Forum

[Rattlebattle]

I find it appalling that in the UK the ethanol content is not marked on the pump. Does anyone know whether or not Tesco's 99 octane fuel contains ethanol? There seems to be some tie-in between Tesco's and Esso as the latter accept Clubcards.

[nigelphoto]

Rattlebattle/jefrs . The law is that either pumps should be marked E5/E10 whatever or the petrol station should have a leaflet available to customers at the point of sale stating the bio-ethanol content of each grade of petrol. However, try asking a 16 year old cashier with slicked up hair and a clip board all about it and you'll be met with a glazed stare of total incomprehension. All petrol comes from the same local refinery; the only thing that separates the different retailers is the additives which are put in when the tanker has been filled. Its a bit like Michel Roux Jr. splashing in a bit more white wine vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice into the hollandaise (and about as accurate!) - certainly the bio-ethanol and benzene are the very last ingredients to go in as they have to be kept in special tanks as they're such nasty stuff. I defer to jefrs in this however, as he has personal experience of this subject whereas my research is just by writing to the petrol companies and I have to believe what they tell me. Oh, and personally I'd never fill bikes or car (diesel) up at any supermarket forecourt as you don't know what you're getting. Unless you run a VW diesel and you have to put in Ad Blue - which of course as we all know, is urea. But then when we were students it was the norm for a Saturday night out to pee in people tanks - wasn't it?

[Rattlebattle]

Thanks for that Nigelphoto. You have confirmed what a friend of mine told me some years ago. Before he retired he was a senior executive at Total (UK). He told me that all fuel is the same after it is refined (i.e. the basic product) and that the tanker drivers have a smartcard that determines what additives should be mixed in with their load. Most pumps I see in the UK do not have the clear markings common on the continent. Next time I fillup I'll have a look at the pump. One wonders what would happen if someone inadvertently put E85 (i.e. 85% ethanol fuel) in their engine. E85 is beginning to appear in France and is designed for (I believe) certain high-end Mercedes and similar that have engines specially developed to run on high ethanol content fuel.

[jefrs]

Tie-in can depend on the attached supermarket, we've got a BP tie-in to Nectar/Sainsburys.

[jefrs]

Mercedes are a bit weird in having very variable engine management, they'll run on any old jungle juice and adjust themselves accordingly. Had an old one with variable valves, variable sparks, twin inlet headers ad naus; went like hot snot limited to 155mph. Guess what packed up BER, the engine management ECU.

We have had cases of the tanker delivering the wrong fuel into the wrong tanks at supermarket pumps.

[papasmurf]

Trying to define that 'RE thing', you don't have to be mad but it does help.

[jefrs]

That explains it then. It was always part of my "mad scientist" job description, none of my colleagues were what you'd call normal neither; "you don't have to be mad to wort here but..." (or you soon will be).