E10

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Don't know if anyone has given this a thought, but assuming the pump price remains the same it means we are now having to pay the same amount of tax (fuel duty + vat) per litre when 10% of the stuff is not even petrol o_O
 
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Don't know if anyone has given this a thought, but assuming the pump price remains the same it means we are now having to pay the same amount of tax (fuel duty + vat) per litre when 10% of the stuff is not even petrol o_O
It’s still 'fuel' though so I suppose that’s why it’s fuel duty and not 'petrol' duty.
 
Don't know if anyone has given this a thought, but assuming the pump price remains the same it means we are now having to pay the same amount of tax (fuel duty + vat) per litre when 10% of the stuff is not even petrol o_O
It's the cheapest alcohol you'll ever get.
 
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You can strip all the Ethanol out of it with Dyed Water, some vintage motorcycle owners do it to preserve their carburettors.

E10 is the death of most carbs unfortunately unless you replace everything with Viton.
 
You can strip all the Ethanol out of it with Dyed Water, some vintage motorcycle owners do it to preserve their carburettors.
E10 is the death of most carbs unfortunately unless you replace everything with Viton.

Interesting solution for those classic owners affected by the changes.
Both my cars are EFI, but they are 23 & 34 years old respectively so I'll be switching to E5 97 or 99 (dependent on the outlet) octane which will probably make them more efficiently anyway.
 
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Hi,
I have just filled my Mazda Eunos 1993 NA Roadster up with E10. It appears that this isn't suitable, so can I run the tank empty first or is it more urgent than that?
Cheers, Camerart
 
I can’t see one tankful doing much damage.
Hi M,
I've just been reading about it, and it's quite complicated.
Rusting fuel tanks, 30% loss in efficiency, rotting rubbers etc.

Perhpas I'll top up with E5 when I get to 1/2 full.
C
 
Didn't all these scare stories come out when unleaded was introduced, or is my memory playing tricks. I have a 1981 Vauxhall Chevette that I do few miles in but it runs fine on unleaded & has done since 4 star became unavailable in this area & the additive that I used at one time stopped being sold. I'm wondering if there will really be anything to worry about with E10. Not just in the Vauhall but 2 other old vehicles that I have.
 
It
Hi M,
I've just been reading about it, and it's quite complicated.
Rusting fuel tanks, 30% loss in efficiency, rotting rubbers etc.

Perhpas I'll top up with E5 when I get to 1/2 full.
C
It's not really a 30% loss in efficiency. Ethanol has about a third less energy than gasoline, but only 10% (and even then it's only up to 10%) of the petrol will be ethanol, so the worse you could get is an overall loss of about 3%.

By all means top up when half-full, but unless you intend to lay the car up for a long period with the stuff in it, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.
 
Didn't all these scare stories come out when unleaded was introduced, or is my memory playing tricks. I have a 1981 Vauxhall Chevette that I do few miles in but it runs fine on unleaded & has done since 4 star became unavailable in this area & the additive that I used at one time stopped being sold. I'm wondering if there will really be anything to worry about with E10. Not just in the Vauhall but 2 other old vehicles that I have.
Different scare stories, but yes. Back then, the scare stories were about valve seat damage, but it never turned out to be as big a deal as feared. I know that even E5 attacked the fuel lines on my 1989 Alfa though. Externally, they looked fine. Internally, the inner liner turned to jelly and they started leaking. Easy enough job to replace them with SAE J30 R9 fuel hoses, which are readily available and safe for use with ethanol. The corrosion issues are still there though. You can buy various fuel additives which are supposed to stabilise the ethanol. Millers do one, if I recall correctly. Personally, I think I'm going to use the "Super unleaded" stuff for a few tankfuls and see if I can notice a difference in economy big enough to offset the cost to the extent that it becomes cheaper than using ordinary E10 plus paying for the additive. I might still use the ordinary stuff with no additives on a long run, because I know it won't be sitting in the system long enough for the ethanol to absorb water and start doing significant damage. When I lay it up for the Winter, I'll probably do so with Super unleaded in it, though.
 
...E5 attacked the fuel lines on my 1989 Alfa though. Externally, they looked fine. Internally, the inner liner turned to jelly and they started leaking.

And the jelly fed forward to the precision components of your fuel system - carb jets/needles, or injectors. And if injection, then the residue also fed back to the tank to continue clogging the system.

I wonder if the additives work, what it actually means to "stabilise" ethanol. Could well be snake oil. Are these additivies intended to prevent rubber components turning to jelly (hoses easy to replace, seals less so), or to prevent the accumulation of water

Nozzle
 
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