E10 Petrol and cars made before 2011

Only just saw this thread, so thought I would chuck my oar in.... there is likely to be little to no noticeable effect from E10 versus the E5 that we are currently using, even those that are being declared as being incompatible - - but (isn't there always a but...) this is a longer term game.. The increased ethanol will cause rubber hoses, gaskets, seals and diaphragms to degrade faster than it normally would. Whilst this will take time, and not all rubber will be affected the same, the risk does remain particularly for older cars.

It is up to us to keep an eye on fuel lines (even on lawn mowers and strimmers) as a fuel hose letting go and spraying atomised fuel all over a hot engine is a bad thing and has already been the cause of car fires with cars running E5. The vast majority of these could have been avoided with regular inspections.

Fuel with ethanol in it does not store as well as fuel without, so it is not a good idea to leave a lot of fuel in lawn mower tanks or jerry cans over winter - unless you add a fuel stabiliser to the fuel, or remove the ethanol from the fuel.

Two stroke owners have a further problem - two stroke oil will not mix as well with the fuel containing ethanol; it will still mix, but not as well, so make sure that you stir/shake the fuel before adding it to your lawnmower/strimmer/chainsaw.

To remove the ethanol (only advisable for small quantities of fuel!!) take a 2-litre empty bottle, fill it with water and add food colouring of any colour, mix well to give the water an even colour. Put the fuel (up to 10 litres) in a fuel safe container that also has a tap (brewing bucket is a good example) add all of the water, shake, securely lid the container and leave overnight - - at least 12 hours. The water will sit underneath the fuel, so gently draw the water off to leave only fuel in the container - you might get a dribble of fuel out with it, but don't worry. Dispose of this safely at your local waste site where they recycle oils and vehicle fluids.

The remaining fuel will have lost some octane, but that shouldn't really matter to things like chainsaws and lawnmowers, but you can add it back in if you wish by adding a splash of octane booster. Always store fuel safely, and NEVER in the house!

 

Isn't that ethanol ?

 

Not always, no - one that gets used by classic car owners is the lead additive (I have seen the Castrol one mentioned, but I'm sure there are others); for our uses on garden equipment, I wouldn't be adding it as I really doubt it would be needed.

 

It is likely a cleaner to stop fuel varnishing the carb and fuel lines, but it could also boost octane slightly as a side benefit; naptha (lighter fluid to you and me) is one that is a common component in a lot of these stabilisers/boosters/cleaners.

 

Servicing of electric vehicles is going to be a significant issue that seems to be (currently) slipping under the radar. They will require the manufacturers software to be able to do the vast majority of things on the car and whilst they will be compelled to share some of that, they will almost certainly not share all of it - - - the bits they do share will cost the smaller, non-dealer garages an absolute fortune.

Home servicing is pretty much dead as even doing the brakes will involve being very close to significant electrical currents/voltages that a home mechanic simply doesn't have the knowledge, equipment or environment to cope with. There is, however, already a shortage of suitably trained engineers to work on electric vehicles that are in use and that is only going to get worse.

Ironically, there is also already cases where those electric vehicles are being charged by diesel generators which basically defeats the entire purpose. We've pushed too hard on this one.