Hi there

I'm relatively new to using composites and not familiar with the different types of resins available. I am looking to make fiber glass petrol tanks for competition motorcycles. There are a lot of people already using these on the Pre65 Trials circuit but in the last few years a lot of them have started to delaminate and bubble. Additionally the resin has been clogging up the carburettors. This is attributed to the Ethanol in modern fuels.

Is there a resin available that is resistant to ethanol even at the quantities used in E85 which has yet to reach our shores.

Many thanks

Steve

We would unlikely have any more resources than yourself and the power of the internet.  We have approached our resin manufacturer about the issues of both fuel resistance and brake fluid resistance as it is a common question these days.  Very little data exists on the resistance to ethanol's probably because it's not been tested.

The basic petrol has never been an issue, hence the abundance of composite fuel tanks both in automotive and marine usage. Its purely the relatively recent issue of ethanol.

You will struggle to get information out of the high end motorsport or aerospace as they tend to use special coatings or bag tanks so won't encounter the same problems.

Until someone develops a fuel resistant resin, then tank coatings are your only realistic option.  I can't see a massive demand for such a resin when coatings that work already exist. Most high end motorsport is using the flexible kevlar bag tanks which use a fabric coated with a special rubber, so again I can't see motorsport driving a demand for such a resin either.

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant