Ethanol ate my rubber!!

[autobackup]

Appropos another thread in the forum discussing E5/E10 petrol problems with rubber based fuel feed pipes below are some photos of what it did to my Atom 3.5R's fuel pipes.

When I recently returned to Cyprus it failed to start (it would run for 10 - 20 seconds then quit) with an overwhelming smell of petrol - on inspection it was obvious that fuel was p*****g out of the sides of most of the engine feed pipes.

It's currently undergoing it's annual main service and spanner check - during which all the fuel feed pipes will also be replaced with PTFE versions at my local 'Atom Hospital'!

[John Scherrer]

Yikes !

Ian (staffsatom) posted that the '4' has E10-safe fuel plumbing as standard - The factory can retrofit these on earlier cars for a reasonable cost

Ethanol is the product used in E10 (C2H4) - an Alcohol (10% of it now in petrol)

Ethylene (CH3-CH2-OH) is a different beast used in production of polythene etc

[IanG]

The other option is to use super unleaded
It only contains 5% Ethanol
97 and above

[AlanP]

Screenshot_20211111-183955_Chrome.jpg (744.46 KiB) Viewed 800 times

Might be useful to know.

[autobackup]

For those of you who occasionally venture across La Manche to 'le continent' from my understanding EU legislation mandates E5 in every grade with E10 coming down the mandatory pipeline (Sic!) in the very near future!

As I live in Cyprus my Atom has been exposed to it for the past 5 years!

FWIW All the original pipework in my Atom was renewed in 2018 during it's 'frame up' rebuild to the 3.5R spec so the Ethanol in the fuel here in Cyprus has rotted the pipes in my Atom in just over 3 years!

IMHO the simplest and cheapest answer is to change all the fuel pipework to PTFE Ethanol safe pipes and then simply forget about it and fill up with whatever Brand grade takes your fancy or is currently fashionable!

Incidentally apparently the damage is done when the fuel is simply sitting in the pipe when the car is not actually being driven!

Incidentally I apologise for writing Ethylene when I meant Ethanol - had a mind fart!

[Atlarge]

[mention]autobackup[/mention] did you replace the lines with e85 safe rubber or go the full hog with PTFE type line - I’m looking to do similar as fuel here is predominately e10 now.

The PTFE type line seems to be suitable for all fuel flavours but I’m not sure how well or easily it joins to existing hard-lines or the filters etc?

Interested to know how you got on / any tips?

[autobackup]

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I'll post the full details on what type of pipes have been used after I pick my Atom up on Monday from JMC Power (Limassol) where it's been having it's annual service plus, as you are aware, all new fuel pipes!

- I asked Mike Charalambous to replace them all with PTFE pipe if possible - however, if he was unable to source PTFE, then some other suitable type of ethanol resistant pipe.

My Atom was actually ready (mechanically) late yesterday but the final job needed to be done was to repair a slightly corroded 'tea tray' bracket by stripping back the paint, grinding back and then re-TIG welding the bracket before protectively repainting the area - however unfortunately the epoxy top clear-coat that was used was still tacky late on Friday (yesterday) evening so I said keep the car to allow the epoxy to fully cure over the weekend!

[autobackup]

Re TIG welded and repainted bracket.

IMG-20211115-WA0002.jpg (158.55 KiB) Viewed 697 times

[Sir Nick]

Invisible!

[Atlarge]

Are they the new lines running at the back near the supercharger?

[autobackup]

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Yes - they are the very black pipes running right to left to the red filter

[autobackup]

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Picked up my Atom - Mike at JMC Power tried using PTFE fuel pipes but simply couldn't get the connections to seal properly as the pipes were too stiff so, in the end, reverted to using ethanol safe German manufactured fuel pipes which, apparently, should be good for the next 8 - 10 years or so!

Everything seems to be working well and it feels very 'tight' after the annual service.

[Atlarge]

Aha thanks, good to know! I’ve seen some speciality PTFE line that’s an intermediate fit for the hard lines / push fit fittings but it’s expensive and apparently difficult to install etc. You can get e85 safe rubber (or some other other material) line which is probably what you have... I’ll be getting some of the same most likely.

Cheers!

[staffsatom]

Hi guys

Speak to steve at ariel service regarding fuel lines , they carried out a mid service, super charger belt change , tyres replaced a few other parts and fuel lines for E10
All in the same day while i waited.
Fantastic service as always from the guys at ariel it may cost a little more!!!!! but if you want a silk purse you need to use silk.

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Fantastic service as always from the guys at ariel it may cost a little more!!!!! but if you want a silk purse you need to use silk.

No doubt - unfortunately, I'd need a fair few miles of silk to get my car from here to there before even thinking of the purse!

Curious what other members do for servicing & maintenance in Germany (where there seems to be quite a strong Atom contingent) as it's probably my nearest option?

Please PM me if you have any recommendations!