Ethanol test for pump petrol

Luddite · 18-11-2016, 05:59 PM

First of all, I checked some regular unleaded, which I knew should contain ethanol, just to make sure the process worked.

First, I poured 220ml of unleaded into a measuring cylinder then added 30ml of water. Being heavier, the water sinks to the bottom. You can see the boundary line in picture A. I then shook it up to mix in the water and left it for 30 minutes. You can see in picture B that phase separation has taken place, the ethanol has come out of suspension with the petrol, bonded with the water and sunk to the bottom. The boundary line has risen from 30ml to 40ml. This certainly proves there's ethanol in this unleaded and suggests a level of about 4.5%.

Knowing that the process works, I then tried the same thing on identical quantities of Esso super unleaded. Here are the pictures:

Well that's reassuring! Absolutely no change whatsoever. The boundary line, as before, started at 30ml and, after a full hour (just to be sure), was still at 30ml.

This is an easy test with no special equipment needed so, if you've got any doubts about your own petrol supply, why not try it yourself?

18-11-2016, 06:45 PM

I found this aticale and it gives a list of Super Unleaded that do and do not contain Ethonol http://www.groups.tr-register.co.uk/...ol-update.html
Worth a look.

Pete.

uncle duke · 18-11-2016, 06:57 PM

Yeh always worried about amount of ethanol in petrol (s2r plastic tank) so it was good to see that the super unleaded in your area at least doesn't seem to contain any .How old is the tr register article ?? . so i think its gotta be super unleaded for the bike as i always try to do anyway .

Mr Gazza · 18-11-2016, 07:04 PM

Good factual article Luddite, and nice graphic demonstration.. Thank you for posting this.

The "TR" article refers to 2013 in the future tense, so we can assume it is pre-2013 at least. Some of the links don't work anymore either, so I think we can assume that some of the info is out of date.?

Luddite · 18-11-2016, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat Pete

I found this aticale and it gives a list of Super Unleaded that do and do not contain Ethonol http://www.groups.tr-register.co.uk/...ol-update.html
Worth a look.

Pete.

I've referred to that article myself, Pete. It's been very useful but it's been around a few years now with no updates so I'm not sure how accurate the list of suppliers and ethanol proportions are. Interesting to see that the Esso ethanol level was shown as 5%, which is the amount I found in my test.

18-11-2016, 05:59 PM	#1
Luddite Registered User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Southampton Bike: M1100evo Posts: 2,465	First of all, I checked some regular unleaded, which I knew should contain ethanol, just to make sure the process worked. First, I poured 220ml of unleaded into a measuring cylinder then added 30ml of water. Being heavier, the water sinks to the bottom. You can see the boundary line in picture A. I then shook it up to mix in the water and left it for 30 minutes. You can see in picture B that phase separation has taken place, the ethanol has come out of suspension with the petrol, bonded with the water and sunk to the bottom. The boundary line has risen from 30ml to 40ml. This certainly proves there's ethanol in this unleaded and suggests a level of about 4.5%. Knowing that the process works, I then tried the same thing on identical quantities of Esso super unleaded. Here are the pictures: Well that's reassuring! Absolutely no change whatsoever. The boundary line, as before, started at 30ml and, after a full hour (just to be sure), was still at 30ml. This is an easy test with no special equipment needed so, if you've got any doubts about your own petrol supply, why not try it yourself? Last edited by Luddite; 04-03-2020 at 04:08 PM.. Reason: Removal of photobucket images

18-11-2016, 06:45 PM	#2
Fat Pete Guest Posts: n/a	List of petrol brews with and without Ethonol I found this aticale and it gives a list of Super Unleaded that do and do not contain Ethonol http://www.groups.tr-register.co.uk/...ol-update.html Worth a look. Pete.

18-11-2016, 07:04 PM	#4
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,859	Good factual article Luddite, and nice graphic demonstration.. Thank you for posting this. The "TR" article refers to 2013 in the future tense, so we can assume it is pre-2013 at least. Some of the links don't work anymore either, so I think we can assume that some of the info is out of date.? __________________

18-11-2016, 06:57 PM	#3
uncle duke Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: ipswich Bike: S2r 1000 Posts: 138	Yeh always worried about amount of ethanol in petrol (s2r plastic tank) so it was good to see that the super unleaded in your area at least doesn't seem to contain any .How old is the tr register article ?? . so i think its gotta be super unleaded for the bike as i always try to do anyway .