Running Rich - Ethanol & Viton

[Kayla]

Do you make any condoms out of this stuff too... Had a few break down so maybe I might get a bit of extra Mileage from Vitoms

Aaaaannnd... there goes the neighbourhood

[maelstrom]

Hi Kayla,
You get around a bit then?

[Kayla]

Hi Kayla,
You get around a bit then?

Figuratively speaking, yes

[ekoja]

Do you make any condoms out of this stuff too... Had a few break down so maybe I might get a bit of extra Mileage from Vitoms

Aaaaannnd... there goes the neighbourhood

Better than average... it took a whole page.

[Mincehead]

He not the mesiah he`s a very naughty boy our Cobba.

[maelstrom]

Interesting information Maelstrom, thanks for posting.

I always avoid anything with Ethanol in the bike, but there will be a day when I can't, I guess.

I always avoid putting it the car because its a false economy!

I am not advocating the use of Ethanol blends in any way. But like you said, it might be forced on us one day. No point in spending all my time and money making substandard kits.

[M.V.]

Do you make any condoms out of this stuff too... Had a few break down so maybe I might get a bit of extra Mileage from Vitoms

When you open the condom & a moth flys out cobba, it might be time to buy some new ones

[cobbadiggabuddyblooo]

No actually I use them over the bell mouths on my FCR'S when I have to take the air filter off to stop anything that will manifest into a swollen lump internally

[Mincehead]

Condoms, swollen lumps, Cobba, are you getting enough?

[peagoose]

Hi peeps
so is the change to the Japanese spec carbs mit zie accelerator pump worth doing?

[Mincehead]

Update on my Skorpion`s Ascerbis tank.

Even though I removed all the fuel I could get out, the residual fuel, perhaps even vapours have warped the plastic! Ferkin annoying I can tell all of thee. Ethanol is a monster.
Luckily I do have a second Skorpion tank but it`ll need colour matching / re-spraying. ah well, another job on the ever growing list......................................................................

[maelstrom]

Yes, all your carb seals will be going rotten too.
From the summary in the research paper that was written by Oak Ridge National Laboratory that I previously linked to.

5.2.5 NBR
The eight NBR samples (and polyurethane) showed a pronounced increase in volume swell and softening when exposed to fuels containing ethanol. Exposures to Fuel C resulted in volume expansion approaching 20%. When exposed to the ethanol-blended test fluids, the NBRs swelled by more than 30%. Likewise, the hardness values dropped an additional 10 points when ethanol was added to the test fluid. When all of the samples (including Fuel C exposures) were dried, 8% to 14% of the mass was lost and the accompanying shrinkage was between 10% and 18%. The dried hardness was increased 5 to 16 points, indicating that embrittlement had occurred. NBR was one of only two elastomer types (the other being neoprene) that exhibited significant embrittlement in the dried state, indicating that plasticizer components were being removed by the test fuels. . . . .
These are the facts. They are indisputable.
cheers
Blair

[Con Rod]

So if ethanol will destroy a plastic tank and the fuel tap and the fuel line just replacing the o rings in the carbs seems a bit of a pointless endeavour. Rather it makes more sense to just not use ethanol..... Or am I missing something?

[cobbadiggabuddyblooo]

That's why they call australia the lucky country because we have the choice

[maelstrom]

So if ethanol will destroy a plastic tank and the fuel tap and the fuel line just replacing the o rings in the carbs seems a bit of a pointless endeavour. Rather it makes more sense to just not use ethanol..... Or am I missing something?

The best thing to do is to avoid ethanol completely.
However, in many countries, like the US and the UK they have started adding 5% ethanol with no requirement to tell the customer that it is 5% ethanol.
I believe that there is also the threat that this percentage will increase.
So you will have to do your homework to find ethanol free fuel. The next/alternative step will be replacing the NBR parts with Viton.

I am getting quite a lot of requests to make inlet manifold rubbers and other parts from Viton but the mould costs for these parts are
very high and Viton costs a minimum of 2.5 times as much as NBR. My intention at the moment is to gradually produce some of these parts for
the models that are my most popular sellers and see what the response is.
cheers
Blair