E10 in Prius Plugin

[johalareewi]

Topped up the fuel in my gen2 plugin prius yesterday ready for a long trip and the unleaded was E10.  Will be interesting to see the impact on mpg compared to the E5 i have been using.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Was it E10? Fuel companies have had to label pumps with 'up to E10' before the end August, and this means that E5 is covered.

[PeteB]

I guess it will be a little while before we can assume we're filling with E10.

Who knows whether the next few tanker deliveries will still be E5 while they work the stocks through the system, or is the mix done at the depots when they fill the tankers?

[TonyHSD]

I don’t think there will be immediate effect on consumption or any issue, you may notice a low power in mid range rpm opposite to when filled up with better quality fuel or premium 99. Recommendation is not to leave in tank unused for long periods over 4 weeks and phev were mentioned when mostly been driven in towns on pure ev , but long trips fill ups and drains the tank should be ok. I am on my second tank of 99 Tesco and the car feels nicer to drive , price it’s same as 95 from bp. 👍

[altocumulus]

It's the longevity of E10 in the tank that's going to be a pest! I had E5 for a year without detriment! 

[johalareewi]

8 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Was it E10? Fuel companies have had to label pumps with 'up to E10' before the end August, and this means that E5 is covered.

How can one tell?  The pump label had the E10  logo (new sticker over the old E5 one) so i assumed that is what they were dispensing.  It didn't say up to E10.  Just that it was E10.

[FROSTYBALLS]

12 minutes ago, johalareewi said:

How can one tell?  The pump label had the E10  logo (new sticker over the old E5 one) so i assumed that is what they were dispensing.  It didn't say up to E10.  Just that it was E10.

You can't.

Supposedly from today (1st Sept) new supplies will be E10, but if there is E5 remaining in the fuel company's tanks, which is likely, it will take a few tank replenishments before the fuel supplied is actually just E10. Same with your car's petrol tank.

[PeteB]

20 minutes ago, johalareewi said:

How can one tell?

Good question.  The Tesco station I use had the E10 stickers on the pumps over a week ago.  I guess you could ask the forecourt staff, but would they know, and would they use a fob off answer if they didn't?

[Catlover]

It’s highly unlikely there would have been a tanker with E10 fuel at every filling station country wide just waiting for the strike of midnight just gone. That’s beyond thinking about. So somewhere there will be pumps, and I suspect lots of them, where there will still be E5 in what are pumps marked E10 and that would be ok because it’s up to 10%, and E5 (up to 5%) is up to 10% as well. 

[Cyker]

My local petrol pumps have had E10 stickers on them since July!!

I never did find out conclusively whether they were actually dispensing E10 or not at the time tho'...

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

6 minutes ago, Cyker said:

My local petrol pumps have had E10 stickers on them since July!!

I never did find out conclusively whether they were actually dispensing E10 or not at the time tho'...

As I've said previously, Government required petrol pumps to be re-labelled before the end of August, but this didn't mean that petrol in the pumps was E10.

[Cyker]

Yes, you did say that before!

[TonyHSD]

We should try E85 pure ethanol like the dragsters fuels 🇺🇸🚗😎 now without joke , does anyone knows if the new E10 will have different smell than the E5 petrol? 

[Phil T]

I think the main problem with E10 is if it's standing around in you system for long periods as with a PHV, it forms an emulsion on contact parts and over long periods a varnish that is a pig to remove. E5 was bad with a motorbike that was stored over winter without draining the carbs, and it ate fibreglass tanks. Admittedly there are not many carbs about these days but injectors suffer to some extent and some plastic swells with the ethanol contact. My PHV, with covid reducing travel, has only been filled at Christmas 😆 the last two years. No problem so far but that was with E5, so I am thinking only part fill the tank, as I'm in no rush to frequent the Covid hot spots and I still have half a tank.

There is always Super Unleaded, though not all is ethanol free, prices around Stoke on Trent are £1.37 to £1.54, quite a variation, though the cheapest is not much higher than some of the dear stations 95 unleaded at £1.29 - £1.33. Last time I filled up with Super Unleaded both the car (Passat at that time) and my bike ran worse.

And look out for September harvest of the fuel corn, the roads around Shropshire last year were filled with tractors and the roads were like a green mud skating rink. 

[altocumulus]

Is there an additive available to help longevity? I've still got 3/4 tank of petrol from Stornoway purchased early July.  Normally, even in a non-covid era, that could last me beyond xmas! Though we're off to Mull, ferries and Nicola permitting, later this month and no doubt E10 will end up in the tank.

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, altocumulus said:

Is there an additive available to help longevity? I've still got 3/4 tank of petrol from Stornoway purchased early July.  Normally, even in a non-covid era, that could last me beyond xmas! Though we're off to Mull, ferries and Nicola permitting, later this month and no doubt E10 will end up in the tank.

Hi, 

yes there are few available and this one has best reviews from all. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lucas-Oil-10576-Ethanol-Treatment/dp/B004FW77F0/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=E10+additives&qid=1630586829&sr=8-8
I believe there will be more available in the future since the E10 was just introduced on the uk market. I think if you are not a frequent petrol user and drive phev best to stick with 99 premium E5. Got full tank E10 this morning and yet to try it from tonight onwards., most likely will continue to use 99 for myself where possible. 👍

[Cyker]

Another alternative that I've seen a lot of classic car groups promoting is to just mix the petrol with water (In a container, not the tank!!), leave it for a week, then drain off the bottom fraction that forms - The water draws out all the ethanol and sinks to the bottom (Water is heavier than petrol!), so it can be tapped off pretty easily.

Only downside is you lose some octane so they also recommend mixing in some octane booster to compensate.

I've got another 200 miles of tank range left before mine sees its first tank of E10! Will be interesting to see if I notice anything, going from V-Power to E10!!

 

[Joseph D]

Ethanol when added to petrol (or more correctly gasoline), it has the effect of raising the octane rating, so it stands to reason if you remove the ethanol it will lower the octane rating.  No actual octane (or equivalent additives used to raise the octane of pure gasoline) is 'lost' per se.

Maybe semantics, but it might help some in their understanding of the overall picture.