E10 fuels

[OldTrilobite]

On 02/09/2021 at 14:20, juanse_2691 said:

Ethanol does not like sitting for long periods of time. I owned a 1961 VW Beetle which I had parked for two years. When cleaning the carburettor before starting it again, there was a dark green mossy goo inside the fuel bowl. It was quite hard to get rid of, but otherwise the car worked fine and started at the first try. Ethanol is known to cause issues if left sitting for long periods of time, but that's the only issue I can think of.

One problem is that the ethanol can absorb water, and over time this can cause some corrosion and tend to emulsify old petrol.

 

I have just bought a new Honda lawnmower and the instructions recommend using E5 petrol. The retailer said that E10 would be ok but not to use any that was more than 30 days out of the filling station pump!  He went on to recommend using one of the commercial additives to 'protect' against this ageing effect.  I don't know if he is right or exaggerating. 30 days sounds like a gross exaggeration to me, but as it was quite an expensive lawnmower I have bought some Wynn's E10 Protector to add to the jerrycan. Rather expensive - 12 quid for 250 ml at Halfords. Enough to treat 250 litres E10 petrol. Claims "Makes E10 safe for all petrol engines; prevents corrosion and fuel oxidation."  I also try to run the Honda carburettor part-dry by turning off the fuel tap for the last few minutes of grass cutting (not practicable on most cars! Most have fuel injection these days.)

 

My 2012 Fabia should be ok with E10 but my very ancient MX-5 does need E5, apparently. Not on sale in small rural petrol stations.

[aka_pseudonym]

For what it's worth here's something I've noted.

When I leave home I have a 3.2 mile run, mostly downhill, on a forestry track, before I get to a tarmac road. And mostly in 3rd or 4th with a fair bit of foot-off-the-throttle for some engine braking.

Prior to E10 I always expected my average consumption, shown on the MDI, to be 38-40mpg when arriving at the main road.  And that's based on multiple trips over multiple years.

When I started using E10 in September that started to go down.  By midwinter I could barely manage 30-32mpg by the bottom.

Now the weather is warming up a bit so my consumption is going back up.  I'm in the 35-38mpg range now.

It's not down to use of the heater!  I do use it for demisting but otherwise I use coats!

So it seems to me that E10 works better when the air it's mixed with is warmer.  Or maybe the engine management system is upping the fuel/air mix - making it richer - because not enough heat is being generated in the engine.  I don't know.  But I'm sure something is different, and not in a good way.

 

 

[AnnoyingPentium]

22 hours ago, OldTrilobite said:

My 2012 Fabia should be ok with E10

 

My 2006 Fabia (1.2 12v BME) is fine with 'the dreaded E10' (). Just the same as always really. I tried going to Super E5 but there was no noticeable difference, not even in MPGs, so I'll stick to the cheaper E10 for it, saves me a fortune.

 

So I reckon you'll be alright.

[Ootohere]

Boris Johnson knows because someone told him that the Green Fuel stuff is guff and crops / food for people and animals is what matters.

 

I can not link the Bio-Fuel & slashing net-zero target stuff just because it is in the Daily Fail and the Tele load of guff publications.

[juanse_2691]

Wonder how many millions of engines have already blown up due to a single drip of E10 touching the virginal, pure, undisturbed fuel tanks and engines many claim to have. Judging by the reaction and sense of urgency of many round here, must've been zillions!