Removing Ethanol with the Ethanil kit.

[royhall]

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.

[JamesH]

Great write up roy. How obvious is the Phase line when you do the final decant process? Be interesting to see this tested with some of the 98 RON super unleaded fuels that some have suggested are ethanol free? 

[royhall]

I tested the other samples just in a small glass bottle. I marked some 10mm graduations on the side the put in 10mm water and 90 mm of petrol and gave it a good shake. Left it for 2 hours then checked where the phase line now was.

Due to the Ethanol being absorbed by the water the phase line is higher than the 10mm mark. So from that measurement you arrive at a percentage. With the BP Ultimate Super the phase line remained at 10mm, hence no Ethanol.

Sounds more complicated than it really is. Its that easy to test it yourself, all you need is a glass bottle a rule and a marker pen.

Also the phase line on the Ethanil kit was surprisingly easy to see.

[Norniron]

Yes Roy,i have to agree,a great write up.i have watched a few ethanol removal vids on youtube and they have also suggested adding an octane boost to the remaining ethanol free petrol!

[royhall]

Yes good point Norniron.

With 5% Ethanol fuels you lose about 1 octane point on Ethanol removal. But the BP Regular was only half that, so don't think 0.5 of an octane point is too bothersome. If you start with Super you would be fine (but that was found to be Ethanol free anyway).

The big problem wont start until the EU force the introduction of E10 on January 1st 2017. That's when the Ethanil kit will probably be required, as Ethanol free petrol at that point will mainly be unavailable. That's of course if the EU does get its way.

Mrs Royhall is doing a degree in Environmental Studies and is going to do the Ethanol thing as a dissertation, so I may end up being some geeky expert on this subject. Can you imagine the people I could bore to death with this.

[Spitfire]

Great write up, thanks for passing on the information, the other thing to watch out for is that petrol loses octane in clear containers, we always had to sample gasoline blends in brown bottles when sending in samples to be tested for octane.

Cheers

Dennis

[royhall]

Just a point I missed on the write up. The Ethanil instructions make it clear that the petrol must not be stored in the separator tank. I guess the loss of octane is the reason as the tank is almost clear.

[Norniron]

http://youtu.be/RO1hsaxaMXo

[mike the bike]

How long does it take for the water and ethanol to separate out?

[royhall]

The instructions say to leave it standing at least 30 minutes, but I left it 2 hours just to be sure as that's was the general consensus on the internet was. I was expecting a bit more than 2.4% Ethanol to come out, but the standard is up to 5%. When checking on the internet this is the amount that most people are reporting. But I'm not convinced that it has all gone completely, that would be asking a lot. But it is reduced considerably.

[bomber]

Great info, and thanks for sharing it.

[Norniron]

I got this from ebay!
I thought being glass it may last longer (unless i drop it when shaking to mix)

[Greebo]

http://youtu.be/RO1hsaxaMXo

Good Video,
but what a performance,
I don't like filling up at a garage on my bike, so always go to the petrol station with 4 plastic fuel cans which hold approx' 5litrs they last me for about 4 or 5 runs out on the bike.
I could not mess around like the guy in the video, he has obviously got too much time on his hands. 

[Graeme77]

£50 is an obscene amount of money for 2 plastuc bottles and a funnel!
How can that price be justified?
Not hard to work out and then add some lines to work out percentages but thats irrelevant anyway.

[ST1100]

...I may end up being some geeky expert on this subject. Can you imagine the people I could bore to death with this.

Looking at aspects like the scam and self-deception behind the production of Ethanol/Bio-fuels (oil palm plantations are only "exporting" the problem overseas...), the issue is far from boring...

So "moon-shining" a few pints of clear, clean petrol in our sheds for the vintages is one thing... but:
- how to correctly dispose the removed ethanol/water mix?
- alternatives/working additives to use while down the road?