Glass Reinforced Plastic Petrol Tanks & Modern Fuels
This is from the Federation of
Historic Vehicle Clubs
Permitted ethanol
content in petrol to rise from 5% to 10%
Fuels containing above 5% ethanol will need to be labelled, but fuels
containing less than 5% ethanol will continue to be sold unmarked. There
will be a requirement to continue to offer fuels with a limit of 5% ethanol
until 2013. (It is assumed that after this date such fuels will be harder to
find and may disappear).
A number of difficulties have already been experienced by Federation
members, most notably in respect of petrol tanks. Some types of sealing
compounds react adversely to the presence of ethanol in the petrol,
resulting in sticky deposits being washed through into the fuel system.
While this is distressing for the victim, there are sealing compounds on the
market which are compatible with petrol containing ethanol. It should be
possible to re-seal the affected tank with a compatible product, after
thorough cleaning to remove all traces of the non-compatible material.
More serious problems have occurred with composite fuel tanks which are most
frequently encountered on motor cycles. There are safety reservations about
the use of fibreglass tanks which can shatter in an accident, but leaving
this aside, some composite tanks are compatible with petrol containing
ethanol, while others are not. A CONCAWE report , number 3/08, issued in the
last 12 months or so, covers this issue and has indicated that fibreglass
reinforced polyester and fibreglass reinforced epoxy resin materials are not
compatible with petrol containing ethanol. However, tanks made from
fibreglass reinforced plastic are compatible with petrol containing ethanol.
It is currently the case that Shell V-Power petrol does not contain ethanol
or other similar products (oxygenates) according to internet fuel
specification information.
Page last updated 02/06/2010