Which oil

[Kevin Petley]

Stihl 4 mix engines really need the green stuff, not the red

[Chainsaw will]

Would the green stihl be the best oil even if the petrol quality is poor

 

 

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[Stubby]

Good quality oil ...even the best will not make the petrol good quality if it is not .

[H-A]

Good quality oil ...even the best will not make the petrol good quality if it is not .

 

That is very true, we need more information about the petrol that we buy.

 

H-A

[Stubby]

That is very true, we need more information about the petrol that we buy.

 

H-A

 

I think , generally, supermarket fuel may contain more undesirables than four court fuel .

[ThrustSSC]

That is very true, we need more information about the petrol that we buy.

 

H-A

 

They're scared to give it to you. The only ones who aren't - and I've not tried the stuff yet 'cos Eddie doesn't seem to be able to land a dealer within 30 miles of Evesham - are Aspen. Credit to them on that, but hardly surprising given their sales pitch.

 

And forget all the BS about 'the composition of our petrol is a trade secret' rubbish from the big oil companies. It's not. They all use the same stuff from the same tanks at the same refinery, then flow-blend in their own particular cocktail of additives as they load the road tanker. There's a reason you see more and more unbranded white tankers around, too: companies can share unbranded ones, and they don't need to rinse the tanks out at changeover...

[ThrustSSC]

I think , generally, supermarket fuel may contain more undesirables than four court fuel .

 

No. Just less additives. The base stock is the same...

[Stubby]

No. Just less additives. The base stock is the same...

 

I thought supermarket fuel contained more ethanol ( I consider that undesirable ) . There are often some markings on the pumps that indicate the percentage ethanol if you know what to look for .

[ThrustSSC]

I thought supermarket fuel contained more ethanol ( I consider that undesirable ) . There are often some markings on the pumps that indicate the percentage ethanol if you know what to look for .

 

Ethanol is one of the options for boosting the octane rating, so yes, some fuels can contain more. And ethanol is bad for us as it's hydroscopic and drags water into the fuel while it's being stored. But at least it's not so bad in the unburnt portion of the exhaust as e.g. benzene.

 

The various companies keep their exact additives mixes close to their hearts, so it's hard to say e.g. Supermarket X puts more ethanol in it's fuel than Oil Supermajor Y. But there is likely to be more ethanol in super unleadeds - it's the octane rating you're paying for, not higher quality. And some vendors may - as you rightly point out - display the ethanol percentage they use (which if it varies from the majority will be done during the flow blending).

[GardenKit]

I did a bit of googling and found this. it may of course be out of date as it was dated 2011, but does give a little insight into Ethanol in fuel, and local variations.

 

BP Ethanol is added at 5% to unleaded petrol at all sites across the UK. BP Ultimate (super unleaded petrol) does not have Ethanol added, except in the South West of England.

 

Esso Ethanol is added at 5% to unleaded petrol at most sites in the UK. Esso Super Unleaded petrol does not contain Ethanol, except in the South West of England (Devon & Cornwall)

 

Shell Shell has repeatedly refused to answer the question. It is therefore an assumption only, that all Shell petrol should be considered to contain 5% Ethanol.

 

Texaco Ethanol is added at 5% to unleaded petrol. Texaco Super Unleaded petrol does not contain Ethanol.

 

Total Ethanol is not added to any Total fuel (including standard unleaded petrol). Except in the North West and South East of England.

 

Total have kindly provided a list of filling stations where E0 petrol can still be purchased. Click this link to download the list TOTAL E0 Fuel Sites.xls

 

As far as the writer could gather, the only reason that the super unleaded fuels seem to be ethanol free is because it is harder to obtain the fuel quality required for super unleaded if Ethanol is present. However several of the oil companies told me that this will change in the future but that no date has been set.