[Mgs] Petrol

[Paul Hunt]

The problem with hoses isn't ethanol but the rubbish rubber that they 
are made from these days.  I've had replacement hoses fail while what 
were almost certainly original were still on the car and sound.  
Eventually I removed those and checked them and they were completely 
crack free even when slit lengthwise and opened out. I've had replaced 
carb hoses crack under the braiding, which is impossible to see until 
they actually start leaking, I won't use braided anywhere now.

The usual scare-mongering claim with water in ethanol is that it rots 
tanks so you should brim them over winter.  But that doesn't 'hold 
water' either because ethanol fuels can absorb far more water than 
non-ethanol fuels so there is less liquid water in contact with the tank 
in any case because there is no more water vapour getting into tanks 
containing ethanol fuels than there always was with non-ethanol.  
Absorbed water vapour has no effect on anything in the system other than 
a slight reduction in performance.  If it wasn't being absorbed and 
going though the system causing no harm it would lie in the bottom, 
build up, and eventually be sucked into the system when it reaches the 
filter at the bottom of the tank.  Liquid water in fuel has a far 
greater propensity to damage the engine than absorbed water vapour.

Avoiding ethanol where possible, and using lower dosages, is purely 
about the possible long-term damage that MAY happen in our cars.  
Vintage and veteran cars used materials in their fuel systems that are 
more vulnerable so it is more applicable to them anyway.

The thing I do agree with is that it is scaremongering and being seized 
on by companies to sell you stuff you don't need.  We went though all 
this before with unleaded.

PaulH.