Petition to stop E10 fuel

[Nick Salmon]

If you want to know what was behind the rise of ethanol production look up the energy policies of George W Bush. Some consider him a visionary for trying to break America's dependence on imported oil. Others (me included) consider his actions in 'bribing' the farmers to grow corn etc for ethanol as vote gathering rather than planet saving. Either way, he is pretty much responsible for setting us on the path to E10 and beyond.

[Rogerfrench]

Ethanol raises the Octane rating of fuel, and is a very acceptable substitute for the lead-based additives we used to have. It is not intended to reduce Global warming, Climate change and the like, just the amount of poison in the air. I think some of you have been ill-informed.

I've been using E10 or it's equivalent for 20 years or so, with very minor inconvenience.

[sparkeysprite]

I'm afraid that's just incorrect.  The lower ethanol E5 petrol currently for sale is a higher octane (over 97 in the UK) than the E10 (95 in the UK).  Lead based additives were banned in the UK more than 20 years ago - it had nothing to do with Ethanol..

[Dave Mann]

In all probability many Sevens will have run on a petrol/ethanol mix, remember Cleveland Discol which was available up to the 1968, this was a blend of petrol and ethanol, at what concentration is not known various sources say from as low as 5% to as high as 20%. This was developed by Harry Ricardo, National Distillers and Shell oil in 1928, so in all probability a lot of Sevens may well have run on it.

[David Stepney]

I am probably repeating what has been said in previous posts, but as I am currently using my Seven as my 'daily driver', I have put quite a lot of E10 though the tank these last 3 weeks or so. The car doesn't seem to mind at all. Mind you, in the dim and distant days of my youth, I recall running my then owned Seven on petrol and paraffin when short of money, so I would suggest that Sevens, at least in standard trim will run quite happily on this new-fangled petrol.

[Mike Costigan]

Fresh modern fuel should not present any short-term running problems with or without ethanol. From my experiences the potential problems relate to: 1) stale fuel causing poor starting and/or poor running, and 2) longer-term corrosion and degradation of components within the fuel system. A few years ago, around the time E5 was introduced, I had a number of problems with soldered items failing; I had the collar on a Zenith FZ float needle become detached, with no sign of any surviving solder to indicate where to relocate the collar, and the brass float on a Weber carb on my Lancia just disintegrated, again no sign of any solder on the component pieces. In both cases I was using the still-available leaded petrol, so ethanol was certainly not the culprit. 

However, ethanol is certainly blamed for dissolving rubber pipes and corrosion on petrol tank inner surfaces on more modern classics. Replacing vulnerable components is going to be dependant on suitable modern replacements; rubber fuel lines should be a straightforward replacement, providing it's available in imperial sizes, but critical plastic components in pumps and carburettors may be a different story. As for long-term corrosion of steel components, that seems to be down to ensuring tanks are drained if long-term storage is envisioned.

[Tony Griffiths]

The seller of my 2019 Honda mower gave me chapter and verse on E10 and how terrible it would be to leave any in over winter and offered me a high-priced cocktail to prevent "problems". I ignored him. After 4-months in the shed, the Honda started second pull.

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Second pull!!!!!

There, he was right, hummmppfff.

[Ruairidh Dunford]

*correct…

[squeak]

prescient