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Petrol driven equipment and the new E10 fuel

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  • Col3Col3 Posts: 3
    I posted this as many plot holders on my site were unaware of the changes to the fuel I never leave fuel in my equipment over winter I think one of the reasons this was brought in was to prevent older so called polluting vehicles from being used on roads but I do not believe they took into account the impact this has on businesses such as tree surgeons and gardeners who rely on petrol driven tools.
    many thanks for the comments most informative 
    colin
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    I went for petrol today and the regular unleaded was E10 already. 
    AB Still learning

  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    I asked the farm machinery company that services my Honda rotary mower if they thought E10 fuel might be problematic

    ” The E10 Fuel is fine to use in your machine but the engine manufactures do
    recommend that you do not use fuel over 30 days old.”
    Rutland, England
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    BenCotto said:

    ” The E10 Fuel is fine to use in your machine but the engine manufactures do
    recommend that you do not use fuel over 30 days old.”
    Unless you use a fuel stabilizer. HONDA,  and Briggs Stratton,  both sell it. 
    AB Still learning

  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    BenCotto said:

    ” The E10 Fuel is fine to use in your machine but the engine manufactures do
    recommend that you do not use fuel over 30 days old.”
    Unless you use a fuel stabilizer. HONDA,  and Briggs Stratton,  both sell it. 

    A quick search on Amazon has the Briggs & Stratton at half the price of Honda for same volume.  BUT, it looks like you use much less of the Honda stuff per litre of petrol.  Nowt is ever straight forward!
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    On eBay, where prices normally include p&p making comparison easier, 250ml of Briggs and Stratton stabiliser costs c.£7 while the same size of Honda stabiliser is around £11.

    However the recommended usage of B&S is 10ml per litre but for Honda it is 10ml per 10 litres. I find that very surprising.

    I reckon a bottle of the Honda additive would last me around 16 years. Is there a stabilising additive for the additive, I wonder. Averaging 7p a month in the lawn growing season, I think I can stretch to that.


    Rutland, England
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    edited August 2021
    My last bottle of Honda stabilizer lasted about 4 years.  That was used in the lawnmower at home, a Honda strimmer, and a Mantis tiller ( same engine as the strimmer) at the Allotments. Seems to make starting easier, and run  smoother. The fact I don't have to keep draining the tanks is the real bonus. 
    Edited to add. I noticed the price difference for super unleaded is much more than I thought,  about 15p a litre locally. 
    AB Still learning

  • C&P this from the Briggs and Stratton site.
    As not sure you can post links on this site.

    • Clean, fresh, unleaded
    • A minimum of 87 octane/87 AKI (91 RON); If operating at high altitude, see below
    • Gasoline with up to 10% ethanol (gasohol) or up to 15% MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether), is acceptable. Some fuel stations are now selling gasoline with up to 15% ethanol. This E15 product is not recommended or approved for use in small engines.
    • A canned fuel product such as Briggs & Stratton Advanced Formula Ethanol-Free Fuel can also be used. This fuel combines ethanol-free unleaded gasoline with a fuel stabilizer to prolong the life of the fuel.
  • StephenSouthwestStephenSouthwest Posts: 635
    edited September 2021
    The advice I've been given by our local machinery mechanic is to use the new fuel as normal, but if you're not going to be using an engine for any length of time: run it dry, then put a small amount of Aspen in the tank, then start and run it briefly. He recommended not using Aspen all the time, simply because it is so expensive, but did say that some tree surgeons do run on Aspen all the time and pass the cost onto their clients.
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    I wonder how many problems would have arisen if this new fuel had been around when lockdown happened.  My wife's car sat there for months, virtually unused, but with an almost full tank of petrol.  Even in my car, which is the one most used, I was only having to fill up about every 6 weeks.
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