There has been a few threads recently about Ethanol in Petrol ruining the fuel systems on classics like ours. It was suggested by MarkCR750 to try the Ethanil kit as advertised on eBay
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ETHANIL-STANDARD-KIT-remove-ethanol-from-petrol-yourself-/151831596991?hash=item2359de4fbf so I decided to give it a go. This thread is about the results of that.
The kit arrived quickly all in one large box. The kit consists of a 20ltr separator tank, a measuring container, and a large funnel.
The first step is to fill the tank with 18ltrs of standard pump petrol.
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The measuring bottle is then filled with about 2ltrs of plain tap water to the clearly marked line.
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The water is then added to the petrol in the tank and the decanting valve is fastened down tightly.
Now comes the workout. The tank needs to be shaken for about 2 minutes to thoroughly mix the contents.
The tank is then placed on a bench with the nozzle facing down.
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The mix is then left to stand for 2 to 3 hours whilst the water absorbs most of the Ethanol and settles at the bottom of the tank.
When this is complete, a "phase" line can be seen at the bottom of the tank. This is the separation of the water and petrol. The tank needs to be tilted forwards slightly to ensure all the water can be removed from the tank. Using the decanting valve, the water mix is carefully drained back into the measuring container until the first tiny measure of petrol appears. Set the container on a level surface and read off the level, this will be higher than the water level at the start.
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The difference in level is due to the Ethanol content absorbed into the water. It can be read off the scale as a percentage. In this case its about 2.4%, that is the Ethanol content. The petrol in the tank is now virtually Ethanol free and can be put back into the bike.
The kit works very well at removing the Ethanol, however it is a real messy faff to do. Also I have breathed in so much Benzene doing this that I probably have cancer now. So I have been getting a few samples in a couple of petrol cans and testing them with interesting results.
BP Regular Unleaded is about 2.4%
BP Ultimate Super Unleaded is Ethanol free
Morrisons cheap Regular Unleaded is about 4.1%
So there you have it, until January 2017 just use BP Ultimate Super Unleaded. These results were in the West of Lancashire, the Ethanol content may vary by region.