E10 fuel in the UK

[Jonathan Kay]

"The government is consulting on the introduction of E10 – a lower carbon fuel – at filling stations across the UK."

I expect this to be implemented.

A few points from previous discussions:

1. Rubber, plastic etc for automotive use has been made to the appropriate standards for decades.
2. But niche low-run bits might not have taken this into account.
3. All critical plastic, rubber etc bits on Sevens should be thought of as consumables and replaced or checked regardless of what fuel is used. We keep these cars a long time. Lots of advice on this in the archives.

Jonathan

[ChrisC]

Are the aluminum fuel tanks ok?  Have they been sealed or are going to get corrosion from the hygroscopic effects of ethanol?

[Jonathan Kay]

I don't think that there's an authoritative answer, but I'd love to be proved wrong.

A few thoughts:

1. There's a lot of talk of corrosion in the boating world, but it's hard to know the ethanol concentration in what they're using. And boat tanks are often sitting in very humid conditions.
2. There don't seem to be a lot of problems with conventional cars using either E10 or higher concentrations. But I don't know how many have aluminium tanks nor whether coatings are used.
3. Some Sevens are left unused for long periods so the chance of condensation anywhere is higher. But fuel systems only have small apertures to external air.

What should we do:

1. Don't leave Sevens unused. :-) But if you do then fill the tank with fuel rather than the opposite???
2. Share experiences.
3. Ask Seven servicers and fuel tank repairers?

It's not high on my list of concerns.

Jonathan

[jackb_ms]

Is there a marking on rubber hose which are E10 proof?

What about all the "O" rings in the fuel system are they E10 proof?

Jack

[Jonathan Kay]

We found an ASTM materials standard, but I don't think that I've seen one from the UK or EU. I'd start with ACEA.

Jonathan

[aerobod - near CYYC]

Any automotive fuel system components for the last 20 years or so should be able to handle E10. Around the year 2000 vehicles shipped to North America have been able to use E10. My 2000 E46 BMW did 170,000km mainly on E10 with no issues, AFAIK it had the same fuel system components as the European versions (part numbers online seem to be the same) and the other 4 BMWs we've had since then have also run on E10 most of the time, with BMW saying in the manual that it is fine to use.

[john milner]

Not sure about that. I had a fuel hose that cracked up badly on a 2003 Seven after about ten years and the only likely causes were poor manufacturing or E5. My money is on E5. You could argue about a poor service interval but a hose should not become brittle like that after being checked a few months previously regardless of when it is recommended to be changed.

[Golf Juliet Tango]

It doesn't have to be E10 fuel to cause issues.

The first time we stripped down my 21 (2010), the fuel line through the tunnel had become porous in places. Original Caterham Cars installation in 1996.

[Jonathan Kay]

Any automotive fuel system components for the last 20 years or so should be able to handle E10.

Agreed. I suggest that for minority uses such as bits used on Sevens other materials sometimes creep into the supply chain.

Jonathan

[aerobod - near CYYC]

I would agree with that Jonathan. Any component used from a mainstream automotive manufacturer should be fine eg. most components in the fuel system. My 2012 LHD R400D has a remote reservoir for the brake and clutch fluid, as supplied in the factory kit. The feed tubes to the master cylinders sweated brake fluid from new and the carbon black from the tubing quickly discoloured the fluid. Obviously not a very good tube for DOT 4 fluid, even if marked as suitable, I replaced with proper EPDM tubing to solve the problem.