Bio diverse

I have to take you to task over your answer to the fuelling problem with the Morgan 4/4 on 27-08-2011. Whilst you may be correct in thinking that the car may have been misfuelled I think the answer is much more likely to be the result of the poor shelf-life of the rubbish unleaded petrol we are forced to use these days. For a while now my friends and I who have motorcycles fitted with carburettors have experienced starting problems, if the bike is not used for even just a few days the bike will not start.

Drain the float chamber and the bike will start first time. We have to conclude that this current fuel is somehow reacting with the metal of the float chamber rendering it less volatile. The problem though is even worse for older motorcycles as it has been found that the addition of ethanol in the fuel that we buy at the pumps currently 5%. Having spoken to other friends who have bikes with Glassfibre Fuel Tanks, they say that after several months of storage the fuel tank starts to bubble up on the inside and after about 9 months the fuel tank can turn to mush and disintegrate. This must be due to the ethanol content in the fuel. The problem however is going to get a whole lot worse because the Eurocrats in Brussels want to increase the ethanol content to 10% by 2013.I think the public needs to be told.

Asked on 10 September 2011 by RH, Kendal, Cumbria

Answered by Honest John
I take your point. The biofuel element of modern fuels is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture) so that is why as soon as the weather cools you can get globules of emulsified fuel blocking fuel lines. The fuel isn't rubbish. It just has to be used quickly. So the advice has to be not to leave biofuel in a tank for an extended period.
Tags: biofuels
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