E10 fuel

Status
Not open for further replies.
baz

baz

VIP MEMBER
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
7,289
Country flag
Having read various threads on this subject and it basically makes my head hurt I'd like to know if E10 will be ok in my commando
And the main reason I'm asking is because I have petseal in the tank
It's a steel tank that had corrosion in
I foolishly petsealed it just to seal the debris ,this was maybe 20 years ago but I've been using the tank for maybe 8 years it's been fine with e5 despite warnings of impending doom but e5 is getting hard to find in my area
Does the panel think E10 will desolve the petseal? What other issues IE fuel hose? O rings? Maybe the float? The carb is a mikuni TM 40
Cheers
 
I think you’re asking for trouble personally, but I am not speaking from a position of much knowledge.
 
  • Like
Reactions: baz
I'm not familiar with petseal, but I've had Bill Hirsch's tank sealer in my steel roadster tank for 20 years with absolutely no problems. All fuel has been E10 here since it was mandated (2005-2006?) by federal law. My Amals don't seem to suffer any more than they did before that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: baz
Not exactly a cheap option either at £1.55.9 a litre that's around £7.08 per UK gallon for E5 if you can find it
 
The only alcohol related issue I had with my bike was with the petcocks - the rubber sleeves in them swelled to the point that the holes closed up and wouldn't pass gas.

I switched to the ball valve type - no issues since.
 
Petseal, I'd check with the manufacturer? As regards the fuel lines and carbs, turn off the tap as you're getting home and run the bike until it uses up the float bowl.

My tank is unlined, but that creates a problem. I don't fancy leaving e10 in there all winter, nor leaving it empty, both encourage corrosion in our humid island climate. The option as I see it is use it regularly and so turn over the fuel, or empty it and liberally spray the inside with WD40, clean out with a sacrificial gallon of fuel in the spring.
 
I thought the excepted wisdom was to keep full, or empty, just not half full.

If the tank is full to the brim then it can’t absorb much moisture from the air (only what it can get through the tiny cap vent).

Using a cheap dehumidifier to take excess moisture out of the air in the shed would also help I think.

But you’d have to use a fuel stabiliser too, otherwise you’d have an entire tank full to dispose of come spring cos the fuel will have gone off.
 
Fast Eddie said:
I thought the excepted wisdom was to keep full, or empty, just not half full.

If the tank is full to the brim then it can’t absorb much moisture from the air (only what it can get through the tiny cap vent).

Using a cheap dehumidifier to take excess moisture out of the air in the shed would also help I think.

But you’d have to use a fuel stabiliser too, otherwise you’d have an entire tank full to dispose of come spring cos the fuel will have gone off.
Click to expand...
There's a surprising FortNine YouTube on stabilisers. Some actually did more harm and none ensured the fuel was good the following spring. I don't understand how E10 in the US seems OK, but here in the UK, from my limited experience, not OK?
 
I have been using super unleaded in my digger and lawn tractor for last couple of weeks replacing the E10 I had put in. Both running better and much easier to start so will be sticking with super unleaded even though it's probably E5 as I am in one on the UK's no E0 area's.
 
Mart UK said:
I don't understand how E10 in the US seems OK, but here in the UK, from my limited experience, not OK?
Click to expand...
As I've watched this thread and others I've wondered the same thing. From where I live it is a very long way to go to an airport that will let you in to get E0 and then you're told this is the last time. All gas station gas within 60 miles is E10 (usually three grades), and everything I have runs good on it. Most of the remaining stations with E0 in rural Virginia have 87 or 89 octane only.

BTW, there are E15 and E85 stations nearby - and probably coming soon everywhere, especially in non-rural areas. I expect E15 to be OK (maybe raise needle and certainly adjust air screw), but E85 will require jet changes and I'm not sure what else if it becomes the only gas available as is planned.

I only have one lined tank - don't know the lining brand but it seems OK - it is clear but slightly pink. I never line tanks. I get the rust out and keep them full or completely empty with a coating of engine oil. I do have a climate controlled garage and Virginia is generally low humidity in the Winter and high in the Summer.
 
As I’ve mentioned before, I think ethanol fuel goes off faster than ‘proper’ fuel. First, it absorbs moisture. Second, alcohol evaporates faster. So, with the alcohol evaporated and with water dilution, the octane rating and calorific value of the fuel is going to plummet.

So, if you start with a lower octane AND have twice as much alcohol, you end up with paraffin a lot sooner than if you use the higher octane which also has half the alcohol.

Just seems to me that by using Super Unleaded you give yourself a much better chance of always ensuring you have decent fuel in your tank. Whereas with lower octane E10 you greatly increase the risk of having sub standard fuel in your tank, especially if, like many of us, you have several bikes and can’t ride all of them all of the time.

I guess that in years to come we’re all gonna have to get much smarter at managing our fuel use and storage etc.
 
Mart UK said:
I don't understand how E10 in the US seems OK, but here in the UK, from my limited experience, not OK?
Click to expand...
Good question. I have only E10 here and have not had any problems. The bike spends the winter in my unheated basement and always fires right up in the spring.
 
Leaving a full tank doesn't stop it rusting.
Granted, the one I got had been stood for over a year, but it was rusty from top to bottom, and took a lot of effort to get serviceable again.
While it's good advice for diesels to minimise the effects of condensate in the fuel, leaving a full tank doesn't seem to work for Ethanol 'enriched' unleaded.

Pretty much all my bikes are run on super unleaded, which seems to be the way forward for me at least.
 
B+Bogus said:
Leaving a full tank doesn't stop it rusting.
Click to expand...
A full tank will reduce the new moisture getting in but the fuel has been stored elsewhere in at least 3 locations before it gets to the bike tank, so plenty of scope for it already to be saturated and then drop out as water sitting on the bottom of the tank.
 
kommando said:
A full tank will reduce the new moisture getting in but the fuel has been stored elsewhere in at least 3 locations before it gets to the bike tank, so plenty of scope for it already to be saturated and then drop out as water sitting on the bottom of the tank.
Click to expand...
Only quoting from third hand memory (and a none too reliable one at that!) but isn't the ethanol added just prior to dispatch to the petrol station? (More than open to correction, of course)
 
Re fuel stabilizer: For many years I've used StaBil in vehicles that have been in storage with E10 in their fuel tanks for as long as 7 months and they start as if they had been running the day before. We have several cars/motos that do that every year - not driven or started for 4-7 months. No issues at all.

No issues with the Fiberglass tank on my Commando either - whether that's due to the alcohol resistant resin used to fabricate it or the fact that I sealed it with Caswells before it's first use (or both), I can't say.
 
MexicoMike said:
Re fuel stabilizer: For many years I've used StaBil in vehicles that have been in storage with E10 in their fuel tanks for as long as 7 months and they start as if they had been running the day before. We have several cars/motos that do that every year - not driven or started for 4-7 months. No issues at all.

No issues with the Fiberglass tank on my Commando either - whether that's due to the alcohol resistant resin used to fabricate it or the fact that I sealed it with Caswells before it's first use (or both), I can't say.
Click to expand...
My original fastback tank melted with e5
It really pissed me off
A mate of mine sealed his fastback tank right to the brim
But in the end the petrol crept between the sealent and the tank right where the filler cap fits
Resulted in the tank blistering up
That was with e5
He got a new fastback tank made from aluminium from RGMs I think
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top