E10 Fuel Winter Storage

ksoholm

ksoholm

Senior member
Location
Bellingham, WA, USA
Lads,

I try to ride as often as weather permits here in the US Pacific NW, but 3-4 weeks can go by without. We have E10 92 (AKI) here, or 89 AKI E0. My bikes are in a garage. Do you guys find that Stabil fuel stabilizing products actually work? Do you fill your tanks to the max and drain float bowls? I could also fill with 89 E0. Or do you just not bother?

I came across this Fortnine Youtube video that indicates that the effects of fuel stabilizers could be overstated.

Thanks -
 
Last edited:
ksoholm said:
Lads,

I try to ride as often as weather permits here in the US Pacific NW, but 3-4 weeks can go by without. We have E10 92 (AKI) here, or 89 AKI E0. My bikes are in a garage. Do you guys find that Stabil fuel stabilizing products actually work? Do you fill your tanks to the max and drain float bowls? I could also fill with 89 E0. Or do you just not bother?

I came across this Fortnine Youtube video that indicates that the effects of fuel stabilizers could be overstated.

Thanks -
Click to expand...
If you're talking about 3-4 weeks lay up.
Just forget it.

Paul
 
I realize that this is a highly-emotional topic but offer my 2 cents worth:

I think the real concern comes from the long-term effects of the combination of ethanol and moisture.

While there is an immediate impact from the higher % of ethanol on older seals that are not designed for it, running that fuel through the motor does not seem to have immediate effects - it'll perform adequately. While not perfect, with the fuel quality (only buy from "Top Tier" stations in US) and octane rating to meet needs, the impacts on my carbureted and injected Laverdas are small in throttle responsiveness.

I live in a dry climate where there has been ethanol and previously the really wicked MTBE in the fuel for years but also keep a Laverda in a cold and very damp location in UK. I drain the fuel from float bowls and tanks in both locations before leaving them parked for long (months) periods because I am concerned about the effects of the ethanol on seals and its absorption of water vapor then settling of the alcohol and water mix out of the fuel into the bottom of the tank - to be determined yet if this is a valid concern or not - I want to avoid it. I've seen some float bowls that are truly nasty-looking after having high alcohol fuel sit in them unused for long periods, I suspect that is a combination of evaporating fuel and the alcohol and water effect on the alloy parts.

In years past I used Stabil in my dry location bikes when parked for long periods because rapid evaporation did seem to result in tar-like mess in the fuel tank but recently I just drain them all. Can't say if the Stabil helped - I just decided it was more prudent to drain all the fuel and burn in the car. Yes, I hear that we should leave tanks full to avoid moisture damage there but that I have not seen that as a problem. I have a couple of the RGS and RGA tanks that are notorious for gathering water in the lower wings but the rot through from water gathering there has not hit me yet - perhaps the draining avoids that issue too.

I don't think a few weeks is an issue with water absorption even in the Pacific NW but if left in tank (tap disk seals), fuel lines and float bowls (several rubber seals) then I'd worry about what the ethanol might do to those older rubber parts. Let's find those parts in Viton which has excellent resistance to ethanol and gasoline?

Bottom line from my perspective, don't leave high-ethanol fuel in contact with older seals for any length of time and don't leave high-ethanol fuel where it can absorb a lot of water from the atmosphere.
 
arancia said:
Bottom line from my perspective, don't leave high-ethanol fuel in contact with older seals for any length of time
Click to expand...
What about bikes that get ridden regularly all year round? How can you stop the fuel being in contact with their carburettors, or does ethanol only rot seals when it gets old?
 
Unless you have a new fibreglass tank, forget the whole issue.
You get more water in your fuel when you fill up at the petrol station than you'll get through the hygroscopic properties of 10% ethanol in the fuel.

I've just finished an experiment where I left 1 Dell'Orto float bowl seal, 1 float needle, 1 set of black floats and a length of Cavis type petrol pipe in 95E10 for over two months.
Result: nothing, no modification whatsoever. The float bowl seal notably is as elastic as the day it was made.

The E10 was then thrown into the tank of my 750S.

The new fibreglass tank on my SFC let go very quickly, on lead free without alcohol.

Paul
 
I'm on the other side of the country [mid- Atlantic] with similar temp/humidity and a month or two of sitting hasn't been any problem in my experience. Being garaged is a benefit as it will reduce the temp swings that would cause the tank to "breathe" and absorb moisture. Stabil certainly won't hurt but it isn't a must. Check out Pure-gas.com and see if ethanol free gas is available near you.
 
Thanks all for your for input. I also tend toward thinking the case against E10 is overstated; but the video I posted above is pretty interesting re. fuel stabilizers and what they don't do. I'm just going to keep doing what I always do: Ride whenever I can, keep the tanks brimmed with fresh fuel.
 
Tippie said:
What about bikes that get ridden regularly all year round? How can you stop the fuel being in contact with their carburettors, or does ethanol only rot seals when it gets old?
Click to expand...
Clearly you can't prevent fuel being in contact with old rubber parts when in use and I think that's the issue, nobody really knows yet as it's a new situation for most of us but many seem to think that the higher ethanol content will have longer term destructive effects on rubber that was never intended to withstand ethanol.

The Zane' bike in-tank fuel lines that were supposed to be submersible ethanol resistant look severely degraded after some years of using local fuel that we're told contains lower levels of ethanol than the new E10 and that adds to my concerns.

Many manufacturers started using Viton for parts long ago and it is unaffected by ethanol and gasoline. I don't know if the pile of NOS bowl gaskets, orings and float needles I have are of Viton or prior materials and don't know how to check so going to be looking at how installed parts are affected over time - I don't think it's weeks, perhaps it's months, could be years or never.

Also, while much fuel "may contain up to 10%" and coming out of a pump now labelled E10, I understand that it depends on the supplier whether it really has that high level of ethanol in any particular delivery so unless you've got the means to verify you don't know if the sample you're testing with really has that %.
 
Two and a half years ago, I laid one of my fuel-injected bikes up after adding Stabil to the fuel.
Then the Corona virus came along, and I was unable to travel to the USA. The bike stood unused the whole time.
When I finally returned, the battery was stone dead, despite a battery tender. So I fitted a new battery.

To my absolute amazement the bike started as soon as I hit the button, and settled down to an even idle.
It seems Stabil does prevent the fuel going off.
Whether it will prevent corrosion or material compatibility related issues on older carb bikes is another matter entirely…
 
stevepm2011 said:
Two and a half years ago, I laid one of my fuel-injected bikes up after adding Stabil to the fuel.
Then the Corona virus came along, and I was unable to travel to the USA. The bike stood unused the whole time.
When I finally returned, the battery was stone dead, despite a battery tender. So I fitted a new battery.

To my absolute amazement the bike started as soon as I hit the button, and settled down to an even idle.
It seems Stabil does prevent the fuel going off.
Whether it will prevent corrosion or material compatibility related issues on older carb bikes is another matter entirely…
Click to expand...
In scientific tests, we use a witness group.
Your conclusion would have been valid had you had a second identical bike without fuel stabiliser.

I'm sure you would have had the surprise of discovering the other bike started and ticked over without the slightest problem.

I have several bikes and so they often run on old fuel without a hint trouble.

Paul
 
Hi Paul,

You are right, maybe I should have said the fuel stabilizer at least appears not to do any harm.
My several bikes often stand for 3-6 months without any issues, without fuel stabilizer. However, 2 1/2 years is a new record for me.
From a scientific perspective, one bike without stabilizer in the control group would not be sufficient enough to reach a statistically relevant conclusion, either. 😁
Regards,
Steve
 
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