Ethanol test for pump petrol

[jonzi]

Originally Posted by Mossleymonster

The F***ers like to keep these things quiet. And the arrest and imprisonment of Englishmen for telling the truth.

You are really boring, its all the same stuff that you spout. This is a forum about Monsters, this isn't the Daily Fails forum

**** off over there if you want to talk about this stuff

[Mossleymonster]

Originally Posted by jonzi

You are really boring, its all the same stuff that you spout. This is a forum about Monsters, this isn't the Daily Fails forum

**** off over there if you want to talk about this stuff

[mickj]

Just had an email from Esso.

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your email.

Please be informed that the Esso super unleaded petrol (Synergy Supreme+ Unleaded 97) is ethanol free and we have no current intention to add ethanol to Synergy Supreme+.



I think it's still the only ethanol free fuel in the UK unless you live in Cornwall, parts of Devon and Tynside.

[Darkness]

Originally Posted by mjgt

. Please be informed that the Esso super unleaded petrol (Synergy Supreme+ Unleaded 97) is ethanol free and we have no current intention to add ethanol to Synergy Supreme+.

Good to know that’s still the case around here.

Thanks.

[Dukedesmo]

Originally Posted by Darkness

Good to know that’s still the case around here.

Thanks.

Indeed, if true and if it remains to be the case then I'll try to use it where possible.

I always use super unleaded unless I've run out and only 'cooking' fuel is available and I've not had any ethanol related problems yet but as all my bikes are quite old and 2 are carburettor equipped, I'd rather not risk it.

At least they've all got steel tanks though...

[Luddite]

Originally Posted by Dukedesmo

At least they've all got steel tanks though...

Having an 1100 Evo with a plastic tank, I've done quite a bit of reading into this subject. I don't want to sound like the voice of doom, DD, but it's not just us plastic tank owners who have to be careful; even steel tanks are not immune although they are at risk in a different way.

Obviously, they're not going to swell, but they can corrode. The corrosion mechanism works like this:

• Fuel is left in the tank for some time.
• The ethanol in the fuel absorbs water from the atmosphere.
• Once the ethanol is saturated and cannot absorb anymore water, it comes out of solution with the fuel and, being heavier, sinks to the bottom of the tank ("phase separation").
• Ethanol is a perfect food source for a particular microbe "acetobacter", which has been found in ethanol underground storage tanks.
• Once the bacteria have feasted on the ethanol, they produce acetic acid, which is corrosive to mild steel.
• The surface of the tank in contact with the ethanol will suffer from "aqueous corrosion" while any exposed area above the fuel will experience "gaseous corrosion". If you've ever opened your fuel cap after a winter hibernation and detected a faint whiff of vinegar, then that's acetic acid at work.

Perhaps potentially more damaging is the effect on any in-tank fuel pumps with their moving parts and critical clearances.

As I said earlier, I don't want to be a scare-longer - if you fill up every couple of weeks, then there won't be time for the ethanol to cause problems, (it's safe while it's in suspension with the petrol). But I think, if you're laying up your bike for any length of time, it's good practice to either drain the tank (and carbs if appropriate) or add an ethanol specific fuel stabilizer.

Roll on spring!

[BigOz]

I've repaired a few steel tanks that have rotted though and they have all had the most serious corrosion on the side stand side at the lowest point which I took to be from the presence of water either though ingress or from aqueous ethanol coming out of solution.

Quite often what looks like just a small pinhole or two turns out to be the tip of the iceberg with whole areas around the holes left tissue paper thin.

I don't know the history of one particular tank that was holed and thin but had no visible rust on the area inside the tank. It may have had the rust removed/treated before it came to me but from the description above I guess it could have been acidic corrosion.

[Dukedesmo]

Originally Posted by Luddite

Scary stuff about steel tanks...

Bugger...

[Mossleymonster]

Originally Posted by Luddite

Having an 1100 Evo with a plastic tank, I've done quite a bit of reading into this subject. I don't want to sound like the voice of doom, DD, but it's not just us plastic tank owners who have to be careful; even steel tanks are not immune although they are at risk in a different way.

Obviously, they're not going to swell, but they can corrode. The corrosion mechanism works like this:

• Fuel is left in the tank for some time.
• The ethanol in the fuel absorbs water from the atmosphere.
• Once the ethanol is saturated and cannot absorb anymore water, it comes out of solution with the fuel and, being heavier, sinks to the bottom of the tank ("phase separation").
• Ethanol is a perfect food source for a particular microbe "acetobacter", which has been found in ethanol underground storage tanks.
• Once the bacteria have feasted on the ethanol, they produce acetic acid, which is corrosive to mild steel.
• The surface of the tank in contact with the ethanol will suffer from "aqueous corrosion" while any exposed area above the fuel will experience "gaseous corrosion". If you've ever opened your fuel cap after a winter hibernation and detected a faint whiff of vinegar, then that's acetic acid at work.

Perhaps potentially more damaging is the effect on any in-tank fuel pumps with their moving parts and critical clearances.

As I said earlier, I don't want to be a scare-longer - if you fill up every couple of weeks, then there won't be time for the ethanol to cause problems, (it's safe while it's in suspension with the petrol). But I think, if you're laying up your bike for any length of time, it's good practice to either drain the tank (and carbs if appropriate) or add an ethanol specific fuel stabilizer.

Roll on spring!

At the riski of being boring again. I'd like to say in an interesting way ......... THIS.
Hope I didn't offend.