Ethanol going up to 10%

[John Wakefield]

Just read the disturbing report in the latest LL received today that the FHVC are reporting that the ethanol content of unleaded petrol will be increased from 5 to 10% next year. This will further exacebate the problem with fibre glass tanks & probably cause other problems as well. Leaking fuel lines & taps, & maybe poor running of the engine itself.
Looks like our old bikes will fast become collectors items & museum exhibits & can only reduce further the amount of bikes that are actually ridden.
All this of course from the EU, who seemed hell bent on driving older vehicles off the road, the FHVC are obviously not being listened to, the sooner we get out of the EU the better.

[Rob]

John,

I am horrified at your criticism of the EU, they are all hard working people aiming to give us the very best of everything. I enclose a number of photographs that emphasise my point.

They earn (well, they receive)12,000.- Euros every month ... !

European MPs "at work" in Brussels are illustrated below:

[merlin]

Just read the disturbing report in the latest LL received today that the FHVC are reporting that the ethanol content of unleaded petrol will be increased from 5 to 10% next year. This will further exacebate the problem with fibre glass tanks & probably cause other problems as well. Leaking fuel lines & taps, & maybe poor running of the engine itself.
Looks like our old bikes will fast become collectors items & museum exhibits & can only reduce further the amount of bikes that are actually ridden.
All this of course from the EU, who seemed hell bent on driving older vehicles off the road, the FHVC are obviously not being listened to, the sooner we get out of the EU the better.

Sadly John I do not think that will change anything ethanol is here to stay.

[Kim275]

John,

I am horrified at your criticism of the EU, they are all hard working people aiming to give us the very best of everything. I enclose a number of photographs that emphasise my point.

They earn (well, they receive)12,000.- Euros every month ... !

European MPs "at work" in Brussels are illustrated below:

Rob - thanks for clarifying .........before I saw this post I was dead against the 5% increase in EU Budget - but you have changed my opinion............poor fellas it can't be easy staying awake listening to all the Euro Ethanol legislation after dining out at our expense in Brussels

Back to topic - do you know a decent supply of leaded or avgas near us? - thinking of ditching anything with ethanol in it
Cheers Kim

[Colin Sparrow]

I've copied this post onto this thread - perhaps a better spot for this debate..?


There is no requirement for fuel companies/sellers to declare ethanol in fuel up to 5%.

Up to last year premium grades contained no ethanol.

The FBHVC said recently that Shell, Esso and possibly BP now sometimes blend ethanol into their super premium brands. With no requirement to declare it, we have no way of knowing if a fuel contains ethanol up to 5%.

10% ethanol is being introduced soon. This will need to be declared by the label "E10" and a warning that it might not be suitable for all vehicles. It will eat fibreglass tanks.

"Protection Grade" with less or nil ethanol will be sold (though who knows for how long?). BUT it will most likely have 5% ethanol eventually.

Basically we're stuffed!
__________________
Colin Sparrow

[Colin Sparrow]

Here's the whole item from the FBHVC newsletter:

Ethanol in petrol

Queries have arisen in the last few months about high octane unleaded petrol (Super Premium) sold in the UK, and whether or not this blend should contain ethanol, as it is supposed to be the so-called ‘Protection Grade’. There may be some uncertainty about this issue, so a few words of explanation might be useful. Protection Grade will be limited to 5% ethanol when petrol of 10% ethanol content is introduced into the market. This has not apparently happened yet, although the legal framework is in place, and it can be legally sold but must be labelled appropriately.

The higher octane Super Premium fuels are blended to achieve the high octane quality without addition of ethanol. However, they leave the refinery in that condition and move on to distribution centres where ethanol may or may not be added. This highlights the problem of predicting which Super Premium blends will contain ethanol and which will not. There was a time when Shell V-Power petrol was definitely ethanol free, but this changed some years ago now, and it is known that ethanol has been blended into Super Premium blends (Shell and Esso, and possibly BP) in some locations. Provided the ethanol content does not rise above 5%, where a label would be required, there is no breach of law or government intention in respect of Protection Grade.

When petrol containing ethanol at 10% volume does reach the market, it must by law carry the label ‘E10’ and a warning that it might not be suitable for all cars, and the advice to consult the manufacturer.

We recognise that the latter advice might be a bit tricky for the owners of some historic vehicles.

[John Wakefield]

Further reading on ethanol

http://www.groups.tr-register.co.uk/wessex/ethanol-update.html

Looks grim.

[johnrunnacles]

My Hawkstone (and my little DOT 8E trialler) run OK on AvGas!

[John Wakefield]

AvGas does not have ethanol but you have to get it from an airfield & it cost a lot more than road petrol. Ok for a comp bike but not viable for roadster or car particularly if you have to re fuel on route.

[greeves246]

fuel

My Hawkstone (and my little DOT 8E trialler) run OK on AvGas!

with diesel you can pay the vat on vegtable oil so why not allow us to use
leaded ethanol free on the roads ?

i use av gas 110LL runs clean and cooler only problem it gathers water
price is little bit dearer than petrol i sold some to rodger neal in the 90,s

probly make your 4T run cooler !!!!!!!

gary

[greeves246]

Vote

simply vote ukip

[John Wakefield]

with diesel you can pay the vat on vegtable oil so why not allow us to use
leaded ethanol free on the roads ?

i use av gas 110LL runs clean and cooler only problem it gathers water
price is little bit dearer than petrol i sold some to rodger neal in the 90,s

probly make your 4T run cooler !!!!!!!

gary

4T runs ok on normal unleaded at moment, never gets that hot particularly in the winter.