Hi All , I've just repaired the fibreglass tank on my Bully after it sprung a leak. I resin coated the inside and let it cure. Having looked up some older postings on the effect of ethanol in fuel, and before i refill it, is ethanol free fuel available now, and what fuel companys supply it, if any.

i sealed my tank with slosh tank sealer its for sale on ebay

been in two year no leaks yet

I've heard that Aspen fuel, designed for horticultural machinery, chain saws, lawn mowers is ethanol free and can be left in the tank.

http://www.aspenfuel.co.uk/news/huge-interest-in-aspen-for-classic-motorcycles/

Only drawback is the price.

If this is not an option, you'll have to empty the tank when it's not in use.

Hi, stickinthemud

Thanks for the link, turns out I've got an Aspen dealer about five miles from me, so i'l check them out.

Most Super Unleaded is Ethanol free , but it's still a minefield.. It lifted the Petseal on my A65 and I had to strip it out. During this process I managed to lift the external paint too, and a re spray was required..

Ethanol also attacked the petrol tap rubbers on my C15 T, although that was an easy cure obviously

Yes your right davetom, it is a minefield. I've asked at two petrol stations about ethanol in their fuel, they didn't know what I was talking about ! ( Ethel who) !

The best up to date information I have from old colleagues at Shell research is that Esso Premium is Ethanol free.

Shell V-Power Nitro contains 5% Ethanol

I've used Shell V-power (optimax before that) for years and have had no issues with fibreglass or rubber being eaten away. I don't drain the tanks, the fuel is left in.

Looks like you've been lucky so far Woody. I emailed both Shell and Murco back in 2011 as I'd heard that their fuels were ethanol free.

This is the spec sheet they sent me for Shell V-Power with the following reply.

VPower and Fuelsave Unleaded are blended with 5v% max ethanol. See atttached datasheets for your reference

Regards,

Chanda

Technical Helpdesk

It may that some refineries do not add ethanol yet as the Murco's reply pointed out

As a company Murco do not have Ethanol in any of their products at this moment in time, however some of our garages are supplied from non-Murco terminals so in this case the Ethanol content would be 5%.

I hope this is of some use to you.

Regards

Chris Blake

When I rang Murco to follow this up they couldn't tell me which garages were ethanol free except that it was the ones in the Midlands.

Many riders are now adding a drop of 2 stroke oil to 4 stroke fuel to put a film of oil on the carb slide etc.

Ethanol has also ruined the tank on my 1999 Triumph Tiger 855. It became covered in blisters after the dampness in the garage last winter.

The best precaution is to empty the tank when not in use and take care with the jet wash round the carb and filler cap!

Good luck

I agree, emptying the tank is the best option - I just forget... I may learn the hard way one day...

Best way is to seal the tank against ethanol laced fuel, apparently some BP stations in the south still sell ethanol free petrol, but its rare and going to get worse as they introduce even more bio into our petrol. Even the additives break down after a while, I've never come across anything that works that well. I store my bikes dry if possible.

Ethanol in fuel can even start gumming up the carb in just a few weeks, and can be a git to clean out of the very small jets.

But to stop it attacking the tank, use POR15 to seal the tank. Best way is use thinners and some old nuts to wash it out, be careful with thinners if you have a plastic tank, shake it until your arms are dropping off, then do it again.

Coat it with POR15 then leave to dry, as the sealer dries it can sometime run down into the tank, so I use a computer fan on the tank to dry it out quickly, keeping more of an even coat inside.

Tank sealing always seems to get mixed feedback, personally having had two tank liners fail, one POR15 and one Petseal I'd only line as a last resort.

The POR15 one was prepared to the letter of the instructions, it was a steel tank with several pin holes - I even took a blow torch to it sacrificing the paint to make sure there was no damp in the tanks seam. It was fine for months then one tank of BP Ultimate and it sprung a leak, I now also avoid that fuel.

i visited frosts who import por15 and was told that no sealant can guarentee to be ethanol proof.

Hi all,

update for this topic, Murco station's in the south selling premium grade fuel is Ethanol free.

I was told by the Murco rep at my local garage. Station's North of Oxford come from a different Refinery though

Hi Guy's.

Just check out the GF tank page on my web site.

Regards Charlie ...www.bsaotter.com.