A question for the fuel tanker drivers. Now that E5 is all we can get hold of lots of pre-2k motorcycles are sufferring extreme problems with the carbs, I’m dreading E10 becoming the norm. Everyone is saying that the ‘NBR’ O rings can’t handle ethanol, yet I have it from an aerospace fuel/materials engineer that they certainly can & it’s NOT the ethanol content causing the damage.
So what else are they putting in our petrol alongside the ethanol■■?
I’m told & I still don’t believe this, that all petrol is pretty much the same in the regional storage tanks & it’s only when loading the tanker is it blended with any additives■■?
Yes the additives are added at point of loading . Although different suppliers have there own silo’s the base fuel is the same coming from the same ship just into their silo at the terminal , when loading the tank the 1st thing you input is the customer number which tells what quantity of additives that supplier has (recipe if you like) . As for the additives them selves some are very corrosive and each time one is brought to the market is has to be tested on every item down the line from metals to hoses to the plastics in some nozzles
there are very few materials that are resistant to ethanol that’s why in some countries it is illegal to use anything other than oe fuel lines. however Bp ultimate is ethanol free along with shell super I believe.
there are a lot more issues caused by ethanol for classic cars and bikes though than just perished seals.
A chap I know in Derbyshire worked for a company called Lubrizol in Hazelwood. We used to go out on motorbikes around the peak district, he was paid to explode engines by adding and removing additives to the lubrication side and fuel side. It was funded partly by the fuel suppliers and partly by the manufacturers. I found it really interesting.
Testing an R1 to destruction takes a brave man, but they knew what worked and what to avoid but there was certainly some benefit to BP Ultimate and Shell Superfuels.
I have brought Shell racing fuel from Germany to be tested for Ferrari, they did it in Thornton Research in Stanlow.
chester1:
Yes the additives are added at point of loading . Although different suppliers have there own silo’s the base fuel is the same coming from the same ship just into their silo at the terminal , when loading the tank the 1st thing you input is the customer number which tells what quantity of additives that supplier has (recipe if you like) . As for the additives them selves some are very corrosive and each time one is brought to the market is has to be tested on every item down the line from metals to hoses to the plastics in some nozzles
Cheers. Clears a few things up.
What’s the chances of the tanker driver getting the recipe horribly wrong? (As I know has happened in the past)
MickCharity:
chester1:
Yes the additives are added at point of loading . Although different suppliers have there own silo’s the base fuel is the same coming from the same ship just into their silo at the terminal , when loading the tank the 1st thing you input is the customer number which tells what quantity of additives that supplier has (recipe if you like) . As for the additives them selves some are very corrosive and each time one is brought to the market is has to be tested on every item down the line from metals to hoses to the plastics in some nozzles
Cheers. Clears a few things up.
What’s the chances of the tanker driver getting the recipe horribly wrong? (As I know has happened in the past)
It’s computer controlled. The driver enters the amount of litres of fuel they want in each compartment and the system works out the amount of additives required and adds the correct amount as it loads.