Fuel 'stabilizers' comments please

[Michael D]

As we have  again recently had several post about the swift deterioration of E10 fuel and perchance having come across so called fuel stabilizers like Bactofin Fuel Stabilizer and Briggs & Stratton fuel fit with prices ranging from € 3.05 for 100 ml Briggs& Stratton to some € 7.90 for 100 ml of Bactofin.... I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these fuel additives that claim to counter the  effects of ethanol and of course more specifically: are they actually any good??  More often than not such magical potions do not at all deliver what they promised.

[Reckless Rat]

Snake oil, I suspect. I don't do a huge amount of petrol mileage but use E10 in two vehicles which are "allegedly" incompatible with it and have found no problems with either. I therefore remain skeptical about some of the claims. The Austin runs fine on it and I can't see the point in wasting money on something I don't need and that probably doesn't work anyway.

[Mike Costigan]

I have three cars, a 1931 Austin, a 1953 Lancia and a 2004 Hyundai; all run on E10, and all display a noticeable reduction in performance and a dramatic increase in fuel consumption (especially the Hyundai, which is E10 compatible), to the extent that I find it more economical to use the more expensive E5!

I also have concerns for the long-term use of E10 in 'incompatible' cars; whilst they may well run satisfactorily at the time what damage is being done to brass/copper/bronze components? When I first tried E10, the solder holding the float components together on the Lancia dissolved almost overnight. Was this due to E10? I don't know, but have my suspicions...

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Snake oil, I suspect. I don't do a huge amount of petrol mileage but use E10 in two vehicles which are "allegedly" incompatible with it and have found no problems with either. I therefore remain skeptical about some of the claims. The Austin runs fine on it and I can't see the point in wasting money on something I don't need and that probably doesn't work anyway.

Totally agree, for very similar reasons.

The '26 Austin 12 returned 25mpg on a very recent trip, it has never really managed more than 22mpg in the last 40 years.

The '29 Saloon can be left idle for up to 6 months, with half a tank full, no leaks, starts instantly - always.

Our other Sevens do considerably more mileage, and none suffer (in any way) from using E10.

[Ivor Hawkins]

I’m very much in the “put anything in my old seven” camp, though recently due to a persistent problem with stuck valves, even after reaming the guides, I’ve been using E5 Initially with a shot of Liqui Moly in each tank full and no more sticking valves....I’ll be back on the E10 in the next couple of weeks and see how things go.

Considering Sevens were run during the war and post war shortages on mixtures of paraffin, mothballs and Brylcreem, I’m sure E10 shouldn’t prove too much of a challenge!

[David Stepney]

In my impecunious days as an apprentice, it was known for my first Seven to run on a mixture of 2 star and paraffin at times!

[Dave Mann]

When our daughter's boyfriend filled her Beetle up with diesel, no prizes for guessing who fixed it, it left me with 4 gallons of petrol diesel mix which was consumed by our Sevens at a mix ratio of 10%.
I've had various scrap Seven components (mazak, copper, brass and solder) in E10 for about 13 months and non show any signs of deterioration.

[Ivor Hawkins]

I've had various scrap Seven components (mazak, copper, brass and solder) in E10 for about 13 months and non show any signs of deterioration.

Now that IS interesting, we have all heard the horror stories and I’ve always “treated” the old box saloon to some premium petrol every few fill ups in the hope it will reduce the chances of deterioration of soldered and other fuel system parts...

[David Stepney]

Dave Mann's story about filling a Beetle with diesel reminds me that I once did the reverse of that to the Landrover. I inadvertantly put 20 quids worth of petrol in it by mistake. Once I had realsied the error, I quickly topped the tank off with diesel. I would imagine that the proportion of petrol to diesel was about 30% petrol and, although the Landrover didn't like it very much, it still ran and improved its behaviour as I progressively topped it up with it's correct diet.

However, to return to the discussion in hand, I run both my petrol vehicles on E10 (Fiat panda 4x4 and the Seven) with no ill effects. Whilst i am aware that ethyl alcohol affects some plastics and rubber compounds, I can't think that it is sufficiently fierce to dissolve any metals. I therefore don't see the point in adding any magic compounds to the fuel.

Didn't we have a similar sort of scare when leaded petrol was withdrawn?

[Steve kay]

I would agree with most of the above, a Ruby and a 2CV will happily run on E10, those far distant young and carefree days of finding ways of using TVO from the tanks of friends' dad's Little Grey Fergies have long since been grown out of. So no problems once the fuel reaches the engine. The one issue that must be addressed is the effect on fuel lines. My 2CV has long since had all fuel lines replaced, I once was borrowing an Ami which came to a halt with rotted petrol piping, luckily like any good anorak my tool bag always has piping as well as almost everything else, so ten minutes under the machine beside a muddy lane soon put that right. Replacement floats seemed to be so inexpensive and easy to get that carb floats have been changed.