Ethanol Inhibitor. Elixir or Snake Oil?

[JW911]

I’ve just bought a fairly elderly ex military Land Rover which is likely to have issues with the ethanol in modern petrol. I plan to run it on E5 to mitigate it as much as possible but as I’m only going to be doing a couple of thousand miles a year at the most, it’ll be sitting around a lot.

Is Esso E5 still ethanol free? I’m in the south east so I know it certainly used to be. Alternatively is it worth using ethanol inhibitor of some kind?

Over to the experts….

[CraigyMc]

JW911 said:

I’ve just bought a fairly elderly ex military Land Rover which is likely to have issues with the ethanol in modern petrol. I plan to run it on E5 to mitigate it as much as possible but as I’m only going to be doing a couple of thousand miles a year at the most, it’ll be sitting around a lot.

Is Esso E5 still ethanol free? I’m in the south east so I know it certainly used to be. Alternatively is it worth using ethanol inhibitor of some kind?

Over to the experts….

Stopped being ethanol free in September.

[100SRV]

JW911 said:

I’ve just bought a fairly elderly ex military Land Rover which is likely to have issues with the ethanol in modern petrol. I plan to run it on E5 to mitigate it as much as possible but as I’m only going to be doing a couple of thousand miles a year at the most, it’ll be sitting around a lot.

Is Esso E5 still ethanol free? I’m in the south east so I know it certainly used to be. Alternatively is it worth using ethanol inhibitor of some kind?

Over to the experts….

My 2286 petrol engine with unleaded cylinder head runs fine on E10, the only problem seems it's more likely to vapour lock on restart on a hot day.

[GreenV8S]

100SRV said:

My 2286 petrol engine with unleaded cylinder head runs fine on E10, the only problem seems it's more likely to vapour lock on restart on a hot day.

Hose degredation will be the main problem with ethanol, rather than valve wear. With higher amounts it might need retuning too.

[stevieturbo]

SUL, E5 has been around for several years and no problems.

Even this E10....a lot of the "problems"....are they really problems ?

My lawnmowers have never complained.

All SUL is E5, if you're that worried, jus use it.

[JW911]

I’ll stick with E5 then. If it turns into a long term keeper, I’ll probably get suitable hoses fitted.

[CraigyMc]

JW911 said:

I’ll stick with E5 then. If it turns into a long term keeper, I’ll probably get suitable hoses fitted.

If it's got carbs, you'd do well to figure out a way to empty them before storage. Ethanol attracts water, which doesn't play well with carbs in the long run.
It's why various lawnmowery type things have a fuel cut-off valve between the tank and the carb, you can just switch the fuel tank supply off and let the engine keep running till it drains the carb, mostly solving the problem.

Water in petrol does really bad things to jets, you get gum and then the thing will not run right until you take it all apart and clean it (which often means disassembly and ultrasonic bath).

[stevieturbo]

CraigyMc said:

If it's got carbs, you'd do well to figure out a way to empty them before storage. Ethanol attracts water, which doesn't play well with carbs in the long run.
It's why various lawnmowery type things have a fuel cut-off valve between the tank and the carb, you can just switch the fuel tank supply off and let the engine keep running till it drains the carb, mostly solving the problem.

Water in petrol does really bad things to jets, you get gum and then the thing will not run right until you take it all apart and clean it (which often means disassembly and ultrasonic bath).

My lawnmowers just sit there, never touched them other than basic servicing and normal use never had any issues with them

I've heard people say they have problems, but it's certainly not my experience and they only ever get regular unleaded which would be E10

[CraigyMc]

stevieturbo said:

CraigyMc said:

If it's got carbs, you'd do well to figure out a way to empty them before storage. Ethanol attracts water, which doesn't play well with carbs in the long run.
It's why various lawnmowery type things have a fuel cut-off valve between the tank and the carb, you can just switch the fuel tank supply off and let the engine keep running till it drains the carb, mostly solving the problem.

Water in petrol does really bad things to jets, you get gum and then the thing will not run right until you take it all apart and clean it (which often means disassembly and ultrasonic bath).

My lawnmowers just sit there, never touched them other than basic servicing and normal use never had any issues with them

I've heard people say they have problems, but it's certainly not my experience and they only ever get regular unleaded which would be E10

I run karts with little 4-stroke engines. You are demonstrating survivor bias. It's only a matter of time.

[E-bmw]

Just going back to the original post title, surely it isn't possible to "inhibit ethanol" it is either there or it isn't?

[stevieturbo]

CraigyMc said:

I run karts with little 4-stroke engines. You are demonstrating survivor bias. It's only a matter of time.

Everything is only a matter of time.

Will I care in 20 years ? doubt it