(Sorry) interrupted by trespassers! simple test will be to buy some e10 and just drop some o rings into it and I have all the various ones that will meet fuel, even some spare valve guide seals! A slug of 3 part sealant and see what it dose to the rubber over 8 weeks or less. if it affects them sooner then all well and good and if not then we will know we are all good! The only rubber I don’t have is inlet manifold (boots) It will be an interesting experiment and give a tangible visual result! Tactical as well as the rubber will feel notably changed if affected by the fuel.
I don’t care if I’ve just stopped someone getting to work the E10 vs ducati rubber experiment is more important than getting the kids from school.
This will be interesting, reminds me of an experiment we did at primary school involving a tooth and a jar of Coca-Cola, How long do you intend to keep the seals in there?
haha.....funny....... Anyway.......as long as is necessary I can always inspect weekly. The rubber might degrade really quickly or hopefully it will be ok, time will tell.
Just to clarify, this is just to see what the e10 dose to our older seals! I figure that valve seals, tank quick connector seals, fuel pump o ring and injector o ring seals, I can add butterfly seals but considering that is a vacuum system I don’t think it’s that critical. I will add some 3 part sealant and see what happens, better a test in a jar than a failed o ring when out on a hack. If it’s not damaging to the seals then just add sea foam to stabilise the fuel and rest easy
My money is on they will be ok as the green seals are made of viton. I’d reckon the old black rubber seals and internal tank pipes will be the issue. Anybody else gonna have a guess at the outcome?
I’m not wanting to hold back the cutting edge of scientific research here, but wondered what you expect to learn from this approach? Unless they swell like balloons or fall apart, what will you know? A typical analytical test to assess this question would include control tests with forecourt e0, high purity petroleum ether, pure ethanol, and only air (no immersion), maybe adding another set of controls from different brand e10 fuels. Fuels would be analysed to check they are representative - that the e10 pump was actually delivering e10. Further control tests would be done with “installed from new” and “bought new” to see how 20 year old and new seals behave. More control levels would be added to check the effect of homogenous and non homogenous e10. Yet more controls would check the effect of “fresh” from pump and “old” e.g. 3 months ex tank fuel. Tests would be done at repeating intervals assessing incremental change. The test equipment would be able to replicate to recreate actual conditions of the seals, heat, pressure, presence of oil, water etc, that the seals experience, but with a further control set for lab standard temp and humidity. All of the different rubbers used in Ducati petrol contact seals and pipes would be tested. In addition to before and after scaled hi-res photography, the analytical equipment required to determine the degradation effects on a quantitive and qualitative basis would include analytical 4 fig balances for mass change, micro-displacement test equipment for volume change, tensometers for effect on tensile strength and elongation under load, and durometers for shore hardness testing to see how the rubber properties have changed. All of the data would be put together and analysed in some sort of “data cube” as a test set and reports generated to show what does what to what, how quickly, and by how much. Putting some Ducati seals into some e10 petrol for a while and expecting to be able to get some meaningful information might not be as useful as it may initially appear. Anyway, good luck with your tests.
your right! without control measures and £10000000 spent on equipment I can’t see the details of a ducks arse,. I do know however the visual look of good “o” ring how they should feel. After 20 years of working on my bike you do kind of develop a tactical feel for good or bad o rings. that aside it’s a bit of fun and in all honesty I will probably swap all mine for ones that I know will be ok
As I understand it, the ethanol component in the fuel absorbs moisture from the air and the result over time is some nasty stuff which damages rubber etc. and causes excessive corrosion to metallic bits which make up the fuel system. An air tight jar may not give you the same conditions? Good luck all the same, it will be interesting to see the outcome.
Esso Synergy Supreme +99 may well be ethanol free, depending on where you live and despite it being labelled E5, for reasons explained in the following link. https://www.esso.co.uk/en-gb/fuels/petrol
I imagine the proposed test is to establish what damage, if any, E10 is going to do. We all know we can buy super and Esso is ethanol free in places but the day will come and, I feel quite soon, when E10 is the least worst option. Anything Viton will be fine by the way. No test needed. Other Orings made from Buna/Nitrile not so much. They will swell up. It takes time for any problems to materialize. It's a slow process. I once replaced jellified, in tank fuel hoses with the exact same type hose, not even new but of a spare set of throttle bodies because it's all I had. Meant to replace them asap. 3 years later I did eventually do it. Those already 20 year old rubber hoses spent 3 years immersed in E5, although with stabil 360 additive, and were unaffected. So if you haven't already E10 proofed your bike, provided your immersed hoses aren't 20 years old, do it as and when. I do think additives prevent the worst effects of ethanol. I don't drain my tanks. I keep them with whatever is left at the end of the season and, having used stabil products, have no rust whatever inside. I also keep the bikes in a dry garage attached to the house which may also help.
