The cost of fuel

[Farside]

hey often claim to remove water, how? From the tank? Perhaps they absorb water

The ones that contain methanol will have an affinity for water, absorb it and burn it * along with the fuel. Never tried it on a small single, but can't say I noticed any rough running on a four cylinder. After that tank had emptied there was not a trace of water left, so it had gone through the engine.
* yeah, I know the water doesn't 'burn' but it's being entrained and as we well know, ICE engines tolerate a fair amount of water.

 

[premmington]

I have bought an odd litre of this Aspen 4T - for burning in a Soto high pressure camping stove. It does burn clean and it does not block the generator tube up with soot.

I have once bought one 5ltr 4T can of this Aspen 4T once - the same day I brought a new Honda petrol lawn mower - but the novelty soon wore off (cost @northwest ).

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I have thou - got into the habit of not storing allot of lawn mower petrol - leaving 5ltr cans about full of fuel. What I do now is - go get a 5ltr can of petrol - fill two Stihl 1ltr fuel bottles up. One for my house and one at my Dads (as I cutting his lawn now). Tip the rest into my little Honda AFS 110i scooter thing I go to work on - bit by bit (this uses so little fuel - I never take it to the fuel station).

Both Honda petrol mowers I got hold less than 1ltr - I reckon I get five/six lawn cuts to a litre at both houses - so storing a years worth of lawn cutting petrol in a five litre can is a bit silly.

I got one Honda 4T hedge trimmer - this will not start with old fuel in it - so when I finished using it - I tip fuel out and just run it dry! It don't hold allot - so no real waste.

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The E5 E10 fuel does not store well - I got a little fleet of Skoda Citigo/VW UP loaner cars at my workshop - that don't cover much mileage at all. Even they slow to start - with old fuel in them. Hang on the key abit. So I taken to only putting half a tank of fuel in them at a time (which is more than my customers put in them - they never refuel a courtesy car - so not leaving allot of fuel in them pays in the long game).

 

[zzr1200]

HOW FSKING MUCH!!!!

I called in yesterday to pick up a gallon of Aspen to make sure no rubbish petrol is left in the two stroke tools over the winter. You could have knocked me down with a feather HOW bloody much!!!! This was a gallon, okay five litres but I think I need to be measuring it by the millilitre from now on, twenty six quid. I will not be buying any more.

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When the un-enlighten who bring their saws to the shop for non-starting/running at the beginning of the year, because of dead fuel/blocked jets, get a bill for carb strip/ultrasonic/rebuild/retune for pay £35-00 min,
maybe £26.00 might seem to be a bargain, but please don't tell them....

One of my strimmers gets used once a year maybe, so starting after a couple of pulls after sitting in the shed for 2 years......I'll take the pain/cost of Aspen2...cos I just can't be a**ed to strip and clean my stuff.

My lawn mower get Aspen4, simply for the same reason.....2 pulls and away at the beginning of the year.. .

 

[northwest]

When the un-enlighten who bring their saws to the shop for non-starting/running at the beginning of the year, because of dead fuel/blocked jets, get a bill for carb strip/ultrasonic/rebuild/retune for pay £35-00 min,
maybe £26.00 might seem to be a bargain, but please don't tell them....

I very much get that and it is the reason I use Aspen in the first place but really? £26 I get the feeling someone is having a larrrf!

 

[Pete.]

If rotting fuel lines is all a person worries about keep a can of Aspen. Tip the fuel out, fill with aspen, run it for a minute to flush the lines. Next time you come to ise it tip the aspen back in the can and fill with normal fuel.

 

[Kram]

More effort than the manufacturer recommended process of just tipping it out and running it dry for storage.

One reason why I tip out every day is even the best tools leak a bit of fuel vapour and the area they are stored in will stink.

The ones that contain methanol will have an affinity for water, absorb it and burn it * along with the fuel. Never tried it on a small single, but can't say I noticed any rough running on a four cylinder. After that tank had emptied there was not a trace of water left, so it had gone through the engine.
* yeah, I know the water doesn't 'burn' but it's being entrained and as we well know, ICE engines tolerate a fair amount of water.

Thanks. That is interesting as any significant amount of water in ethanol fuel will cause the ethanol to seperate out into the water layer. This does not occur with methanol?

