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Fibreglass Tanks And Ethanol


stickinthemud
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Be very careful about making a blank statement about all gasoline having ethanol. I have done a lot of research on this subject when I started having a 5% reduction in fuel economy in my car when using known gasoline containing ethanol. Most gasolines in New York State do not contain ethanol. Here the pumps are labeled with the ethanol content (usually 10%, some 15%). Check with the local distributors in your area to find out which brands have it. I have had feedback from some trials riders that the ethanol ruins carburetor rubber seals and alloy fuel tanks on modern trials bikes. I would personally recommend that all trials bike owners do not use ethanol in their tanks (bikes or cars) - stick with regular pure gasoline or aviation gas. It will save you a lot of future problems.

This does seem to be nasty stuff as tests seem to reveal that it will strip the fiberglass and damage rubber and plastic products!

There IS still pure gasoline out there, I was in OK last weekend and they were actually advertising it as alcohol free!

That does little for most,and one would actually have to run a water absorbsion test to verify most content. True fuel should absorb NO water when mixed in a small vial! In other words, if I took a 50ml vial, added 30ml gas then 10ml water and shook it, there should be no separation or varience in the settlement of the mix. If there is a change, there is a issue!

Any more modern epoxy based fiberglass resins may be more immune to this, however the standard poly resins are not!

There has been a clear statement put out by Cessna aircraft stating that use of these products may cause fuel system damage!

I have no idea about ally tanks, other than the possibility of the corrosion potential of the induced moisture content. Same goes for steel tanks really!

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I guess I must be Lucky then ... There is a small airport about 5 mins. from my house and I've ALWAYS used ave. fuel in my bikes ... Not only for the octane rating , but for the lead content and the storage properties it possesses . Sometimes due to my schedule fuel may sit all mixed up in a air tight fuel can for a year after a event ... And using ave. fuel I've never had any fuel gel or go bad like todays pump gas will . I've had lawnmower gas go south in a month , making extra work to get the mower running again . And even though The Classic Trial tank on my bike is made from the same stuff that underground fuel storage tanks are made of (I beleive ) I still empty the tank if I know I won't be riding for a extended period . But the best intentions aside , sometimes there is fuel left in it ... And I don't see any issue's developing with Chris's tanks as the fit and finish is superb , and the materials used are the best available now . I just need to locate a Sammy Miller seat/tank unit for the TY80 project to make it totally trick , Then I can deal with sealing a fiberglass tank ....

Glenn

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I guess I must be Lucky then ... There is a small airport about 5 mins. from my house and I've ALWAYS used ave. fuel in my bikes ... Not only for the octane rating , but for the lead content and the storage properties it possesses . Sometimes due to my schedule fuel may sit all mixed up in a air tight fuel can for a year after a event ... And using ave. fuel I've never had any fuel gel or go bad like todays pump gas will . I've had lawnmower gas go south in a month , making extra work to get the mower running again . And even though The Classic Trial tank on my bike is made from the same stuff that underground fuel storage tanks are made of (I beleive ) I still empty the tank if I know I won't be riding for a extended period . But the best intentions aside , sometimes there is fuel left in it ... And I don't see any issue's developing with Chris's tanks as the fit and finish is superb , and the materials used are the best available now . I just need to locate a Sammy Miller seat/tank unit for the TY80 project to make it totally trick , Then I can deal with sealing a fiberglass tank ....

Glenn

I would certainly contact SM to see what they they are using! :rolleyes:

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  • 6 years later...

Bumping this old post as i have a fibreglass tank i am looking to seal.

I was looking to purchase Bill Hirsch sealant from Hitchcocks until i read that it is not suitable for tanks that have contained premix.

A few years since this original post so wondered if there has been many success or disaster stories.

I would drain the tank after each outing so i am wondering if it would be worth bothering with at all.

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Slosh or Sureseal both have good reviews

 

For what it's worth, Shell V-Power ranges from 0 to 5% ethanol content. It varies across the UK with Devon Cornwall and Scotland having the greater content.  I only use V-Power from my local station and haven't had any problems, even with untreated original 70s fibreglass tanks.  About 6 months ago I half filled a jam jar with V-Power and put a piece of old fibreglass resin into it which I chipped off from an old fibreglass repair on a seat that was done some years ago. The piece was about the size of a credit card and about half an inch thick.  As of now, some fuel has obviously evaporated away but what is still in there has no water separation and the piece of fibreglass is unaffected by the petrol and still solid. This fibreglass is just Halfords normal resin, not ethanol resistant resin.

 

I'd guess the V-Power in your area is of the same ethanol content as here

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Bumping this old post as i have a fibreglass tank i am looking to seal.

I was looking to purchase Bill Hirsch sealant from Hitchcocks until i read that it is not suitable for tanks that have contained premix.

A few years since this original post so wondered if there has been many success or disaster stories.

I would drain the tank after each outing so i am wondering if it would be worth bothering with at all.

http://www.aspenfuel.co.uk/

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If you are worried about the ethanol content in the petrol ,maybe you could remove the ethanol with one of the kits from - www.ethanil.co.uk

I have never tried the process myself , but it seems simple enough from the instructions &  I remember Classic Bike magazine doing an article about the process and they found it simple and had no problems.

 

 

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Esso Super unleaded is reputed to be ethanol free at the moment. I think there might be a couple of exceptions geographically such as the South west. I looked at the Ethanil kits but was put off by the fact that it significantly lowers the octane level, might not be a problem to most trials bikes though.

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The only reason they say it’s not suitable is due to the problems of making sure all oil residue has been removed from the tank. They don’t want negative reviews or feedback saying the product didn’t work and fell off the inside of the tank.

The problem with a wet layup polyester CSM (chopped strand matt) tank is that the inside surface is usually very course and often quite porous. If it’s had premix in it can be quite difficult to clean the oil residue out. There are cleaners/degreasers that will do it but they are far too aggressive to use on polyester resin.

All the good tank liners like this are modified pheno epoxies of one type or another. Epoxy resins are good adhesive and it will stick well to clean polyester resin tanks as well as to themselves. If you have enough clean area it should still work but if you have any larger areas that aren’t fully cleaned there is a chance it will break away after a while.

I have never used them but these people do tank repairs as well as selling kits to the public they might be able to advise. http://www.tankcareproducts.co.uk/

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While it is possible to successfully degrease fibreglass tank internals in preparation for an epoxy coating, if you get it wrong, you may end up with a gooey mess on the floor instead of a fuel tank.

I've successfully degreased and internally epoxy coated 3 or 4 old Spanish tanks that had contained premix and the results have been very good, but the degreasing process needs to be done with a full understanding of the risks and consequences before you start

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  • 2 weeks later...
 

I'm not convinced the super fuels are enthenol free. Google will throw up any answer . Statements from fuel companies are the only thing to rely on , unless you can test it yourself. .. which I'm told isnt hard.

I'm starting to use aspen fuel. Apparently it's pure petrol , no ethenol and the salesmen recon is ace lol. It had a very long shelf life .

My air cooled mono's do run better on it. They run completely steady when hot with none of the weakness that you can get with a hot engine.

They certainly run better on aspen. Whether or not it seeps through fibre glass , only time will tell

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