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[Alan Drover]

That's my view on it too until there's irrefutable evidence of what E10 fuel does or doesn't do to fuel lines, carburettors and fuel pumps.

[diffwhine]

I plan to ask Allmakes / Britpart for confirmation of E10 compatibility of the standard mechanical lift pump, but given its price, even if it only lasts a year, its probably cheaper than the additional cost of "super" fuel. I currently have a test of an Allmakes Zenith overhaul kit and a Bearmach Solex overhaul kit with all the rubber components soaking in E10 petrol. They have been sitting like this for the last three months with only the occasional agitation. So far, I haven't seen any deterioration. Admittedly its not an ideal test as the diaphragms are not being worked, but should be a good indicator.

In my view, from what I've seen so far, this is probably an unfounded concern. Clearly its something we need to watch out for and in particular with failure of the joiner hose to carburettors (especially those ones with filters in line over the hot exhaust). If a lift pump diaphragm fails, there is a risk of petrol getting into the engine oil. A daily level check will show that anyway.

I think for the classic car market, the biggest issue with modern fuels is how they behave when not being used. If the average mileage of a classic car in the UK is apparently 1500 miles, then an awful lot of vehicles are sitting about with deteriorating fuel in their systems. A fuel stabiliser will help of course, but people need to be aware that ethanol absorbs water. This could encourage more unwanted water collecting in unhelpful areas of fuel systems potentially causing corrosion and other damage. The point being that if these vehicles are not being used and are sitting in storage, they must either have the fuel system completely drained or run regularly with fresh fuel. Those of us regularly using our vehicle probably don't need to be concerned.

I'd be more worried about running an elderly fuel injection system such as an EFi Classic Range Rover. There are a lot of small hoses, link pipes, vacuum hoses, regulators, pumps, injectors etc. to fail. I remember that LR used to do a special fuel pump for ethanol enriched markets (Brazil) in the 1980s and 1990s to avoid this problem. The pumps were very expensive with increased stainless steel components to stop internal corrosion.

[Clifford Pope]

BP unleaded in my area is 1.33 ( rounded up)
Times this by 4.54= 1 gallon x 10 gallon tank = £60.38

Tesco 99 Ron in my area is 1.40 ( Rounded up)
Times this by 4.54 =1 gallon x 10 gallon tank = £63.56

£63.56 - £60.38 = £3.18 difference, I'll stick to the super unleaded for 28 pence difference

I wasn't looking at the price of the actual fuel, but at the odd prices of the additive in a smalll bottle.

The "10 tank fulls" stuff is typically twice the price of the one-shot "tip the whole bottle in" but it treats 10 tank fulls not just one.

[Kernowcam]

I was driving my 1994 Vw t4 petrol yesterday and noticed it pinking in 5th when accelerating. Not done before.

Had to actually,pin down.

[Clifford Pope]

Perhaps not, but when you mentioned your triumph and using an additive so it didn't pink with ordinary unleaded my point was that it's rarely cost effective to use and additive and may as well go straight for super unleaded if available in your area.

I was thinking ahead to the day when super is no longer available and all petrol is E10.
All these half-way products are phased out pretty quickly despite promises - 5-star, 4-star. I daresay before long diesel will only be available at the commercial part of the service station, like in the old days.
Then we'll be back to buying petrol in cans from chemists. :)

[oilstain]

I was thinking ahead to the day when super is no longer available and all petrol is E10.
All these half-way products are phased out pretty quickly despite promises - 5-star, 4-star. I daresay before long diesel will only be available at the commercial part of the service station, like in the old days.
Then we'll be back to buying petrol in cans from chemists. :)

I feel the goverment wants to drive older cars and older drivers off the roads and into public transport that in many areas no longer exists

[Genem]

Then we'll be back to buying petrol in cans from chemists. :)

Perhaps not chemists but almost certainly the next 20 years will see a major change in fuel types and distribution. An example might be the change-over from horse-power to the infernal combustion engine in the early part of the last century. Before WW1, almost 100% of road transport was powered by hay-burning horses, cars an expensive luxury & hobby for the rich. ( My maternal grandfather was the chauffeur...). By the 1920s the horse was being quickly replaced by petrol powered lorries and buses, electric trams in city centres. Now its a Horse & Cart that is the expensive luxury hobby.... We too can expect to become "hobbyists", a rarity that people go - "Oooh, look at that ! I remember Grandad had one of them..."  We are already at the stage where the average "classic" does less than 1500 miles a year.  You probably will buy your fuel 20lt at a time, delivered by an electric tax-dodging Amazon van...   

[Eve]

The E5 Esso Supreme 99 in Bedford is 99 RON and 0% ethanol.

I might put some in the Land Rover before the winter lay up to reduce the risk of water damage associated with E10.

But for now the local Jet filling station's E10 suits the Land Rover just fine.

Not all Esso Supreme is 0% ethanol. The Esso website explains that it can't guarantee 0% ethanol in Devon, Cornwall, North Wales, north of England and Scotland (I think that's correct).

[Alan Drover]

According to an official Government site all petrol engine Land Rovers from 1996 onwards are E10 compatible.

[oilstain]

According to an official Government site all petrol engine Land Rovers from 1996 onwards are E10 compatible.

Thats the problem for 2 of my engines, 2.0 & 2.5 petrol engines

[Raybis]

I haven’t used my Petrol strummer for at least six months and it wouldn’t start a couple of days ago. I checked the plug and it was dry so primed the fuel a bit more and one of the pipes came away from the fuel tank grommet. On checking I found both pipes were perished in fact there were just shreds of pipe left in the fuel tank. Normally I leave the tank empty but on this occasion it was left half full. The pictures show what the pipes should be like and what was filtered from the fuel. Is this E10 striking again?

[Wittsend]

Do you use a fuel additive

I use Briggs & Stratton Fuel Fit others are available, as seen on the right (I got it off eBay).



The fuel in my can for the mower is now a year old and the mower (my mower is quite frugal on petrol) has started 1st time this season 

Taken from the Briggs & Stratton website:-

Fuel Fit®
Prevents fuel problems. Period.
Briggs & Stratton’s Fuel Fit® keeps fuel fresh and protects engines better than ever before. Fuel Fit® not only keeps the carburettor clean for easy starting but now also protects against the corrosive effects of ethanol and maintains fuel stability for up to 3 years.

 

[Larry S.]

Do you use a fuel additive

I use Briggs & Stratton Fuel Fit

The fuel in my can for the mower is now a year old and the mower (my mower is quite frugal on petrol) has started 1st time this season 

Taken from the Briggs & Stratton website:-


 

I just rebuilt the Briggs and Stratton 23hp V-twin engine on my mower this past week; used it for the first time yesterday. 

[Alan Drover]

Stihl the manufacturer of my strimmers, hedge cutters, chainsaw and blower/shredder vac recommend draining the fuel tank and running the engine until it stops for long term storage. This I do with the strimmers and hedge cutters after the last autumn cut but not with the others as they're all year round.
No problems starting the strimmers or hedge cutters.
The premixed branded fuel is incredibly expensive. It's cheaper to use super unleaded. Both my Hayter mowers have Briggs and Stratton engines and no trouble starting. I don't drain the fuel from them.
Stihl do a special fuel too but that's expensive.

[Raybis]

First time in about 15 years that I have left fuel in it but I won’t do it again.
Thanks Mr.W I will certainly try that additive in future