Will E10 damage my engine?

There’s been a lot of  publicity regarding E10 fuel in the news recently. It certainly has its advantages in an ever changing world. However with positives there are also drawbacks to maintaining petrol machinery. Not all garden machinery is compatible with E10 Fuel, please refer to your owners manual, or get in touch with us to advise if your machine is compatible. E10 will damage the internals of an engine over time. Please read on and learn how you can protect your machinery.

E10 The Positives!

E10 petrol contains up to 10% renewable ethanol, which will help to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions associated with petrol vehicles and tackle climate change. However the petrol still contains harmful substances such as benzene, olefins, aromatics and most importantly ethanol. So How does this affect your garden machinery?

E10 The Bad!

Ethanol causes the insides of your lawnmower, chainsaw or any machinery to corrode over time. Especially those plastic components such as the diaphragms & gaskets inside the carburettor. These parts become much more brittle and are then prone to cracking/ snapping. This causes issues with your machine getting the correct amount of fuel. The reason for this is that the ethanol is hygroscopic meaning it is attracting the moisture from its surrounding environment. If your machinery doesn’t seem as powerful or is lagging it may just be a problem with the carburettors. Modern petrol deteriorates quickly. This is a big problem for garden machinery as it often goes long periods without use. So if petrol is left your machinery for long periods of time (upwards of a month left unused) it’ll increase the chances of this happening.

Regular petrol is a mixture of about one hundred substances, some of which have a negative effect on the operation of the engine. Another issue is that fuel from a pump also releases harmful substances. These substances are released into the air when the garden machinery is on, meaning that you are breathing these in which could affect the safety for yourself or others around you. Benzene can cause dizziness and drowsiness to the person operating the machinery, this in turn could increase the chances of a injury or an accident in the work or at home.

E10 Corrosive Damage!

Check out the below video to witness how E10 petrol is reacting and corroding the insides of your engine!

How to maintain your garden machinery!

The most efficient step is to use a fuel source that does not contain ethanol in order to tackle the root cause. Here at Jenkins Garden Machinery we are an official supplier of Aspen Fuel.

Aspen Fuel

Aspen Fuel does not contain any ethanol or any of the harmful substances, therefore reduces harmful hydrocarbon emissions by up to 99%. To top this off you are also breathing much cleaner air whilst running your machinery on Aspen. Reducing the chance of dizziness or drowsiness to the operator. Aspen Alkylate Petrol consists of only a dozen substances that help create a cleaner and a longer lasting engine. Machinery using Aspen Alkylate Petrol may be stored for long periods without any starting issues. This is not only easier, but also saves on costly maintenance.

Please visit our Shop and check out our Aspen fuel Range! Any questions please get in touch with us!

Ethanol Shield

Another option is to purchase Ethanol shield, this mixes with the petrol and counters the corrosive effects of ethanol preventing fuel from decaying. Our bottles hold 118ml which is enough to treat 150litres of E10 petrol. This will prolong the life of your engine and can also keep petrol that is stored stabilised for up to one year.

Please visit our Shop and check out the Ethanol shield here! Any questions please get in touch with us!