Aspen Fuel

[burgundyben]

I too had never heard of it, and after a couple of minutes research can see why it is all but unknown.

What on earth would get into anyone's head to pay £7 per litre for premixed 2 stroke, or £25 for 5 litres? On Amazon it's even worse, if you can believe that, all but £40 for 5 litres inc delivery, which I struggle to understand as couriers delivering petrol seems as unbelieveable as the price. I looked at three websited before realising it wasn't a printing mistake, which I was of course certain it had to be.

I'm simply gobsmacked at the insanity of paying 5-6 times the going rate for anything - how the digamma do they get away with it? And who are the lunatics that volunteer for this stupendous ripoff?

And why? WHY????

I pay £4.80 / ltr. So fair enough its about 4 times the price of pump fuel. I use about 1 or 2 ltrs a year. So the cost not a big deal.

Why? Because I find my chainsaw especially, which I use rarely starts right away. Stripping and cleaning float bowls and blowing through jets is a thing of the past.

Its worth it in time alone. Let alone the saved frustration of trying yo get some reluctant machine to start.

Its brilliant stuff.

 

[thinwater]

I too had never heard of it, and after a couple of minutes research can see why it is all but unknown.

What on earth would get into anyone's head to pay £7 per litre for premixed 2 stroke, or £25 for 5 litres? On Amazon it's even worse, if you can believe that, all but £40 for 5 litres inc delivery, which I struggle to understand as couriers delivering petrol seems as unbelieveable as the price. I looked at three websited before realising it wasn't a printing mistake, which I was of course certain it had to be.

I'm simply gobsmacked at the insanity of paying 5-6 times the going rate for anything - how the digamma do they get away with it?

Can anyone explain why anyone would submit to such a breathtaking ripoff? WHY????

Alkylate petrol generates less gum during aging (fact) and should be less likely to cause problems with small engines which have really, really tiny idle jets.

I've done considerable testing (lab aging tests and corrosion) on the topic (some for an up-coming article) and some of the benifits are provably true. Is it worth the price? That is a different question. I've bought some test tins, but don't see myself buying it for actual use. But I sail all year and use my lawn tools in all seasons.

BTW, in the US the common brand of engnieered gasoline (petrol) is TruFuel, pretty much the same thing.

 

[BabaYaga]

I'm simply gobsmacked at the insanity of paying 5-6 times the going rate for anything - how the digamma do they get away with it?

Can anyone explain why anyone would submit to such a breathtaking ripoff? WHY????

Lack of competition, perhaps?
Here several brands are available, Aspen included, and the price is approximately 2.4 x that of regular petrol (although the comparison is unfair, as it is petrol at pump against alkylate petrol in 5 litre cans).
No wonder volumes are low in the UK if the general view is it contains snake oil...

 

[thinwater]

...No wonder volumes are low in the UK if the general view is it contains snake oil...

I think the general view is the people on this thread have little information. To say it was snake oil we would have to know more. You can't claim something is snake oil without evidence. In fact, all evidence is that it has positive traits. How much those traits are worth, on the other hand....

 

[JumbleDuck]

Isn't the UK petol pool mostly ethanol-free? Just buy ethanol-free petrol. There is very little real-world performance difference vs. ethanol free. E10, on the otherhand, has some problems (which is about 97% of the US petrol pool).

Pump petrol is E5, about to go up to E10.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I think the general view is the people on this thread have little information. To say it was snake oil we would have to know more. You can't claim something is snake oil without evidence.

It's more the advertising which has a whiff of snake oil to me. Less ozone? And ozone is "smog"?

Petrol in the UK is, thanks to the EU, limited to 1% benzene at most. Perhaps Refueller could tell us how much there actually is.

 

[BabaYaga]

Petrol in the UK is, thanks to the EU, limited to 1% benzene at most.

Benzene in alkylate petrol is 0.1 % at most.
In an older type two stroke outboard approx. 25 percent of the fuel goes through the engine unburnt.

 

[steve66]

A couple of things i noticed whilst repairing the engines...the carbs had not been drained since last usage ( a couple of months) once the plugs were changed the engines started easily. Pump fuel would not have started that easily. I did have to clean the carb on one of the engines but this engine was seldom used and could have possibly had a partial jet blockage for some time

 

[thinwater]

It's more the advertising which has a whiff of snake oil to me. Less ozone? And ozone is "smog"?

Petrol in the UK is, thanks to the EU, limited to 1% benzene at most. Perhaps Refueller could tell us how much there actually is.

What fun for you guys!

E228. Benzene is limitied to 1%, but aromatics (35%) and olyfins (18%) can be much higher than alkylates (typically <1%).

BTW, the US limits benzene to 0.62% average, 1.3% max, so the same. So it is not an EU thing, it is a civilized world thing. Just sayin'.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I too had never heard of it, and after a couple of minutes research can see why it is all but unknown.

