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Lucas Safeguard™ Ethanol Fuel Conditioner with Stabilizers...

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J6G1Z:
Now that I no longer can find straight Gasoline without 10% Ethanol added I have started using this product from Lucas.
http://lucasoil.com/products/fuel-treatments/safeguard-ethanol-fuel-conditioner-with-stabilizers  Safeguard™ Ethanol Fuel Conditioner with Stabilizers

I always run Premium fuel in my Air Cooled engines to help prevent pre-ignition/detonation & add a dash of two-stroke pre-mix oil to prevent rust from forming. Now I also add the Lucas additive. I would much rather just purchase a quality fuel without alcohol added, but no longer have that option. I have used Lucas products in my diesel pick-up truck for several years & have been pleased with the results.

Lucas now has a complete Cycle Division with just about every lubricating type of product you could ask for.
http://lucasoil.com/products

Here is a link to assist you in locating non ethanol gasoline in your area.
http://www.buyrealgas.com

Good luck
J.

EDIT: Replaced dead links.

Dougie:
Interesting as one of my bikes has a nylon tank and in the UK they are about to increase the Ethanol content.

What is the base of the Lucas product?

If it's oil would the 'two stroke' trick not be sufficient?

If this is a fix the oil companies should be adding it to their fuel, not us!

Create a problem then sell us a 'solution' bloody capitalists.

J6G1Z:

--- Quote from: Dougie on October 10, 2013, 07:34:48 am ---Interesting as one of my bikes has a nylon tank and in the UK they are about to increase the Ethanol content.

What is the base of the Lucas product?

If it's oil would the 'two stroke' trick not be sufficient?

If this is a fix the oil companies should be adding it to their fuel, not us!

Create a problem then sell us a 'solution' bloody capitalists.
--- End quote ---

I'm not sure what the Lucas additive is made of. It is almost water thin though & looks about like mouthwash. It sure is flying off the shelf at the local bike shop.

J.

Dougie:
Sounds like a moneyspinner right enough.

How many Lucas shares can I get for a 'tenner'?

cdntfindanAscot:
 I had never even thought about what petrol goes in my vehicles, thinking petrol is petrol! but after reading the earlier posts I did a little research and found the following which may be of interest to others, certainly opened my eyes.
Cheers J for bringing the subject up and Dougie for highlighting the fact that it affects us on this side of the pond too (always thought ethel was a US thing  :-[ )

The following report gives a more detailed picture of the likely effects of the use of ethanol-petrol blend fuel.
From the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs newsletters numbers. 3 & 5 - 2008.

Aspects of the use of petrol containing ethanol - Based on a recently published public domain document, CONCAWE Report number 3/08

Fuel volatility
Blending small amounts of ethanol (up to 5%) into petrol does produce a measurable increase in volatility. Oil companies must ensure that fuel volatility meets specified limits (EN 228) so petrol containing ethanol will be adjusted to this specification. However, if fuel containing ethanol is mixed in the vehicle tank with purely hydrocarbon fuel an increase in the volatility of the blend in the tank can result. This may produce unwelcome symptoms of poor hot starting, erratic running including running too rich, or too lean, associated with excessive fuel volatility. The FBHVC caters for a wide range of vehicle ages, and it is highly probable that some will be less able to cope with an unintended increase in fuel volatility, and also some time-related deterioration in performance of cooling systems.  Unfortunately, it seems that not all fuel containing up to 5% ethanol is labelled as such, so the scenario of mixing two types of fuel in the vehicle tank is a realistic one, with a significant probability that driving difficulties may result. Volatility related problems have been discussed before, and there are a number of often fairly simple remedies.

Octane quality

The addition of 5% ethanol increases petrol octane quality by about one octane number.  For this reason high octane unleaded petrol (nominally 98 Research Octane Number or RON) is more likely to contain ethanol than the normal 95 RON standard or ‘Premium’ product.  Refiners do not like giving quality away, so if ethanol is added to the standard product, the blend may be adjusted so that octane quality remains at 95 RON.  Those owners of high performance cars originally requiring high octane five star petrol are more likely to buy 98 RON unleaded, so they are more likely to encounter blends containing ethanol.  However, given the high octane quality of ethanol, and the EU-driven enthusiasm for bio-fuel inclusion, use of ethanol in the normal 95 RON unleaded petrol cannot be ruled out.  Exposure of the majority of historic vehicle owners to blends containing ethanol is increasingly likely as time goes on.

