems. But, up to know, I'm still able to get bio free products, which is a plus value for my customer.
Funnily enough I serviced a small generator we have on the boat yesterday. Luckily it fired up immediately BUT first I put in fresh gas. I learned this lesson a few years ago to always run the carb to empty for storage and to remove all the fuel from the tank. It's a pain but is necessary if we want our kit to run when we need it! In the diesel tank we have been using a conditioner called Fuel Set and have fitted a micro filter called Fuel Guard to try and offset potential problems with diesel bug! So far so good but these are hidden costs to these new fuels!
Modern fuels, in general, are more volatile compared with petrol from the 1950s and 60s, and the addition of ethanol and other bio-derived oxgenating components, increases the proportion of fuel that evaporates at temperatures below 70C. So, yes, it is to be expected that warm fuel will evaporate more readily and leave behind the heavier, less volatile, sticky components.
What I want to no is why no one is kicking off about fuel costs like they used to, the more the fuel increases, the more people won't be able to go anywhere, because it won't be worth going. Which will lower the value of cars, especially classic cars. It £ 1.40 a litre over the road from me.
It's always been relatively expensive in say France and Italy so I guess personally we just accept it and roll over and pretend we are on the Riviera. Weather's nice innit! The choice is to use it or not.
I would say it is the futur trend of individual transportation. Making cars less and less appealing by making them less affordable, more expensive to own and drive, less reliable with crappy fuel and dodgy electronics.