 

[Farside]

More effort than the manufacturer recommended process of just tipping it out and running it dry for storage.

One reason why I tip out every day is even the best tools leak a bit of fuel vapour and the area they are stored in will stink.



Thanks. That is interesting as any significant amount of water in ethanol fuel will cause the ethanol to seperate out into the water layer. This does not occur with methanol?

I believe both have the same -ish capacity for absorbing water. However, my experience is on older fuel, while it was still a current fuel at the pump.
I don't know about E10, perhaps it's already teetering on the edge state of being unable to absorb any more.
I neither like nor trust the stuff, but since it's all that's readily available around here I have to put up with it. I routinely stablilise any that goes in the gensets or is in jerry cans as stand-by.
I've also started a yearly routine of tipping the gensets out, along with the stored fuel, into the vehicles and use it up, replacing with fresh (stabilised) stuff for stand-by.

 

[lazybones51]

Good idea.

More important to also consider the ethanol content at the pump.

This is why I use super unleaded in my 2 stroke as in my local stations it is still ethanol free.

Which fuel stations are still doing ethanol free? I though Esso was the last to offer Ethanol free in their Synergy Supreme * 99 fuel, but that stopped September last year.

 

[dan.taylor.1]

If you're running normal petrol the rest of the time and mixing 2t oil, buy the straight aspen/alkylate fuel and mix your own, the 4t stuff is cheaper. Also the husqvarna branded stuff is basically the same (not made by aspen any more but very similar specs) and a 5l of that is £19.99rrp Inc vat.

 

[Gareth J]

I wonder if the temperature stability of where stuff is stored makes much difference. If in a lightweight windowed garden shed, on a sunny day they could be +20 by day and sub zero by night.

Temperature fluctuations will cause vapour in the tank to expand and contract, drawing in moisture rich air. Hence, filling tanks helps....?

Most of my stuff is in a windowless stone stable so maybe it's temperature stability helps.

 

[zzr1200]

If you're running normal petrol the rest of the time and mixing 2t oil, buy the straight aspen/alkylate fuel and mix your own, the 4t stuff is cheaper. Also the husqvarna branded stuff is basically the same (not made by aspen any more but very similar specs) and a 5l of that is £19.99rrp Inc vat.

I'll have to phone our local Husky guy to check his price, the place I buy Aspen 2 and 4 from charge the same price for both...

Dan, do Husky sell/supply 4 stroke fuel for their lawn mowers???

 

[willie.macleod]

Come fill your tanks in the Western Isles. Although the pumps have the stickers saying "up to x% ethanol" the local engineer who owns his own filling station informs us that no ethanol is in any of the fuel due to the supplying tanker and we are listed as exempt from the relevant legislation for adding ethanol.

 

[JOEPRO]

Which fuel stations are still doing ethanol free? I though Esso was the last to offer Ethanol free in their Synergy Supreme * 99 fuel, but that stopped September last year.

I am in norn Ireland

Badgers out the road does it.

Or more specifically A29 filling station which is an independent and their super UL is ethanol free thankfully so I run my classic MBs and all petrol equipment on it.

 

[cheb]

Come fill your tanks in the Western Isles. Although the pumps have the stickers saying "up to x% ethanol" the local engineer who owns his own filling station informs us that no ethanol is in any of the fuel due to the supplying tanker and we are listed as exempt from the relevant legislation for adding ethanol.

Delivery available next time I'm off with the van. Just don't tell Calmac.

 

[bricol]

Which fuel stations are still doing ethanol free? I though Esso was the last to offer Ethanol free in their Synergy Supreme * 99 fuel, but that stopped September last year.

My understanding too. But my Lancia has always run fine on 5% fuel and just runs a little better on the super now. In tank fuel hoses started to rot as fuel changed, a couple decades ago - still a problem finding genuinely fully resistant hose suitable for immersion.

 

[dan.taylor.1]

I'll have to phone our local Husky guy to check his price, the place I buy Aspen 2 and 4 from charge the same price for both...

Dan, do Husky sell/supply 4 stroke fuel for their lawn mowers???

Yep.

Husqvarna Husqvarna Power 4T

Alkylate fuel is ideal for 4-stroke Husqvarna engines. Minimizes engine deposits, helping maintain performance, reduce the need for maintenance and prolong

www.husqvarna.com