Hello List buddies, I have a letter from Richard who is still having posting
problems.
Michael,
I'm afraid I don't know very much more about the dangers of mixing additives.
I do know that different additives and LRPs use different chemicals to
provide
the lubrication that lead used to provide - I have a vague feeling that
manganese may be one, potassium another? It was in an article I read late
last year, in the build-up to the leaded petrol ban, that I found out about
the dangers of mixing different LRPs and additives, although exactly what
happens if you do it didn't say. I guess it is probably OK to mix two
additives that use the same active ingredient, but that is only my
assumption,
and I wouldn't risk doing even that myself.
You could try the FBHVC
(http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/motordata/page16.html), since they
commissioned the tests on the additives, they might know a bit more.
The FBHVC will not release a list of the additives that failed the test. What
is known is that there were two of the so-called 'catalyst devices' tested -
these are basically canisters of tin pellets that you insert part-way along
the fuel line, and the manufacturers claim that it acts as a catalyst to
modify the petrol, and allows the use of normal unleaded fuel. No such
device
was endorsed by the FBHVC, so it is reasonable to assume that these things
aren't much good. The whole concept sounded pretty dodgy to me (with an
A-grade A-level in Chemistry) even before the tests.
What seems strange to me is that I would have thought it was in the interests
of the additive manufacturers and the petrol companies to promote the fact
that additives and LRPs should not be mixed, to promote brand loyalty -
instead this fact does not seem to be widely known - although it may say
something on the back of the additive bottles, I've never actually looked at
one.
Richard and (lead-free) Daffy
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