What on earth would get into anyone's head to pay £7 per litre for premixed 2 stroke, or £25 for 5 litres? On Amazon it's even worse, if you can believe that, all but £40 for 5 litres inc delivery, which I struggle to understand as couriers delivering petrol seems as unbelieveable as the price. I looked at three websited before realising it wasn't a printing mistake, which I was of course certain it had to be.

I'm simply gobsmacked at the insanity of paying 5-6 times the going rate for anything - how the digamma do they get away with it?

Can anyone explain why anyone would submit to such a breathtaking ripoff? WHY????

I don't buy from Amazon or any online dealer. The prices are stupid.

I pay £4.80 / ltr. So fair enough its about 4 times the price of pump fuel. I use about 1 or 2 ltrs a year. So the cost not a big deal.

Why? Because I find my chainsaw especially, which I use rarely starts right away. Stripping and cleaning float bowls and blowing through jets is a thing of the past.

Its worth it in time alone. Let alone the saved frustration of trying yo get some reluctant machine to start.

Its brilliant stuff.

Agreed. I also buy it from my local mower/chainsaw dealer and it's worth it not to have a clogged up carburettor every six months when the hedge trimmer or leaf blower comes out. I use so little that 5 litres lasts me over a year. The price is silly when compared to petrol but it's worth it.

Conversely I always use petrol/oil mix in the outboard because it gets lots of use and doesn't get gummed up.

 

[BabaYaga]

It's more the advertising which has a whiff of snake oil to me. Less ozone? And ozone is "smog"?

On how ozone, formed from hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, contribute to photochemical smog, see for instance:
Smog - Wikipedia

 

[Slowboat35]

My chainsaws, mowers and hedgecutter never have trouble starting but that's possibly because I run them dry before laying them up.

I find the happy acceptance of 4 times the usual price for anything deeply disturbing. It's like trying to justify £16-20 per pint for already exhorbitantly overpriced beer. There is no justification for submitting to ripoff like that, it's just fuelling the greed-merchants to find new ways to rob us even more for 'premium' products- bar price indistinguishable from, and in the case of things like electric cars vastly inferior to the real thing.

 

[ashtead]

Just use the 4 stroke in the mower at end of each year and does seem to help starting following spring. If the 2 stroke version is any good for stopping carb issues then surely given small amounts in OB tanks it might in terms of time be worthwhile for those who prefer sailing or garedening to mechanics. How long should it take to clean an OB carb BTW as I have one waiting in the garage?

 

[Crazy-Diamond]

I recently switched to Aspen for my outboard. As far as the costs go, I am happy to pay for it, for a few reasons. The environmental impact is one. The smell is another, as storing petrol on the boat always results in petrol smell somewhere, and when using the engine we'd always dislike the petrol smell.

I don't use much, maybe at most I expect to spend about £75 a year. For the increased environmental benefit, and a reduction in the unpleasant petrol smells I'm quite happy to pay for it.

 

[Zagato]

Great stuff Aspen, use it in my blower, strimmer and chain saw, start on the button and run smoothly, my neighbours have changed over to it also now as we were all getting starting and running problems, we could hear each engines frustrations Lol!

 

[Milgrip]

For those that have concerns of ethanol in fuel and associated carburettor problems, this is an email I received from Esso customer care. in September 2019

Thank you for contacting Esso Customer Care and for your interest in our ethanol free Esso Synergy Supreme+petrol.

The majority of Synergy unleaded 95 Octane petrol sold in the UK contains 5% ethanol as required under the Government’s Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO).

There is currently no requirement for renewable fuel (such as ethanol) to be present in Synergy supreme + unleaded (97 grade petrol).

Esso Synergy Supreme+ is ethanol free (except in Devon, Cornwall, the Teesside area and Scotland) and we have no current intention to add ethanol to Synergy Supreme+ in other areas of the UK.

We would therefore advise anyone who has concerns about the presence of ethanol in petrol to use Synergy Supreme+ – providing they do not fill up in Devon or Cornwall, the Teesside area or Scotland.

The E5 sticker on the Synergy Supreme+ petrol pumps was introduced to ensure Esso complies with the Government’s standards on labelling of fuel labelling – see New era of green fuel set to clean up Britain’s roads. The E5 label means the fuel could contain up to 5% renewables such as ethanol.

Esso does not currently have any plans to introduce ethanol into the Supreme+ fuel brand in the area. (I'm in Essex)

Synergy Supreme+ Unleaded (97 grade petrol) is ethanol free.

Thank you for letting us know about this and for your custom in the past.

Yours sincerely,

Bianka Bacsics

End Consumer & Customer Care Specialist

Customer Service, Fuels & Lubricants, EAME

UK - Tel: 0207 136 1798

customer.care@exxonmobil.com

 

[steve66]

Just use the 4 stroke in the mower at end of each year and does seem to help starting following spring. If the 2 stroke version is any good for stopping carb issues then surely given small amounts in OB tanks it might in terms of time be worthwhile for those who prefer sailing or garedening to mechanics. How long should it take to clean an OB carb BTW as I have one waiting in the garage?

It all depends on the make and model of outboard