Fuel Catalyst Stabilisers

[Brucie64]

I keep seeing these T2 Fuel Catalyst Stabilisers advertised on ebay as a "MUST" for all classic motorcycles to run on today's unleaded petrol.

1. Are they really required and do I need one? 

[bsa-bill]

first thing to put me off any purchase is somebody telling me I must have it, second would probably be the" only at this price today".
I use Castrol Valvemaster plus but not religiously, not sure the Flash valves need any help really but the octane boost might be a benifit

All the best - Bill

[A10Boy]

Take three nice smooth pebbles from your garden, clean them up and drop them in the tank - you will get a similar effect but its cheaper.

No thanks, I will stick with my Castrol Valvemaster Plus.

[Brucie64]

Many Thanks Guys,

Castrol Valvemaster Plus for me too then!

[BSA_54A10]

Google "Fuelcat" and "Firepower" in Australia and you will see that the smoke & mirror ex millionaire is now getting his just deserts.

With the exception of Sodium and Potassium, no metals are soluable in any petrolium based fluids.
In fact to get metals in petrolium we had to go to really great lengths.
Tetraeythellead is quite difficult to make.

Metallic lead was used from about 1920 to line the petrol tanks of cars till the OH&S nazis got it banned in the mid 80's the stuff was called Terne plate and is why a 50 year old petrol tank is very rarely rusty while a 20 year old one has rusted away.

Tin plate was used to make fuel drums from about the same time and is still in use today.
If tin metal was soluable in petrol you could not use it for storeage cans.
I would have thought that this fact alone would be blindly obvious as most of us have lawn mowers and a tin plated can of mower fuel .

Next there is the cods wallop about valve recession.
Scientific test revealed that non leaded fuel caused valve recession IN PISTON POWERED AIRCRAFT , which is why some avgas brews still contain lead.
However the only similarity between an aero engine and what we have between our legs is that they both have pistons and poppet valves.

[69Bonni]

Guys

I'm going to subscribe to A10Boys idea 3 nice smooth pebbles, thats a great one! and they will make a bigger improvement than any  "Fuel Catalysts".
If the valves and seats arnt hardened enough with 40 odd years of running they will never be hard!

When i was in the Fleet Air Arm, Avgas was available an i know "Some" people used to run there bikes on it, or some sort of mixture of it, im sure that would have improved the preformance a little, but then Leaded petrol was freely available then anyhow.

Personally i have never had any problems with any of my bikes running unleaded. I can supply a few lead fishing weights FOC if your convinced that dangling something in your tank (other than Petrol) will improve preformance.

Regards

Steve

[rocket man]

just think if you put pebbles in your tank with the vibration
it would make a lot ove sound like a rattle

[Josh Cox]

Would like to expand on BSA_54's point about valve recession in Light Aircraft.

Some may ask why in light aircraft and not in light vehicles ?.

Aircraft that are other than "Light", in this day and age utilize variants of the jet engine on jet fuel (kero/diesel).

With Light aircraft, they run reciprocating engines, magnetos and are weight limited, so trying to get the most mileage out of fuel at different density altitudes is quite important.

To accomodate this, the fuel/air mixture can be tuned whilst operating. by monitoring the exhaust gas temperature, the best economy can be set for each power setting and air density.

By doing this most of the additional "cooling and valve lubricating" fuel is removed, hence the need for lead.

In aircraft, incorrect operation frequently causes exhaust valves to fall to bits and the whole cylinder pot to crack and occasionally seperate inflight.

Running the mixture too lean in any piston engine will cause valve recession and eventual failure of valves, glazing of bores and ultimate failure.

Perhaps someone could make a BSA Jet bike :)

IMHO do not waste your $$$$ on these items, ensure your carby is running adequately on the rich side of stiometric.

[MikeN]

Perhaps someone could make a BSA Jet bike :)


If they made aeroplanes,would you fly in one?

[rocket man]

youd need a long runway

[MikeN]

OK,If no-one else will ask ,then I will.
What does  "stiometric" mean?
I tried an on-line dictionary with no reults.
Mike

[RichardL]

Would "fuel catalyst stabilisers" be the same as "lead substitute" Which I use because it's there and I have 9:1 pistons.

[Josh Cox]

Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-fuel_ratio

Quote from Wiki:

A stoichiometric mixture unfortunately burns very hot and can damage engine components if the engine is placed under high load at this fuel air mixture. Due to the high temperatures at this mixture, detonation of the fuel air mix shortly after maximum cylinder pressure is possible under high load (referred to as knocking or pinging). Detonation can cause serious engine damage as the uncontrolled burning of the fuel air mix can create very high pressures in the cylinder. As a consequence stoichiometric mixtures are only used under light load conditions. For acceleration and high load conditions, a richer mixture (lower air-fuel ratio) is used to produce cooler combustion products and thereby prevent detonation and overheating of the cylinder head.

Apparently it is spelt "Stoimetric",,,,,, I'm not real smart but I can heavy things.

MikeN / Rocket Man,

I notice we are all "A's best friend", without enraging "A", who the hell is "A" ?.

[Brian]

I'm no chemist so can only go on experience. I have been riding my M20 for 29 years and my B33 for about 10 years and the others etc etc. I have used unleaded fuel since it first became available and have not had any problems with valves. The B33 runs .003" clearance and in about 10,000 miles the valves have not required adjusting. I always use premium or the highest octane available at the pump. In the summer I go riding in 40 plus C heat and once again have never had a problem so I can only surmise that all the stories of valve recession etc are just that, stories.

[69Bonni]

I think if you talk to people around through the war they will suprise you, on what they used to run bikes on then.

Parafin, Petrol, whatever they could get hold of and i guess some of those bikes are probably still running today.

My Father in law told me in the Local garage where he worked, they stripped a straight 8 engine in something or other after the war and there was a Bolted on patch on the crank case and a Solid Rosewood piston in the block!

For the amount of valve recession that you get it will probabaly be negligible, if you have more than one bike, and only ride it on weekends less to worry about, if you still have to work for a living as i do and you have to work some weekends less time to ride bikes, EVEN LESS reason to worry! Worry more about your Pinking and getting your timing right.

Perhaps someone could make a BSA Jet bike

Im a Dab hand with Mc Donnell Phantom FG1 Rolls Royce Spey engined type, if you can get the engine in a A10 Frame?