Aspen fuel

[Carfan]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

I only use Aspen for over winter storage and then it's loads easier than "cleaning" regular fuel. During the summer boating season I use normal pump fuel which has never been a problem.

Is there no E5 in Ireland?

There's no E5 available here , but I found that on removing the ethanol from E10 it was no where near 10 % !

I note there is ECOMAXX fuel from Holland which seems to be similar to Aspen ,but much cheaper.

[Carfan]

Originally Posted by Dadeo

So I take it that ethanol free fuel from the pump is not a thing in Europe... at all? Where I live in upstate New York state I can get high octane premium without ethanol for about a half a dollar a gallon (US) more than regular premium. It's usually about $4.25 a gallon when regular gas is $3.25 a gallon. It's not at every filling station, I'd guess ethanol free gas is available at about 10 to 20 percent of all stations in our area. And ethanol free gas is the only kind of gas you can get at a marina filling dock. I know of no marina that sells regular gas anymore in the USA.

Interesting to learn the situation in the USA , fuel around Europe varies quite a bit I would think, in Ireland ethanol free isnt available from the pump.

Do you find that with the pump ethanol free fuel there are any fuel quality deterioration problems during long term storage ?

[Carfan]

Originally Posted by dhaglund

Yes, it is heaps better with regard to emissions. Aspen is regular petrol, just highly cleaned. In a scenario where you're actually standing in the exhaust this makes a big difference. Such as when running a chainsaw on a windless winter day when the exhaust lingers.

With regard to storage over time... I don't know.

Interesting point regarding emissions & chainsaw use.

I'm particularly interested to learn whether the Aspen is any more beneficial from a storage viewpoint than petrol with ethanol removed.

There are a lot of 'snake oil' additive products out there which are supposed to counteract the negative effects of ethanol. A friend was informed by a qualified engineer that most of these are nonsense. Apparently the 'safety data sheets' have to give some idea of rhe makeup of a product, I suppose in case of fire etc.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Carfan

I'm particularly interested to learn whether the Aspen is any more beneficial from a storage viewpoint than petrol with ethanol removed.

There are a lot of 'snake oil' additive products out there...

One of the big selling points of Aspen is that it doesn't gum up carbs during long term storage, and that's a pre-ethanol issue. My suspicious nature tends to lean into the idea that fuel life extenders are snake oil, but use them because they 'can't hurt', I hope.

I'm not overly surprised that googling 'alkylate petrol' mostly leads back to sales for Aspen and similar products, not to a meaningful explanation of what it actually IS.

But I did find this:
https://www.afpm.org/newsroom/blog/a...eaner-gasoline

Suggesting that it should store better than standard ethanol free pump fuel?

[Fenlander]

>>>a meaningful explanation of what it actually IS.

Aspen or any other alkylate fuel is made from the gas at the top tier of the crude oil distillation process which is then synthetically made back to a liquid.

Hence it being a very clean fuel in much the same way you can get distilled water by boiling a kettle and condensing the steam to water on a cold surface.

[Dadeo]

Originally Posted by Carfan

Interesting to learn the situation in the USA , fuel around Europe varies quite a bit I would think, in Ireland ethanol free isnt available from the pump.

Do you find that with the pump ethanol free fuel there are any fuel quality deterioration problems during long term storage ?

While ethanol free fuel lasts longer in storage as it doesn't attract water, but it doesn't meet the USA standard for being a "Top Tier" automotive fuel. I try to add stabilizer to my fuels in the fall, never knowing when the snow will (or won't) fall. I winterize the 9.8 Tohatsu as late in the fall as possible. Right now its sitting on the beach, covered by snow, because I use it in mid winter as our lake generally does not freeze.

[Carfan]

Originally Posted by Dadeo

While ethanol free fuel lasts longer in storage as it doesn't attract water, but it doesn't meet the USA standard for being a "Top Tier" automotive fuel. I try to add stabilizer to my fuels in the fall, never knowing when the snow will (or won't) fall. I winterize the 9.8 Tohatsu as late in the fall as possible. Right now its sitting on the beach, covered by snow, because I use it in mid winter as our lake generally does not freeze.

Interesting, from experience over the years from using a stabiliser with ethanol free & not using a stabiliser when in prolonged storage, have you noticed a difference ? Or is there an element of snake oil about stabilisers too ?
Some say Aspen can last years

[Fenlander]

I’ve seen different sources give Aspen and similar fuels a stored life of three to five years. The source I go by is five years in a full sealed container and two years in an engine’s fuel tank and fuel system.