Effects on fuel system metals

Briefly, the presence of ethanol in petrol increases the risk of corrosion of metallic fuel system materials.  This difficulty is recognised from long experience, and effective corrosion inhibitors have been developed.  Responsible fuel retailers should employ a suitable additive to protect their customers’ treasured possessions, but this may not always be the case.  CONCAWE Report 3/08 gives a list of metals not recommended for use with petrol containing ethanol which reads like a metal who’s who for vintage and classic vehicles, i.e.  zinc, brass, copper, lead-coated steel.  On this basis, the type of vehicle favoured by those represented by the FBHVC could have problems in the petrol tank, fuel pipe, carburettor and most fittings.  Modern vehicles have tended to maximise the use of engineering plastics, so will have less of a problem.  However, to avoid sounding too gloomy, it should be remembered that corrosion inhibitor additives are usually very effective in providing protection, and if the products used by the fuel retailers do not perform, a low cost after-market product may well become available for owners of vulnerable vehicles to use. 
   

 

Effects on seals, plastics and other materials
Other no-no materials mentioned by Report 3/08 are shellac, cork, nylon and GRP materials, plus various elastomer and seal materials.  Recommended materials include Viton, Fluorosilicone, neoprene and Buna-N for hoses and gaskets (but neither of these for seals).  Teflon tape is recommended in preference to alcohol based pipe and thread sealing materials.  Tank lining materials used to prevent small leaks in tanks are also in the not-recommended category for ethanol fuels.  This is consistent with a report received by the FBHVC this summer from one owner who had treated his tank with a proprietary sealing product, after which fuel containing ethanol had been used, resulting in a proverbial gooey mess.  The scale of the problem in this case led to the need to strip the fuel system.  It is not currently known whether tank sealant manufacturers are able to supply products compatible with fuels containing ethanol, but their availability would certainly be an advantage.  If such products are not available, their use is likely to decline and rather more traditional methods of tank repair, or even re-manufacture, may become a growth industry.

Effect on gums, sediments etc.

Over time all fuel handling systems tend to accumulate deposits of one kind or another in crevices and corners.  Sediments, gums, rust, lacquer and other materials fall into this category, and generally the older the fuel system the more of such material there will be.  Unfortunately fuels containing ethanol tend to loosen these deposits which then move on to plague the driver with mysterious fuel starvation problems.  There have been a number of references to such problems recently, including in cars used for racing, which arguably may be more likely to be using fuel containing ethanol through the high octane route.  Irritating though this problem must be, there is arguably a finite amount of such material in fuel systems, and thus after a certain time, which will be shortened by thorough cleaning, further use of ethanol fuels will not dislodge more sediment to block filters or jets, so hopefully this problem will fade with time.

Fire safety

Fuels containing ethanol at low levels (5-10%) behave very similarly to those not containing ethanol when burning, so safety considerations and fire-fighting techniques will be similar.  However, high ethanol content fuels have been shown to be capable of de-stabilising or collapsing foams used to fight fuel fires.  Also, pure ethanol burns with no visible flame so making fire fighting more difficult.  Alcohol resistant fire fighting foams should be used with fires in fuel containing more than 10% ethanol, but given the difficulty of knowing what sort of fuel blend is in use in certain older racing vehicles, this type of foam would be a wise choice for all racing applications.
In conclusion, there are a number of unfortunate or negative aspects to the use in older vehicles, of fuel containing even 5% ethanol.  These can be summarised as: an increased tendency to vapour lock, fuel system corrosion and random fuel starvation events from dislodged deposits.  These potential problems in general would support the view ‘if in doubt avoid’.  Unfortunately it seems increasingly clear that it will become harder and harder to do this, so that perhaps inevitably such fuels will become just another part of the picture of using a historic vehicle in today’s world.  Experience is being gained all the time, so maybe a clearer picture will emerge with use.  Historic vehicle owners should be aware of potential pitfalls, as they may be able to take precautions, or may more easily find a suitable remedy for problems which do occur.

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