Petrol going off?
Petrol going off?
Author
Discussion

AMG Merc

Original Poster:

11,955 posts

282 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all
Chaps, in case any Nobs would like to contribute...

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/topic.asp?h=0...

Mod, please close thread, ta.

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all
How long and in what type of storage are you talking about mate?

AMG Merc

Original Poster:

11,955 posts

282 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all
sunoco69 said:
How long and in what type of storage are you talking about mate?
In a Noble fuel tank. Say 6 months?

D_G

1,935 posts

238 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all

You'll have no issues. On my race car I fill it right up as it has a steel tank to prevent corrosion, that gets used on the 1st sprint of the year with no trouble.
Make sure the tyres are well inflated and if possible roll the car to prevent flat spots, and disconnect the battery.

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all
In a garage? Should be ok for six months. I would drian to 25% before storage and fill up prior to use.

The problem you have is that they are replacing MTBE with Ethanol as an oxygenator. Ethanol absorbs and attracts water. It is also a solvent so it attacks some engine parts i.e. plastic, rubber etc. Currently we are at 10% ethanol in fuel and this is going to be a problem as they increase the ratio over time.

If you take all the fuel out then everything will dry out and then seals fail etc. Best answer is to get non ethanol based fuel if possible. Racing fuel is the best answer but very expensive option.

Funnily enough I am working on a storage fuel blend for leaded historic cars at the moment.

I wont say the additive is a waste of time but it cant make the ethanol less of a solvent, make it last longer or attract water less. You choose.

Sorry if this doesnt give you a clear cut answer but there isnt an ideal answer. Like I say drain to 25% then fill up with NEW fuel just before you take her out of storage. If it helps, mine was with Jetstream all last winter and I had no problems, I just topped the tank off and gave her a really good run to clear out the fuel system.

Do the Noble tanks have a platic lining?

Really missing mine now BTW frown and want another one.

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all
D_G said:
You'll have no issues. On my race car I fill it right up as it has a steel tank to prevent corrosion, that gets used on the 1st sprint of the year with no trouble.
Make sure the tyres are well inflated and if possible roll the car to prevent flat spots, and disconnect the battery.
But what fuel do you have in it? Race or road fuel?

anotherdom

535 posts

197 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all
sunoco69 said:
Funnily enough I am working on a storage fuel blend for leaded historic cars at the moment.

Do the Noble tanks have a platic lining?

Really missing mine now BTW frown and want another one.
Any chance of a micro brewery style special fuel for the Noble? That would be cool!

No lining on the tanks unfortunately, just plain ali fab.

... and since everyone who sells seems to miss them, I'll try and hang on to mine.

Dom.

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all
anotherdom said:
Any chance of a micro brewery style special fuel for the Noble? That would be cool!


Dom.
Sadly this one is leaded and wont be cheap frown

Blu3R

2,380 posts

228 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all
sunoco69 said:
In a garage? Should be ok for six months. I would drian to 25% before storage and fill up prior to use.

The problem you have is that they are replacing MTBE with Ethanol as an oxygenator. Ethanol absorbs and attracts water. It is also a solvent so it attacks some engine parts i.e. plastic, rubber etc. Currently we are at 10% ethanol in fuel and this is going to be a problem as they increase the ratio over time.

If you take all the fuel out then everything will dry out and then seals fail etc. Best answer is to get non ethanol based fuel if possible. Racing fuel is the best answer but very expensive option.

Funnily enough I am working on a storage fuel blend for leaded historic cars at the moment.

I wont say the additive is a waste of time but it cant make the ethanol less of a solvent, make it last longer or attract water less. You choose.

Sorry if this doesnt give you a clear cut answer but there isnt an ideal answer. Like I say drain to 25% then fill up with NEW fuel just before you take her out of storage. If it helps, mine was with Jetstream all last winter and I had no problems, I just topped the tank off and gave her a really good run to clear out the fuel system.

Do the Noble tanks have a platic lining?

Really missing mine now BTW frown and want another one.
Sorry for this potentially stupid question but I'm in a fairly similar position wanting to lay mine up. Would starting it and letting it warm up every few weeks counteract the problem?

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Monday 12th November 2012
quotequote all
Blu3R said:
Sorry for this potentially stupid question but I'm in a fairly similar position wanting to lay mine up. Would starting it and letting it warm up every few weeks counteract the problem?
I would do that to keep the engine and oil good but that is a whole other topic.

However running it wont help the fuel as it is still there attacking your plastic/rubber and attracting water. Well unless your plan is to run the tank dry and replace but that would seem like a lot of wastage.

Like I said earlier, if you only have 1/4 tank of a little less when it goes into storage then top the tank off full next spring and give it a really good run.

The Ethanol isnt a huge issue but COULD cause problems.

D_G

1,935 posts

238 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
sunoco69 said:
D_G said:
You'll have no issues. On my race car I fill it right up as it has a steel tank to prevent corrosion, that gets used on the 1st sprint of the year with no trouble.
Make sure the tyres are well inflated and if possible roll the car to prevent flat spots, and disconnect the battery.
But what fuel do you have in it? Race or road fuel?
Super Unleaded. The car is 18 years old too..

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Hi DG

Whilst I'm not saying you will have problems with it I would suggest that you consider the impact as the rate of Ethanol increases. I would also suggest that whilst your steel tank will help with the corrosion it wont prevent water in the fuel which could damage other areas.

As said in other post, the choice is yours but I know that if I have spent a small fortune on a car/engine I really don't see the point of risking damage to it for the cost of a good oil and a small amount of work on the the fuel once a year.

D_G

1,935 posts

238 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
sunoco69 said:
Hi DG

Whilst I'm not saying you will have problems with it I would suggest that you consider the impact as the rate of Ethanol increases. I would also suggest that whilst your steel tank will help with the corrosion it wont prevent water in the fuel which could damage other areas.

As said in other post, the choice is yours but I know that if I have spent a small fortune on a car/engine I really don't see the point of risking damage to it for the cost of a good oil and a small amount of work on the the fuel once a year.
Thanks, you are obviously an expert so maybe it's something to consider. I'm careful when laying the car up and also when the car returns to use, it gets a good inspection prior to the first event as well as the fluids renewed.
So how much water can get into the fuel? Brake fluid is hygroscopic but I've never seen an issue even when it's years old old, I guess it's the corrosive effects of the ethanol that's more of the issue?

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
D_G said:
Thanks, you are obviously an expert so maybe it's something to consider. I'm careful when laying the car up and also when the car returns to use, it gets a good inspection prior to the first event as well as the fluids renewed.
So how much water can get into the fuel? Brake fluid is hygroscopic but I've never seen an issue even when it's years old old, I guess it's the corrosive effects of the ethanol that's more of the issue?
I will certainly put the corrosive element highest. however the water can also cause concern. In a 200ltr drum I have seen as much as 3 ltrs of water. Might not sound a lot but as it will sit at the bottom of your tank it can be a real pain.

AMG Merc

Original Poster:

11,955 posts

282 months

Tuesday 13th November 2012
quotequote all
Rather than starting a new thread about laying up cars for the winter I found this as a couple of Nobs here were talking about keeping the interior dry when outside...

http://www.holden.co.uk/displayproducts.asp?sg=3&a...

As an aside they also have some similar looking gauges...

http://www.holden.co.uk/displayproducts.asp?sg=2&a...