Ethanol test for pump petrol

Luddite · 18-11-2016, 06:58 PM

Further to posts on this earlier thread:

http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...ad.php?t=54410

There is a lot of conflicting information, (and misinformation), out there on the web about which fuels may or may not contain ethanol. One thing I think we're all agreed on is that ethanol is not good news for our bikes, whether they are old 'uns with carbs that can be damaged/gummed up or newer models with plastic tanks, which may suffer distortion. We need to know the ethanol content of our fuel so that we can make an informed choice.

We're not helped in this by the fact that there is no requirement for petrol stations to show ethanol levels on the pumps.

The present position is that, under BS EN228, petrol can contain up to 10% ethanol. There is no minimum amount and no requirement to display the ethanol content. So fuel could contain anything between zero and 10% ethanol; there's no way of knowing at the pump.

At the moment, until 31 December anyway, there is a legal requirement for petrol companies to provide 'protection grade' fuel with no more than a 5% ethanol content. This is usually the super unleaded fuel but, as with the regular fuel, there is still no way of knowing whether it contains zero or 5% ethanol or something in between.

One of the (many) problems with ethanol is that it is hygroscopic i.e. it absorbs water. In practical terms that means, if you leave a tank of fuel containing ethanol for any length and time, it will bond with the moisture in the air and, once it has absorbed enough water, it will come out of suspension with the petrol and sink to the bottom of the tank (because water is heavier than petrol). This is called 'phase separation'.

Once at the bottom of the tank, it can promote corrosion, gum up fuel systems or cause plastic tanks to swell.

This process of phase separation is how proprietary ethanol removal kits like 'Ethanil' work; just add water to the fuel, wait for separation then drain off the water/ethanol mix, leaving you with neat petrol.

I thought I'd use that process to check whether the Esso Super Unleaded was, in fact, ethanol-free as I had believed.

18-11-2016, 06:58 PM	#1
Luddite Registered User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Southampton Bike: M1100evo Posts: 2,465	Ethanol test for pump petrol Further to posts on this earlier thread: http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...ad.php?t=54410 There is a lot of conflicting information, (and misinformation), out there on the web about which fuels may or may not contain ethanol. One thing I think we're all agreed on is that ethanol is not good news for our bikes, whether they are old 'uns with carbs that can be damaged/gummed up or newer models with plastic tanks, which may suffer distortion. We need to know the ethanol content of our fuel so that we can make an informed choice. We're not helped in this by the fact that there is no requirement for petrol stations to show ethanol levels on the pumps. The present position is that, under BS EN228, petrol can contain up to 10% ethanol. There is no minimum amount and no requirement to display the ethanol content. So fuel could contain anything between zero and 10% ethanol; there's no way of knowing at the pump. At the moment, until 31 December anyway, there is a legal requirement for petrol companies to provide 'protection grade' fuel with no more than a 5% ethanol content. This is usually the super unleaded fuel but, as with the regular fuel, there is still no way of knowing whether it contains zero or 5% ethanol or something in between. One of the (many) problems with ethanol is that it is hygroscopic i.e. it absorbs water. In practical terms that means, if you leave a tank of fuel containing ethanol for any length and time, it will bond with the moisture in the air and, once it has absorbed enough water, it will come out of suspension with the petrol and sink to the bottom of the tank (because water is heavier than petrol). This is called 'phase separation'. Once at the bottom of the tank, it can promote corrosion, gum up fuel systems or cause plastic tanks to swell. This process of phase separation is how proprietary ethanol removal kits like 'Ethanil' work; just add water to the fuel, wait for separation then drain off the water/ethanol mix, leaving you with neat petrol. I thought I'd use that process to check whether the Esso Super Unleaded was, in fact, ethanol-free as I had believed.