Off topic - infrequently use Motorbike and modern petrol

Slightly off topic, but may apply to those that don't use their Jimny much. 

I've messed up. I left one of my Motorbikes longer than I should have done, fully aware that petrol goes off. I put in stability additives and filled the tank. I expected the petrol to be "off" when I looked, but did not expect the corrosion and general carnage that had developed. I am in the process of fixing the damage (£££), but how do I prevent this in the future? 

Not sure filling the tank is still sound advice as most of the damage was below the petrol line, figure that out! The additives did nothing and a subsequent search of YouTube is starting to confirming similar. 

So going forward what do you do to stop E10 / E5 damage on vehicles (or chainsaws etc) used infrequently ? 

At the moment I am moving towards a drained system with a tank part filled with Aspen 4 and oil, sort of a reuse storage liquid. Bit of a pain as I need to drain at the beginning of each season, but it is reusable at the end of the season. 

The take away is that if you don't use your E10 filled Jimny for 12 months worry, it's awful petrol. Forget less mpg, it's filling you fuel system with water and rust (like it needs more rust ) 

Any suggestions welcomed, except use it more until I retire. 

I was advised to remove the fuel pipes from the carbs on my classic motorcycle (1977 Triumph 750) apparently the fuel taps leak. I didn’t bother and after leaving it for 5 years, I just dropped the float bowls off the carbs and cleaned the residue out, it was fine.

If you leave a vehicle for a while, leave a little fuel in the tank, it stops it going rusty inside, then drain and refill with fresh fuel before starting and you will be fine.

Don’t worry about the oil either, that will be okay, I mean it is largely in a closed system and oil has been around for 1000s of years, it’s not going to go off after a few years sat in an engine.

Robin

Being off grid I have a few small engines that I don't use every month and I just drain them. It can't go off if it's not there and that was before the advent of the waterlogged petrol we have to put up with nowadays.

I put E10 in everything. If I'm using one bike and another is sat with old fuel in it I syphon that over to the bike that is being used so I can burn it up before it goes off. Then the other bike will sit empty until I need to ride it.
Under use is no good for any vehicle. My most reliable things are the ones I use all the time, and that extends far beyond fuel issues. Same goes for never emptying a tank. I've bought bikes off people that are afraid to use reserve and the result is always a collection of crud in the bottom of the tank. Regularly running a a vehicle dry (or as close to it as practical) helps keep on top of any buildup in the tank.

The ethanol in E5/E10 loves to absorb water and cause rust. If you are leaving anything with an engine more than a month or two the best thing to do is drain the tank then run the engine until it stops. This completely drains the fuel system. It's particularly important to do this with two strokes. To do a really good job, take the plug(s) out, squirt in some oil and spin it over a few times before replacing the plugs. This helps prevent rust on the bores.

If you have a metal tank and you are really paranoid, leave the fuel cap off for a week or so. This allows the tank to completely dry out, including any water that may have collected in the bottom.

Thanks all. 

It looks like the big mistake I made was filling the tank full. It was (and still is) in some instances the recommended action to take for storage. 

I think it longer applies to E fuels. 

I have saved the very rusty tank. I used Evaporust (never used before) and its amazing witchcraft for submerged rust removal. I've now sealed the tank with a POR-15 tank kit. I have used POR before and just like the other products its good. Recommended products. 

Next the carbs, I hope I drained them or they are going to be stuffed. 

I have a Suzuki katana 650 that lives in France in a stable and is transport when we get there .
French say 95 is only for lawnmowers ....( they have E 50 available there ...but I'm going nowhere near that.)
I remove the drain plugs from the carbs so it drains and air flows around the float bowls .it has stabiliser in the fuel in the tank .The battery comes home too.
When we get there after the plugs are replaced and the prime position used , battery on , it starts up even after 6 months lay up ...last year 10 months .
All the strimers , chain saws etc are run until empty . Being honest though the bike runs well enough but you can feel the hesitation.
All my bikes here are only on E5 or super unleaded and run up ...so far all the 1980's Kats are happy with this regime ..but the 1992 400 Kat s jets are too small and gum up soooooeasy.....the o rings in the carbs re now vitron.

I can't say I'm convinced by fuel stabilisers. Fuel goes off in two main ways. The lighter hydrocarbons evaporate making it harder to burn and the ethanol absorbs water. There's not much additives can do about either of these. I suppose they can add a bunch of corrosion inhibitors to reduce the effect of the water.

I was convinced they helped in the short term, but this experience has me doubting my belief. I've subsequently found youtuber testing which indicates they don't do much, so going forward I am putting them in the snake oil group. I've ordered a syphon, the petrol is coming out of any vehicles in storage.. I may put a small amount of Alkylate (?) petrol in the MR2 and run it through to the injectors, its supposed to be good for 5 years. 

I only put Esso Super unleaded, which is claimed to be ethanol free, in my Jimny and motorbike. I syphon as much out of the 'bike as I can when I put it into Winter storage.

The Other Car runs off E5 from Tescos.

I've seen what E10 does to plastic parts of the fuel system, never mind the rusting :ohmy:

Costs more, but repairing the damage would be costlier.

Super from BP is apparently ethanol free, although still shown as E5 (label means up to E5).

Thanks, I'll do some checking on Esso / BP super unleaded, better stuff if no Ethanol.
MR2 appears ok at the moment.
I appear to have developed a sense of smell for bad petrol. It has a very distinct odor when it's starting to turn bad.  So much to the amusement of my family I've taken to sniffing petrol tanks.
Too old to be worried about potential health issues, at least I'm not tasting it