E10 fuel what is the fuss about?

[Reynard24]

According to Esso's own website it still says that for the majority of the UK, Synergy Supreme 99 octane is still ethanol free although their pumps have to carry the E5 labels. Further down it also says that "Synergy Supreme 99 is up to 5% ethanol whereas Synergy regular contains 10% ethanol"
It may be a question of semantics but up to 5% would include 0% ethanol.
For my tuppence worth I have been using Esso synergy Supreme this year and it appears to give better acceleration and cleaner carburation than BP 97 or Shell 99 but that could just be an illusion I suppose. I do however use fuel lines that are supposedly compatible with ethanol fuel and have not suffered any ill effects so far. I do not use regular unleaded in any of the bikes.

[bike63]

Asked if E10 petrol will damage plastic carb floats, Amal have said provided your carb has a black float you're OK - carbs bought in the last 4 years will have this - don't know if you can replace your float with a black one !?

[Eamonn]

Short article found on another website:


The dreaded E10 Ethanol regulation comes into effect on 1st September, becoming the
standard for 95-octane petrol to contain 10% of the stuff. You could still use the super 97+
E5 grades as the definition for this is “Up to 5% max” but some brands could be less.
However, if you prefer to run your stationary engine “Sans-E” (Ethanot ?) there is a way.
Get yourself a 2 ltr. empty plastic Coke bottle or similar and drill a small hole in the cap to
take a bit of strimmer fuel line about 3” long and friction fit this just protruding into the cap.
Pour about half a mug of WATER into the bottle and mark the level on the bottle side.
Add petrol, leaving a space to help mixing and any expansion.
Give it a really good shake to mix (nipping the tube to avoid spillage, or use a spare top).
Leave for an hour or so for the water to settle to the bottom.
You will notice that the water level is now higher than the mark you made earlier.
This is because Ethanol is soluble in water and has mixed with it.
Now the gentle bit – SLOWLY invert the bottle so that the water mixture moves to the cap
and pour it out through the tube, which was needed to prevent any air bubbles which would
stir things up. You could even gently squeeze the inverted bottle to expel just the water.
You now have “E-zero” fuel, but must console yourself that you paid petrol tax on ethanol so
just poured away 10% of the cost! Surely, petrol tax should be just on the 90% petrol, not
the ethanol, effectively tax is up 10%.

[clive]

Thanks Eamonn but what a faff. I have just bought some ethanol proof fuel line from the club. I will fit this if i see any issues developing with the pipe i am currently using and leave it at that.

[Mick D]

Guys, think it through

There are millions of vehicles of all ages currently on the road using all manner of materials in their fuel handling systems. If the introduction of ethanol laced fuel was of concern there would be thousands of product recalls in progress or vehicle manufacturers and their insurers going out of business due to compensation claims.

There's a lot of scaremongering gaining credence from being repeated verbatim on the internet fuelling, (sic), unnecessary concerns.

If you have lined a fuel tank or it's a composite one you may have issues, otherwise it's unlikely.

Regards Mick