Ethanol issues ( I finally have a Fulvia!)

[Richard Fridd]

This one is a tube borrowed from a hydrometer, cork at the base. Ruler for reference. Could have bought something purpose made for £5 +.
Petrol to the '100% mark', add water to make another 10%.
Shake and the seperation point is at 15% mark.
Minus the 10% water gives 5% result.
Added dye accounted for.
My calibrated  beaker would be better.
Interested to see your area results and I will test my Esso E5 when I am at my garage next.

Richard

[frankxhv773t]

Should this be a separate thread as it has much wider significance than just Fulvia?

[Richard Fridd]

Brilliant idea Frank, can someone cleverer than me convert this to a new 'Ethanol' thread?

Richard

[Parisien]

Brilliant idea Frank, can someone cleverer than me convert this to a new 'Ethenol' thread?

Richard

I'll set up a new thread at weekend and move relevant posts

P

[Running Board]

this is the result of E5 fuel in my augusta , it even destroyed the brass gauze on the in tank fuel filter on a customers aprilia turning the fuel green , i would dread to think what E10 does

[fay66]

this is the result of E5 fuel in my augusta , it even destroyed the brass gauze on the in tank fuel filter on a customers aprilia turning the fuel green , i would dread to think what E10 does

What a mess!
Someone I know with an Austin 7 said it destroyed his brass float.
Brian
8227

[Mikenoangelo]

James, I've seen nothing like that on my car. Had yours been standing for a long time and which brand of fuel? I wonder if different brands have different ingredients - hard to assess as the fuel you get depends which refinery it came from as much as which brand.

I keep saying this but it's worth repeating - from 1930 to the 60's Cleveland Discol contained 15% ethanol and we never hear that it dissolved brass bits so the problem must be more to do with what is in modern fuel than just the presence of ethanol.

There seems no difference in the running of my Augusta on E5 or E10 but when using E10 I once added Ethanolamate thinking to protect things - it screwed up the lambda sensor on the Air/Fuel ratio gauge I had fitted to sort out the carb so that's not an option.

I try to ensure that the tank is full to the brim before laying up for the winter on with the aim of minimising the fuel surface area through which ethanol can absorb water to cause trouble. Fuel manufacturers reckon on only 2 or 3 months life of fuel in the tank presumably because they bulk it up with highly volatile short chain hydrocarbons (butane etc) which evaporate.

Mike Clark

[Wangler]

If you Google: which metals does ethanol attack, there’s a lot of information out there. It can get very technical and I would recommend it to those who need a cure for insomnia!

I’ve only picked out some of the information from some of the reports but my takeaway is that I would try not use fuel with ethanol in it in old vehicles if I can avoid it due to long term corrosion issues.

[Running Board]

James, I've seen nothing like that on my car. Had yours been standing for a long time and which brand of fuel? I wonder if different brands have different ingredients - hard to assess as the fuel you get depends which refinery it came from as much as which brand.

I keep saying this but it's worth repeating - from 1930 to the 60's Cleveland Discol contained 15% ethanol and we never hear that it dissolved brass bits so the problem must be more to do with what is in modern fuel than just the presence of ethanol.

There seems no difference in the running of my Augusta on E5 or E10 but when using E10 I once added Ethanolamate thinking to protect things - it screwed up the lambda sensor on the Air/Fuel ratio gauge I had fitted to sort out the carb so that's not an option.

I try to ensure that the tank is full to the brim before laying up for the winter on with the aim of minimising the fuel surface area through which ethanol can absorb water to cause trouble. Fuel manufacturers reckon on only 2 or 3 months life of fuel in the tank presumably because they bulk it up with highly volatile short chain hydrocarbons (butane etc) which evaporate.

Mike Clark

both cars where stood through the winter , Texaco fuel from our local petrol station, E5 super unleaded , have also seen an augusta fuel tap rot off with horrible green corrosion , thats not a local car to me so different fuel supplier , j

[davidwheeler]

I suspect it is really water that the ethanol absorbs from the atmosphere rather than the ethano itself.

[Kaha]

I think it is more important then ever, with ethanol fuel, to completely empty the fuel system if storing the car over winter.

Here in Sweden the situation is even worse, here E5 and E10 means average 5% and 10% ethanol over a year. That means that we get a lot less ethanol in winter because it works even worse when really cold, and a lot more ethanol in the summer when we use our Lancias. I will try to go up a size in jets to compensate...

On the other hand, I had a friend with a Alfa 6C 1750 GS, he got very happy when E85 was introduced in Sweden, he did a home mix to about 50% Ethanol, which he claimed was were close to the race petrol used at the time.

[Running Board]

Got the appia out this weekend , i was shocked at fuel belching out of the fuel pump as the brass banjo bolt had corroded through on the output of the pump, then it wouldn't start , you can see why, this again is a well maintained dry stored car with ethanol fuel e5 , terrible stuff , i try to run the carbs dry on vehicles being laid up for the winter and put away hot to evaporate anything left in them

[LCR1967]

This is the process I use to remove Ethanol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9mLbuUSt-0

[fay66]

This is the process I use to remove Ethanol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9mLbuUSt-0

Good to know it can be done, but how many people would actually be prepared to do this?
10 litres of fuel represents about 50 miles of driving to me, so not very practical.
However I do have an esso station about 4 miles away so I fill up there, as reputedly their 99 octane doesn't have any ethanol.
A full tank plus 10lt in my 'Paddy Hopkirk explosasafe can' that gives me about a 200 mile range, more than enough for me to go anywhere these days without taking out a mortgage!
What is of interest is what are those who don't use their cars during the winter going to do?
Will they need to drain the tank Carburettors, fuel lines?
As I can see that creating it's own problems come the spring.
Brian
8227 :

[nistri]

Hi Brian, with mixed driving (town, motorway) a Fulvia (non HF) with a full tank should drive about 350 km. In reality it should do more but it is wise not to trust the old fuel gauge too much. If fuel consumption is a lot higher, the car is out of tune (most Fulvias I have seen are running poorly) or the right foot is excessively heavy. During winter it should be possible to find one day/month when the weather is reasonable to drive out 20 miles. This helps a lot to keep the car in good shape. Best, Andrea